The Capital Region’s commercial real estate market in the past five years has shifted from a system dominated by a few big brokers to a diverse pool of smaller offices and team players. As post-recession business gains steam, that market is being eyed for its unplowed territory.

As Sacramento attempts to forge a regional economic development strategy, manufacturing is being touted as a potential breadwinner, but rebuilding the industry piecemeal could take time.

Tightening belts may be the overall theme in commercial real estate these days, but a little planning can turn into big savings. Business owners looking for a home and landlords seeking tenant upgrades can trim expenses without shredding the wish list.

The Capital Region’s tenant improvement market is trudging along, mired by a deep air of malaise following years of construction decline.

On a breezy, blue-sky day in late November, West Sacramento city and regional planning officials gathered near Raley Field to celebrate the opening of Tower Bridge Gateway, a reconstructed boulevard connecting Highway 50 to Tower Bridge.

Sanjay Varshney, 44, is dean of College Administration at Sacramento State. Last month, in conjunction with the Chartered Financial Analyst Society of Sacramento, he published the seventh issue of the Sacramento Business Review. It offers a look at emerging economic trends and forecasts for 2012 in the Sacramento region, comprised of Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer and Yolo counties. 

West Capitol Avenue is looking pretty snazzy these days. Modern buildings with shiny, chrome lettering line clean, wide sidewalks. Newly planted trees lead to bright bus stops stylized with sculptured ‘W’s nearly 10 feet tall.

As Sacramento’s Next Economy initiative tackles job growth, it is looking at a spectrum of untapped industries — as opposed to singling out individual industries — ripe for expansion. That strategy is the hallmark of two groups in the Seattle area.

Sacramento loves regional planning. Take an issue — say, transportation or land use or coordination of local government — and a group will sprout to chart a course.

Remember comedian Rodney Dangerfield’s famous catchphrase, “I don’t get no respect?”