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city of NE leandro SLETTER for an informed - -~. P~ 6 z m U ~ ~ T ~ 2 ~6 ^_ ~~~6 196 ~-~ ~~: ~. - .~ a. IviAY, 1979 / `~~>;~ aaz VOLUME 10, NUMBER 2 t~es~gn concept) San Leandro's downtown redevelop- ment program is moving ahead again after a 6-month "vacation." Development of the two-block vacant area in the heart of downtown was un- successfully attempted by a Say Area development group over a four year period. Time finally ran out, and the Redevelopment Agency began interview- ing new developer prospects early this year. The Agency received indications of interest from about twenty developers who have been active in this area. A special screening committee that included members of the Redevelopment Agency (City Council) and members of the San Leandro Development Committee inter- viewed six developers. Then, after a month interval, the committee reinterviewed three of the original six. Both the Agency and the Committee agreed at the beginning of this process that the failure of Orchard Park was not Answer Me A Since its inception in 1970, the City of San Leandro Newsletter has attempted to include articles of general public interest. One of the homeowners associations has given the Ciry an excellent suggestion, and has contributed the first set of questions for an article which will begin with this issue. This article will provide an avenue to answer publicly some of the calls and letters received. The City has encouraged all homeowners associations to submit questions and the public is invited to write to the Community Relations Representative, Ciry of San Leandro, 835 East 14th Street, San Leandro. We're On Our Way Again! just lost time in that necessary steps required prior to development of the shopping center (such as property acqui- sition and clearance, legal requirements, etc.) have been accomplished during that time. A development stressing new shopping facilities is still top priority, with offices and banks acceptable only as minor elements of the mix. This time, emphasis was placed on developers leasing ability, in -the feeling that pre- liminary arrangements with key tenants must precede design work. After completion of all the screening interviews, the committee and the Agency have selected a local group including Jack Brooks, Barbara Mathews Brooks and their son William Mathews Brooks to undertake the project. Brookmat, as the new developer is called, submitted a proposal that includes a one-level parking area about four feet below street level and a shopping plaza above it. In some ways similar to the old Question! 1. Please describe and explain the histori- cal development of the Downtown Redevelopment Project. Is the buying up of downtown properties by the City of San Leandro for redevelop- ment purposes considered an unusual practice for a city government? The downtown redevelopment pro- gram began in 1958 in response to con-, cerns of the community about a rapidly deteriorating downtown. This deteriora- tion.was evidence by an increasing number of vacant stores, decreased retail sales, declining assessed valuations and overall antiquated appearance of the downtown shopping area. Thus, in an effort to renew Orchard Park concept, this new proposal will be less costly to develop and easier to build, while retaining the landscape mall and Mediterranean architectural flavor of the earlier plan. The new plan is to be called Mediterranean Plaza. A preliminary sketch of the project design reflecting the general character or style of development is shown above. The schedule provides two 90-day periods for Brookmat .to firm up a variety of development arrangements. First on the list is tenant negotiation. If that moves along as well as it has during the first few weeks, design and the other more predictable elements of the program will follow in what both the developers and the Agency hope will be a fairly short timetable: What"short" is, for an undertaking of this size, is frequently mis- understood. An opening in time for Christmas in 1981 is the target, and both the developer and Agency will be working hard to make thatpossible. the heart of our community, the City developed a plan for a massive clearance project with Federal aid. This plan was shelved in 196.0 when the Redevelopment Agency decided to do a much smaller project without Federal aid. (The Ciry Council is also the Agency.) For 8 years, the local effort was con- fined to the five blocks between East 14th Street and Hays and between Davis and West Juana. Safeway was built, a number of commercial buildings were rehabilitated and several new parking lots were built by the Agency. The areas east of East 14th, north of Davis and west of Hays were added in continued on page 7