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• A seasonal Downtown Farmers' Market was launched in spring 2008. The market received solid support from the community, averaging 1,500 patrons each week. Community members found the market to be a great place to meet family and friends, and the market's weekly changing theme, which ranges from cooking demonstrations and wine tasting to live music and family entertainment, kept customers coming back to Downtown San Leandro week after week. • Suzuki Motors and Mitsubishi Motors of San Leandro opened for business along San Leandro's Marina Boulevard Auto Ma]l. The dealerships co-located at 575 Marina Boulevard across the driveway from the McKevitt Volvo dealership. • Preferred Freezer commenced grading fora 240,000 sq. ft. state-of--the-art specialty warehouse improving along-abandon blighted and under-utilized industrial site. West San Leandro/MacArthurBnulevard Project Area Construction continued on the Doolittle Drive/Airport Gateway streetscape enhancement project. This phase included new landscaping, improvements to existing medians, new streetlights, the placement of monuments to mark city entries and the relocation of traffic signals on Doolittle Drive from Davis Street north to 98`~ Avenue in Oakland. Construction began in April 2007, with San Leandro acting as the lead agency on this joint project between the Cities of San Leandro and Oakland and the Port of Oakland. Agency contribution is budgeted at $3.67 million. • In 2007-08 the Agency provided $200,000 in funding for the San Leandro LINKS shuttle which transports employees between industrial businesses and the Downtown San Leandro BART Station. Ridership of the shuttle continues to be very strong. Grants have been secured for the next three fiscal years which will result in a decrease to Agency contribution. Housing The housing objectives of the San Leandro Redevelopment Agency 2004-09 Implementation Plan, City of San Leandro Housing Element, City Housing Strategy for 2003-06 and the City's U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 2005-2009 Consolidated Plan address the underserved housing needs of households and families in San Leandro. One of the primary goals in these City housing plans is to provide programs that foster and maintain affordable housing. The Agency is a crucial fiu-ding source and has effectively leveraged set-aside funds with other sources in cooperation with non-profit developers and the City in achieving these goals. Pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 33080.1(c), notable Agency-assisted housing activities for FY 2007-08 include: • Using Housing Set-Aside Funds, the Agency, working in partnership with the non-profit affordable housing developer, Mercy Housing California, completed construction of the former Islander Hotel a 68-unit affordable apartment complex on East 14~' Street renamed Casa Verde. The 67 affordable units for very low income renters were fully leased and will be operated by Mercy housing. • The Agency also approved a $2 million loan in July 2007 to the nonprofit Eden Housing, Inc., for the construction of a 51-unit affordable senior housing complex on East 14~' Street at the corner of Estabrook Street. The units will be affordable to very low income seniors. The City also approved $2 million in federal HOME Program and City Affordable Housing Trust Fund monies to this project. Construction is expected to begin in early 2009. 7