Gilroy
– In a few years, downtown Gilroy could be home to more than 500
residents.
And if all goes as planned by the Downtown Task Force, many of
those residents also will work and shop downtown.
James Suner, president of the Gilroy Downtown Association and
vice chair of the task force, said about 20 projects are either
approved to go in downtown or are under discussion. More than
three-fourths of those developments will have residential units,
Suner said.
Gilroy – In a few years, downtown Gilroy could be home to more than 500 residents.
And if all goes as planned by the Downtown Task Force, many of those residents also will work and shop downtown.
James Suner, president of the Gilroy Downtown Association and vice chair of the task force, said about 20 projects are either approved to go in downtown or are under discussion. More than three-fourths of those developments will have residential units, Suner said.
“Once we break ground and the buildings are under construction, more interest will be generated,” Suner said. “Things are really beginning to take off.”
Combining living, working and shopping into one development – called a mixed-use development – is the pulse behind the vision task force members have for downtown.
Typically, mixed-use developments have retail on the ground floor, professional offices on the second floor and residential units on the upper floors. The result is a constant flow of people living, working and shopping in the same area, Suner said.
“Once you get all these different types of developments working together and working in tandem, they create this synergy between them and it just takes off,” he said.
The biggest mixed-use development slated for downtown, to be complete in 2007, is South County Housing’s refurbishing of the old cannery site near Monterey and Lewis streets. The project will build 200 residential units as well as an office and retail complex.
On seven acres south of Platinum Theatres on Monterey Road another mixed-use development will be built, including 80 to 100 residential units and between 15 and 20 commercial and office units. The residential units will be workforce housing for police officers, firefighters, teachers and other professionals who want to live in Gilroy but can’t afford most of the current housing, Suner said.
Smaller mixed-use developments scattered throughout downtown, such as a project adjacent to the Strand Theatre on Monterey Street, will add a few more residential units.
“We’re absolutely encouraged,” Suner said. “Up to this point, almost everything has been in the paperwork stage. It’s mostly been conceptual. But as we start occupying some of these units, we’ll start to really see some of these changes that we’ve been working so hard for.”
The city council selected eight members in early 2003 to form the Downtown Task Force, which is working on a specific plan to present the planning commission and city council by the end of next year, Suner said.
The document will propose a variety of downtown standards and ideas including parking requirements, design guidelines and land uses.
“We’re in the heart of the specific plan process now,” Suner said.
The plan should be complete by June, and it will then go through an Environmental Impact Review before reaching planning commission and council.
In the meantime, Suner said, the city has been cooperative in working with the task force to implement new ideas downtown.
For example, the city waived its development impact fees for businesses wanting to move to downtown Gilroy. The city also made efforts to improve the Monterey streetscape with new pavement, curbs, landscaped medians and lamps.
“They have listened to the advisory boards and implemented everything we’ve asked for, and now, we’re seeing the results of that,” Suner said.
To help shape the plan for downtown Gilroy, task force members are taking a look at other cities with thriving downtowns, such as Pleasanton. Later this month, task force members along with Mayor Al Pinheiro and the city’s planning director Bill Faus will visit downtown San Jose.
Seeing firsthand what makes other downtowns tick helps spur new ideas for Gilroy, Suner said.
“We look at the importance of the residential component, the streetscape, and what role a Business Improvement District plays in promoting and marketing downtown,” he said. “We also look at the different dynamics between developers, tenants, business owners and city staff. We all have to mesh and be on the same page to achieve the goal of a vibrant downtown.”
Pinheiro, who has made downtown one of his priorities since being elected in 2003, said interest in downtown has gone up considerably since he hosted a mayor’s forum in July. The meeting was intended to encourage merchants to not give up on a renewed downtown.
“I’m very excited about what’s happening,” Pinheiro said. “I continue to talk to business owners and building owners and instill in them the opportunity to help revitalize our downtown.”
Additionally, South Valley Disposal and Recycling recently donated $5,000 to the Downtown Association to go toward cleaning up downtown including neighborhoods and alleys, Suner said. About $40,000 in the association’s budget will go to steam cleaning sidewalks and repairing landscaped medians.
“There’s a lot of time and effort going into the appearance of downtown,” Suner said.
As downtown business owners start seeing some of the changes, Suner said he hopes they’ll feel more encouraged about a revitalized downtown.
Eli Collier at the Wize Owl Bookstore on Sixth and Monterey streets, which recently had three days of record-breaking sales, said one of the biggest challenges for downtown is getting the buildings filled.
“It’s coming along, slowly but surely,” he said. “It takes a long time. We’ve got to get some of these buildings going.”
On the bookstore’s counter is a sheet of paper that customers are encouraged to fill with suggestions of what they’d most like to see downtown. The suggestions are passed along to developer and downtown task force member Gary Walton, Collier said.
Some ideas include more bakeries, fish markets, flower shops, cleaner windows and sidewalks, toy stores and more live music.
While not all of the suggestions can be incorporated, Suner said he’s looking forward to seeing what will unfold downtown.
“The sky’s the limit,” he said. “In five years, you won’t even recognize downtown. It will be transformed.”
What’s coming to downtown Gilroy?
• Retail/office structure with an open pedestrian courtyard on the southeast corner of Fourth and Monterey streets
• Full-service real estate and mortgage broker office on the southwest corner of Fourth and Monterey streets
• Two-story retail complex and single-story commercial building between Third and Fourth streets on Monterey
• 200 mixed-income residential units and an office/retail complex, at the old cannery site near Lewis and Monterey streets
• Housing/retail structure at Monterey and Lewis streets, next to the Strand Theater
• 80 to 100 units of workforce housing and 15 to 20 commercial and office units on seven acres south of Platinum Theatres
