Downtown planning
Salinas Growth Spurt Bypasses Downtown, But Plans Persist
Submitted by Paul Shigley on 25 February 2010 - 10:40amSalinas is the blue-collar workhorse of Monterey County and the center of a wealthy agricultural region. But unlike its sister cities on the nearby Monterey Peninsula, Salinas has a downtown that is devoid of upscale restaurants and boutique hotels.
Although it is home to the National Steinbeck Center, a museum honoring the Nobel laureate and Salinas resident John Steinbeck, downtown Salinas has never taken off. Instead, the community has sprawled out on the fertile farmland that surrounds it.
Ready-Made Downtown Planned For Otay Ranch
Submitted by Paul Shigley on 9 February 2010 - 1:47pmThis is a message to all California cities: Take your hats off to Chula Vista. This city of 210,000 people between San Diego and the Mexican border has adopted a plan for an all-new downtown in the Otay Ranch district that makes most other downtown plans seem tentative and incomplete. Perhaps another California community has the political will to approve something equally forward-looking; for the time being, the Otay Ranch Eastern Urban Center is among the plans that are raising the proverbial bar in city planning.
Suisun City Redevelopment Advances Into Second Phase
Submitted by Paul Shigley on 15 July 2009 - 2:20pmTen years ago, Suisun City was one of the nation’s great redevelopment success stories. Plagued by violent, drug-dealing gangs, it literally bulldozed their strongholds to make room for a fancy civic center. The city reclaimed its neglected waterfront and approved the construction of hundreds of homes in a traditional neighborhood development.
The Solano County city became a case study for planners, new urbanists and journalists. But all the success and awards have not lessened a feeling that Suisun City’s redevelopment still has a long ways to go.
Morgan Hill Voters Endorse Downtown Development
Submitted by Paul Shigley on 20 May 2009 - 2:37pmVoters in the Santa Clara County city of Morgan Hill have changed their minds and approved a growth control modification to permit additional housing development in the downtown area. Measure A keeps in place Morgan Hill’s population cap of 48,000 by 2020, but permits 500 more units downtown than had been allowed.
San Leandro Embraces Its Past, Present And Future
Submitted by Paul Shigley on 31 March 2009 - 11:09amDowntown San Leandro is clearly in transition. A working-class city with a large industrial base located just south of Oakland, San Leandro’s suburban past and its more urban future are present at the same time. Now, the city has big plans to transform its downtown into a truly urban, pedestrian-oriented place that takes full advantage of the BART station and a planned bus rapid transit line.
Downtown L.A.: The Rise, Fall And Plateau
Submitted by Paul Shigley on 2 March 2009 - 12:28pmMore than 30 years ago, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley dreamed on an economically dominant downtown that would be on par with great downtowns like those in Chicago and San Francisco. Although Bradley's dream never came true, downtown L.A. has become a great residential neighborhood and a significant office market. It's easy to argue, though, that developers and market forces ultimately played a bigger role than government or public policy in downtown's evolution since the 1970s.
New Grid, Old Tracks Aid Santa Rosa
Submitted by Paul Shigley on 5 September 2008 - 12:52pmStem-cell therapy and urban design have little in common, or so I thought, until I saw Dan Solomon’s design for New Railroad Square in Santa Rosa. In the San Francisco architect’s plan for the former rail yards in downtown Santa Rosa, the typical block from the older sections of Santa Rosa takes the role of the healthy cell. The imported block, with its small dimensions, helps weave the New Railroad Square project into the fabric of the historic downtown.
Arts Gain A Foothold In Downtown Modesto
Submitted by Paul Shigley on 2 July 2008 - 11:49amIt has taken 25 years, but various government and private investments have turned downtown Modesto into a center for the arts, entertainment and dining. Still, there is a long way to go before downtown is completely "back" from the dead.
San Ramon City Center: Dressed Up But Going Nowhere
Submitted by Paul Shigley on 2 July 2008 - 10:38amSan Ramon City Center is an ambitious, 39-acre mixed-use project in the Contra Costa County city of 50,000 people. CP&DR Contributing Editor Morris Newman doesn't think much of the project, but he concedes that he might be asking for a little too much.
Rob Maguire: L.A. Dealmaker Leaves Mark Downtown
Submitted by Paul Shigley on 29 May 2008 - 9:55amAlmost 30 years ago, an ambitious young developer named Rob Maguire created an audacious proposal for the greatest development project never built in downtown Los Angeles. Responding to a request from the Community Redevelopment Agency for a development plan atop Bunker Hill, Maguire put together a magnificent team – including most of the leading architects and planners of the day – and proposed combining a reconstruction of Bunker Hill’s historic urban fabric with a few tall office towers.
The project was never built, but it wasn’t long before Maguire set the tone for big-time development in L.A.