http://www.chum.ws - Part 1 of 2. Broadway/Valdez District Specific Plan - Community Meeting #2 - July 9th, 2009 - 7/7/09.
Oakland has long been one of the nations largest underserved trade areas for comparison goods. Comparison goods are defined as merchandise sold in apparel; department, specialty (such as jewelry shops and gift stores) and home furnishing stores for which consumers typically shop by comparing quality and prices. Unlike other mid-size cities that draw shoppers from surrounding areas, Oakland stores do not even serve the demand from its own residents. Oakland currently exports 75% of its potential sales in this category or roughly $1 billion in sales every year to neighboring communities. While the City has many fine merchants, it lacks many larger retailers and a critical mass of retail selection. This dearth of retail options discourage residents from shopping locally. This directly diminishes Oaklands tax base that supports road maintenance, clean parks, and functional city services.
To address retail leakage, the City of Oakland has completed a year-plus-long Citywide Retail Enhancement Strategy (Implementation Plan), composed of four components. In December 2007, the Oakland City Council reviewed Phase I of the Strategy and endorsed the preferred alternative of the Upper Broadway Strategy A Component of the Oakland Retail (Report) and directed staff to develop a Specific Plan for the area.
Phases II and III of the Strategy looked at the 53 retail nodes (other than Broadway) around the city to develop a profile of each including demographic and sales tax trends, opportunities and what role they play in Oakland's retail scene. Five (combined to four) "exemplar" nodes were further analyzed to develop retail enhancement strategies which can be used in the exemplar nodes and elsewhere.
The Broadway/Valdez District Specific Plan represents an effort to guide City officials in developing strategies to provide destination retail and mixed use development along Broadway between 23rd Street and Interstate 580 (Project Area Map). Broadway is viewed as the Citys Main Street and is significant due to its proximity to downtown, its location near two BART stations, a major AC transit bus route, as well as its relationship to adjacent residential neighborhoods, the adjacent medical campuses of Kaiser (Plan) and Summit/Alta Bates (Plan), the successful existing Piedmont Avenue retail street, Telegraph Avenue, the revitalization of Uptown, and a variety of development project in the plan area and the edge of Lake Merritt. The Upper Broadway Strategy estimates that potential development of this 10.5 acre section of Broadway could result in approximately 453,000 square feet of retail space and 834 residential units with estimated revenue generating floor area of 1.37 million square feet with the potential to create $1.7 million annually in sales tax revenue.
The Broadway/Valdez District Specific Plan will be developed in a three-phase process over approximately a two year period which began in January 2009. Through a series of community stakeholder meeting and public workshops hosted by the city of Oakland, citizens will be encouraged to be involved at every stage developing the project goals, planning concepts and validating the final Plan. Recommendations will then be forwarded to the Landmarks Advisory Board, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission, and the Oakland Planning Commission for final review and City Council for its adoption. Reviews of the Plans environmental impacts are required and will occur during the later stages of the plan development process.
Benefits to the Specific Plan include:
• Creating a level of certainty to both the community and developers by providing a framework to support development and enhancement of existing resources
• Balancing land-use goals with environmental, economic, preservation and quality of life related interests
• Provisions for improved, sustainable infrastructure (utilities, roads, and parks)
• Providing a certified environmental document which will expedite the entitlements process
Video filmed & produced by Shaun Tai for SHAUN TAI Films, 925.297.9370, @shaun_tai, shaun@shauntaifilms.com
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MARKET DEMAND Analysis - Part 2, 7/7/09, Broadway/Valdez District (Oakland) Public Workshopby shaunmtai596 views
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