Hotel Eleanor

Developer Roger Hume is converting the seven-story 1915 Capital National Bank Building at 700 J Street into a 107-room independent hotel, with a farm-forward restaurant on the ground floor and a speakeasy built into the former bank vault. The project targets a winter 2026 opening and is marketed by its developer as Sacramento's first five-star hotel, a claim worth watching rather than taking at face value.

The place

700 J Street sits in the Merchant Street Historic District of downtown Sacramento, directly across from the Golden 1 Center arena and roughly a 10-minute walk from Sacramento Valley Station. The address puts the hotel at the center of the city's sports, entertainment and transit activity, inside a former banking-district landmark that has never previously operated as a hotel.

The concept

Hotel Eleanor is an adaptive reuse of the Capital National Bank Building, a seven-story granite-clad landmark completed in 1915-16 and designed by architect Rudolf A. Herold, who also designed Sacramento's City Hall and Masonic Temple. Developer Roger Hume, through Hume Development, bought the building in 2024 for $11.06 million and is investing roughly $30 million to convert the former bank and office floors into guest rooms, preserving the bronze-framed windows and the sixth floor's terracotta figures. Floors two through seven are being converted into 107 guest rooms, with HRGA handling the hotel's architectural design. The basement's former bank vault is being converted into The Heist, a speakeasy lounge and private dining space.

Dining & wellness

The ground floor houses the Oak Room, a bar and restaurant built around seasonal, farm-forward cooking sourced from Central Valley producers, alongside a roughly 2,140-square-foot banquet hall and private dining space. In the basement, the original bank vault has been converted into The Heist, a speakeasy offering a lounge and private dining area. No pool has been confirmed.