RDA Reso 2004-023 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The Plaza Project Area Introduction The Plaza Project Area is the oldest redevelopment project area in San Leandro. As stated in the original Redevelopment Plans for the Plaza I and Plaza II Redevelopment Project Areas, prior to their merger in 2000, the goal of the Project is to: Eliminate or reduce blight and blighted conditions presently existing in the Project Area. In the context of California redevelopment, "blight" is a legally defined concept, referring to physical, economic, and social conditions that impair private investment in the Plaza Project Area, causing it to be a burden to the larger community. Efforts to eliminate blight have been ongoing for almost 45 years in the Plaza. The Plaza Redevelopment Project Area {also known as Plaza 1), established in 1960, involved the redevelopment of a deteriorated central business district. Plaza 1 was intended to address the deterioration of public and private buildings, and a shortage of public parking in the downtown shopping area. The Downtown Plaza shopping center, anchored today by Safeway and Longs Drugs, with its free public parking lot, was developed under the auspices of Plaza 1. Other projects completed as part of Plaza 1 include the development of the Noah'slStarbuckslTaco Bell complex at 1445 East 14th Street, and renovation of several structures including the historic Masonic Temple. Plaza 1 was due to expire in 1995, but was extended in 1995 and again in 2003 to its current expiration date of January I, 2010. Tax increment from Plaza 1 begins to taper off in 2006-07 unless, as is possible pursuant to 2004 legislation, Plaza 1 is extended another year by the Agency/Council. The adjoining Plaza 2 Redevelopment Project Area was established in 1967. It has been amended several times between 1971 and 1988 to add more territory, known as expansion areas or sub-areas, and update the Plan's content. Early notable projects included construction of office buildings like the regional headquarters of Wells Fargo Bank and the 101 Callan complex. Major projects over the past ten years include the construction of the San Francisco Bay Area Council/Boy Scouts of America building, the relocation of Costco and the disposition and development of the commercial pads adjacent to Costco's new location, and the construction of two buildings and the parking structure for Creekside Office Plaza. The oldest of the five sub- areas of Plaza 2 will begin to expire in 2013, following the one-year time limit extension approved by the City CouncillAgency Board in 2003. While tax increment funds were kept separately for the two Plazas since Plaza 2's inception, administering project funds became cumbersome as the two project areas functioned as one downtown business district. To more efficiently and effectively manage projects and programs, the two project areas were merged in the last Implementation Plan period. It remains an administratively complex project area because of the many sub-areas it contains, with their different time limits and varying pass-through requirements. 2004-2009 Implementation Plan Page 3