{COMMERCIAL REVITALIZATION}

The city limits are crossed by commercial corridors which also serve as important travel routes. Their appearance affects the image of the two communities and can either deter or enhance further investment. They are also the districts where shopping and other services can be best located for the nearby neighborhoods. Along MacArthur Boulevard, and on International Boulevard/East 14th Street, there are large, underutilized commercial sites — Foothill Square and Durant Square, respectively — which could become the focus of revitalization efforts near the city limits.

MacArthur Boulevard & Foothill Square

1. The cities of Oakland and San Leandro will agree on complimentary streetscape improvements for the MacArthur Boulevard corridor between 105th Street in Oakland and Dutton Avenue in San Leandro. This will cover street trees, lighting, banners and other related improvements, and will build on the work already done by both cities on MacArthur Boulevard.


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2. The cities will conduct a walking tour of the areas for staff members and elected officials. This tour will be a starting point for targeted and coordinated use of existing programs such as code enforcement, small business loans, facade upgrades and neighborhood clean up efforts.

3. The cities will meet with the private property owners and business owners in this corridor to catalogue the reasons for the high vacancy rate and underutilization. The cities will apply for a grant to retain a consultant to perform a market niche analysis to determine what kinds of retail and/or services can realistically be supported in this area. Based on that analysis, the cities can develop an “outreach” or attraction program to market the area to suitable businesses and developers. Specifically included in this program is a “repositioning” strategy for Foothill Square, which should include consideration of offices/services and housing, in addition to retail. If housing is included, adjustments to existing zoning will likely be required.
International Blvd. / East 14th Street & Durant Square

4. The cities will agree on complimentary streetscape improvements for the International Boulevard/East 14th Street corridor between 105th Street in Oakland and City Hall in San Leandro. This will cover street trees, lighting, banners and other related improvements. The theme will continue to be “international”; a new entry statement will be considered for the Oakland side of the city limits to emphasize cooperation between the two cities rather than such a pronounced boundary.




5. The cities will work with the private property owners and business owners in this corridor to catalogue the reasons for the high vacancy rate and underutilization. The cities will cooperatively discuss resources, emphasizing the wide range of existing programs available to assist property owners in improving this area. Specifically included in this discussion will be strategies for Durant Square, which should include consideration of offices/services and housing, in addition to retail, the “Lloyd Wise” site, the and “Cox Chrysler/Plymouth” site.

{East 14th Street Corridor}

{Durant Square}

6. The cities will apply to ABAG for a grant to fund items 1, 3, and 4 above.

7. In the longer term, other corridors that cross the city limits should be similarly analyzed and improved cooperatively. Of special note are Bancroft Avenue and San Leandro Boulevard.

8. The cities will catalogue and cooperatively use their existing improvement programs that are complimentary to one another; these will include, at a minimum, facade improvement programs and small business loans. The cities will jointly target properties in the corridor on both sides of the city limits.

9. The cities will continue to apply their code enforcement programs in these areas. The code enforcement staff will work together to target problems on both sides of the city limits to better reinforce one another’s efforts.

10. The cities of Oakland and San Leandro will institute a program for targeted commercial corridors through which art will be displayed in windows of vacant storefronts.
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jmc 08/31/98