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Action 4.6: Neighborhood Shopping Center Enhancement and Consolidation The quality of neighborhood shopping centers can have a significant effect on the perception of the quality of San Leandro's residential areas. Shopping centers that are attractive in appearance and busy with retailers that provide goods and services that residents desire can be a valuable amenity for the neighborhoods in which they are located. Conversely. shopping centers that are in deteriorating condition. and lack sufficient retail activity for their size (i.e.. low occupancy rates) are an inefficient use of land and can contribute to blighting and nuisance conditions. In addition to several neighborhood shopping centers which are operating very marginally, there signs of obsolescence along portions of the E. 14th Street commercial corridor. These conditions are largely the result of retail activity that was once concentrated along E. l4th and in the neighborhood centers shifting to newer community and regional shopping centers. This action calls for the Cite to undertake an overall neighborhood shopping center enhancement and conversion strategy, which would target obsolete neighborhood shopping centers for conversion to other uses and target other viable neighborhood centers for consolidation and enhancement of retail selection. The first step in this conversion process would be to contact property owners to ascertain their long-term plans and to educate them about the Citv's objectives for transition. Alonz with this. the City should conduct a store -by -store analvsis of sales volumes in centers and areas targeted for transition in order to identify which stores individually appear to be viable. and which shopping centers or nodes along E. 14th Street appear to be viable. Other key indicators of non -viable centers would include chronic excessive vacancies. lack of appropriate neighborhood serving retailers. and deteriorating physical condition. Strategic planning for shopping center conversion will be best accomplished in concert with an overall update of the Cin General Plan. In this way, new uses for old shopping centers can be integrated with the overall development blueprint for the Citv to encourage complementary uses next to converted centers. and supporting uses next to retail centers targeted for retention. In some cases. conversion of obsolete shopping centers might not necessarily involve a complete elimination of all retail. but could include "right -sizing" the amount of retail space and re -tenanting to better fit with neighborhood demand for convenience goods and services. The Cit\ could undertake most of the predevelopment work necessary to prepare the targeted shopping areas for reuse, including conducting a market and financial feasibility analvsis. preparing a land use plan. and granting the entitlements. such as rezoning and or ne,� General Plan designations necessary to alloy\ the new proposed land uses. A relocation strateg\ should also be developed for any existing tenants that are still viable and could benefit from movin! to a ne-.+ location. As appropriate, the City could also develop a financing plan for the reuse process that would address ways in which new 63 2�i