2A Business 2016 0523 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

small agricultural town. The City incorporated in 1872 and had grown to about 2,300 residents by 1900. Farms and orchards surrounding San Leandro produced a variety of fruits and vegetables, including cherries, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, asparagus, sugar beets, rhubarb, and apricots. San Leandro continued to grow at a moderate pace during the first 40 years of the 20th Century. Many of the neighborhoods in the northeast part of the City, such as Broadmoor and Estudillo Estates, were developed during this time period. The railroad corridors running through the City were developed with industry, while Downtown was the center for commerce and civic life. By 1940, San Leandro had 14,000 residents. Still, the town covered just a few square miles and was surrounded by farms and orchards. The 1940s and 50s were a time of transformation for the city. A development boom, initially created by the need for wartime housing and then sustained by returning veterans and their families, brought about a 350 percent increase in the city’s population in just 20 years. Much of San Leandro’s current form and character were defined during this era and nearly half of the City’s current housing stock was added. Most of the neighborhood shopping centers and the commercial strips along East 14th Street and other arterials date from this period. Despite the suburban character of the development, San Leandro emerged from the boom period as much more than a “bedroom community.” The city was among the fastest growing industrial centers in the Bay Area during the post-war years, adding 6,000 manufacturing jobs between 1947 and 1954 alone. Much of West San Leandro was developed with industry, and numerous warehousing and distribution facilities were built south of Marina Boulevard. At the same time, shopping centers such as Pelton Center and Bayfair Center made the city a thriving retail destination. The favorable balance between jobs and housing enabled San Leandro to offer a competitive tax rate and a high level of City services. The pace of growth slowed as the city reached its natural limits during the 1960s. On the east, steep hills created a barrier to large-scale development. On the west, most of the shoreline had been acquired for park uses. Established communities lay to the north and south. The focus of new development shifted to smaller infill sites, including abandoned greenhouses and nurseries, and other properties that had been bypassed during the boom years. By the 1980s, other factors had begun to shape the San Leandro. The Bay Area’s economic base shifted from manufacturing to services and technology, and many traditional industries left the city. As the thousands of families who moved to San Leandro during the 1940s and 50s matured, school enrollment dropped and several schools were closed and redeveloped with housing. The percentage of senior citizens in the city increased from six percent in 1960 to 20 percent by 1990, giving San Leandro the highest median age in Alameda County. Local retailers were impacted by these changes and further by competition from new suburban malls.