Open House

Thirty-eight years and four remodeling projects later, Jim and Ann Tracy still live in the home they purchased in 1988.

Back then, with one child and another on the way, the P Street vintage home in East Sacramento seemed like a good choice. The corner location had two bedrooms, one bath and a generous attic with a steep pitched roof.

It also had a separate garage. “Although the garage wasn’t built to code and was literally falling down,” says Jim, retired chief financial officer for SMUD.

“We started progressively going through and eventually we remodeled everything in the house. It totaled four major projects over the years.”

Best For Last They found dream home three blocks away By Cecily Hastings April 2024 For 28 years, Rudy and Janice Calpo enjoyed their Donner Way home in Curtis Park. They vowed it would be their last house. Then along came a place too good to pass up....

A decade ago, Ryan Heater set his sights on a historic circa 1900 home in Boulevard Park that he now calls home. The magnificent mansion was lovingly preserved by earlier owners.

Heater’s goal is to take the house to another level. Using top local craftspeople, he studies every detail and explores every resource.

“Years back, I had the pleasure of hosting a 90th birthday party for Jim Betson, one of the previous long-term owners,” Heater says. “It meant the world to him and his family. That’s a part of the intergenerational beauty of this home.

Perfect...

My friend Sue Watkins has bought, fixed up and sold more homes than just about anyone else. The daughter of a local developer, Watkins loves a challenge and enjoys remodeling.

I met Watkins in 1995 when she bought and remodeled the Tudor home—once owned by her grandfather—next door to us on 33rd Street facing McKinley Park.

Before her move to East Sac, she lived in a 1950s Fair Oaks home she bought from the original owners. She remodeled the kitchen and kept most of the design intact. “I loved the neighbors, the neighborhood and the easy access to Fair Oaks Village,” she says.

When she sold the home three years later, she never imagined returning. But after many years and several life and home changes, including a move to Bodega Bay and Sebastopol, she longed for Fair Oaks.