Reso 2001-021 RDA 2001-003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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cessful, mix of traditional Downtown and shopping center environments. The termination of Estudillo Street to accommodate the Washington Plaza project severely interrupted the grid street pattern, replacing traditional build- ing patterns and introducing large expanses of parking unfriendly to pedes- trians. Within the last decade or so, Downtown San Leandro uses have largely evolved into neighborhood retail commercial, such as grocery and pharma- ceutical sales, with discount or "lower end" retail and service uses. While Downtown has become a financial center for the City, traditional dining establishments have declined, and services are "spotty," i.e. there are an over- abundance of hair salons and banks, but not enough sit-down restaurants, night-time entertainment and specialty retail. Nevertheless, Downtown San Leandro continues to exhibit significant strengths as a retail and financial center for the City. Those strengths are as follows: Dozvntosvn Strengths • A safe, friendly environment in which to shop • A unique collection of buildings with different architectural history and pedestrian scale • A Downtown in close proximity to neighborhoods • Good population base - 94,400 within a 2-mile radius of Down- town • Existing major retailers -Safeway, Lucky's, Longs • Serves as a banking /Financial center for the region • Excellent vehicular access with generous parking • Strong Downtown Business Association and Chamber of Com- merce support • Strong office and industrial employment base immediately adja- cent to Downtown Issues To Be Addressed In spite of these many strengths, the preparation of this Plan has identi- fied anumber of issues to be addressed by the City and the community. They are as follows: • The retail and service mix currently provided in the Downtown do not meet buyers' expectations; there is an unmet need for higher ~, end specialty retail, sit-down restaurants, and mode entertainment (nighttime/weekend activity) uses. • Significant property owner investment is needed for existing Downtown buildings in order to attract the higher end tenant mix desired by the City. Efforts must be made to demonstrate how individual building owner's can financially benefit from upgrading their buildings. • Pedestrian linkages eliminated by the introduction of shopping San Leandro Downtown Plan & Urban Design Guidelines October 2000 page 9