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Estudillo Callan Parking Garage, P&S 2 June 7, 2010 Analysis The new structure will include 4 or 5 levels of parking providing 395 - 475 parking spaces, depending on the cost of the alternatives. Exterior colors and materials will complement the architecture of the Main Library. The Chamber of Commerce space is faced with a storefront enclosure to improve the Estudillo Avenue view. The building is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) registered and a Silver certification level appears achievable. Overall, the garage will be an open structure to promote security and provide an inviting image to parking users. The main entrance will include a generous stairway and dual elevators with glass fronts, providing a vista onto the Plaza del Oro, East 14th Street/Downtown and beyond. Improvements to the Plaza Del Oro will match the improvements recently completed on the west side of East 14th Street. Stormwater runoff from the garage roof will be collected and conveyed to provide irrigation to a Plaza Rain Garden and meet clean water requirements. An updated bus shelter structure will also be provided. The garage is a critical component of the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Strategy. Centralized parking that encourages downtown retail patrons to park once and walk to multiple destinations to promote pedestrian activity in the downtown is desired and identified as the first parking strategy in the Downtown TOD Strategy: "A reservoir of public parking allows lower parking standards for commercial and residential development in the downtown area, promotes walking and visibility of downtown businesses, as well as provides future flexibility to use parking pricing as a Transportation Demand Management strategy". The garage supports additional retail development without building additional on-site parking. It makes mixed-use more feasible by providing satellite parking reservoirs next to retail opportunities and is in lieu of additional surface parking that disrupts the flow of the downtown area. For example, it will allow for development on the Town Hall Square and South Gateway (Albertsons) sites and higher density development on Regency's site. Cities with successful downtowns started with centralized parking garages (i.e., Walnut Creek, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Pasadena and Santa Barbara). A parking garage provides the necessary parking to attract additional retailers and restaurants to the downtown. Without sufficient parking, many businesses do not consider downtown a viable location. Current City Council/Redevelopment Agency Policy • To promote and revitalize the downtown area • Elements of this project were taken from the City Council San Leandro/BART Area Revitalization Strategy, as well as the Downtown Plan and Urban Design Guidelines • The San Leandro Redevelopment Agency 2004-2009 Implementation Plan includes the expansion and seismic retrofit of the two-level Estudillo-Callan Parking Garage downtown with a goal of providing increased parking for downtown businesses and customers • TOD Strategy includes the development of centralized parking facilities that contribute to pedestrian activity