SACRAMENTO (AP) — Governor elect Jerry Brown and his wife have decided to rent a loft within walking distance of the Capitol so they will have a place to call home while in Sacramento.

Brown spokesman Evan Westrup confirmed Monday that the couple is renting a 1,450-square foot loft in a part of the city known for its nightlife. The one-bedroom space is in a converted automobile dealership.

Brown famously lived in a sparsely furnished apartment instead of the governor’s mansion when he was governor from 1975 to 1983.

Westrup says Brown and his wife, Anne Gust Brown, plan to “furnish the place with more than a mattress on the floor.”

According to the building’s website, rent starts at $1,700 a month. The Browns plan to keep their $1.8 million home in the Oakland Hills.

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