Residents concerned, worried, fretting, suffering angst, or
downright in a tizzy over the proposed redevelopment of about two
blocks of downtown need to keep two things in mind.
Residents concerned, worried, fretting, suffering angst, or downright in a tizzy over the proposed redevelopment of about two blocks of downtown need to keep two things in mind.
First, the city can’t force a business to move to Morgan Hill and second, the city can’t prevent one from moving in that meets city requirements.
It’s good to see the community come out to let Barry Swenson Builders know what it is they want to see downtown, though with fewer than 100 over two meetings, it represents a small fraction of the population. That’s distressing.
The San Jose-based builder conducted the meeting at the Community and Cultural Center June 30 and July 8 to solicit input from the public on the design and occupants of two projects on Monterey Road totaling about $40-million they will be commissioned by the city to build.
Those preferences ranged from the general to the specific, with the names of national chains such as Cheesecake Factory, sporting goods store REI, Whole Foods and high-end Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse listed.
Other suggestions included a bike shop, a multi-purpose meeting facility, a seasonal indoor sports facility, a shoe store, an ice cream shop, among others and “no fast food.”
Jeff Current, vice president of BSB, said the builder would like to attract a boutique grocery store such as Whole Foods or New Leaf as an “anchor tenant” on Monterey Road and First Street.
Those are all good ideas, but we need to keep in mind that neither the city nor BSB can force those firms to move to Morgan Hill unless they themselves determine the demographics they need are in place.
What the city and BSB can do is show prospective business owners a plan that meets their needs and helps convince them that opening in downtown Morgan Hill is a good idea.
