Twenty years and at least $50 million in city Redevelopment
Agency funding have built Morgan Hill
’s downtown into a five-block framework for appealing shopping,
dining, strolling, parades and concerts – but many residents hardly
know it’s there.
Twenty years and at least $50 million in city Redevelopment Agency funding have built Morgan Hill’s downtown into a five-block framework for appealing shopping, dining, strolling, parades and concerts – but many residents hardly know it’s there.
Hopping off the freeway after work, they hole up at home and venture out on weekends to shop for groceries and watch their children play sports. But if they took the time to go downtown, especially on a Saturday morning, they would be surprised at how pleasant and even quaint it is.
Adventurous residents would visit the Farmers’ Market, open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. next to the soon-to-open train station café, could buy a toy, a craft or guitar, art supplies or the real thing, take a music lesson or discover one of the few independent bookstores still alive.
They could have an early breakfast or a late dinner or watch their kids play at a pocket park or the community center water feature.
The City Council, taking the public’s pulse, decided early on to concentrate on its historic downtown area, peppered with well-cared-for older buildings and newer buildings, after the earthquakes of 1984 and 1989 shook down weaker members.
During these 20 years Morgan Hill has had its ups and downs but, at the moment, downtown is poised for another upswing. The 2003 Downtown Plan proposed a vibrant future integrating shops, transportation and housing as a backbone, following current theory on revitalizing core areas. Mixed-use is the keyword and a mixture of first floor retail and restaurants with second floor commercial and housing is tailor-made for the area.
Enter Dan Craig, executive director of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, in May 2002.
“It will happen slowly,” said Craig. He had successfully shepherded the cities of Berkeley and Hollister through city core upgrades and has brought his experience to Morgan Hill.
At a recent MHDTA breakfast, interest in what was new and exciting drew 75 people most of them business owners or downtown residents.
Beginning in February when both Sinaloa’s and Maurizio’s restaurants reopened, plus the announcement that resident-investor Manou Mobedshahi had bought the Downtown Mall and taken a lease on the closed Granada Theater, all ears and eyes were peeled for news.
Craig said that what Mobedshahi ultimately decides to do with the mall and the theater will define the near future. The investor is collecting ideas of what would work best for the mall and high on his current list is an indoor, upscale market, such as one in the Rockridge area of Oakland. It is popular with customers and highly successful not only for business owners but for the city. He thinks Morgan Hill is ready to take this next step up; downtown business owners are ready, too.
“The business owners have a lot to be optimistic about right now,” Craig said.
On the drawing board or in the works for the next year: El Toro Brewpub, a sports bar called Sports Book, a juice bar, the Morgan Hill Art Guild and Gallery (which would be downtown’s second art gallery), the Poppy Jasper Film Festival (in November).
A large vacant lot on East Third Street – the old Sunsweet Packing Co. site – is being considered by the City Council as the almost perfect spot for the new library. Developers Rocke and Glenda Garcia of the Glenrock Group say the site, which they own, would offer plenty of parking available for off-hours, just when the restaurant/concert scene heats up.
In its turn, the library would draw thousands of borrowers who, once they have parked, are likely to hike up and down the street, leaving money and sales taxes behind – and having an experience not available in big box stores.
Shopping keeps California cities alive, post Proposition 13, and Morgan Hill is no different. More than $380,000 from downtown 2003 sales ended up in the general fund from the 1 percent of sales taxes paid in the city.
The general fund pays for police and fire protection, recreation programs and some city administration. More retail translates to a better shopping experience for residents and visitors and more money for city services.
One other important addition to the downtown scene will be a Santa Clara County Superior Courthouse, planned for the site just east of the railroad tracks. Craig and the city are counting on several hundred court employees to use the safe at-grade crossing behind the little depot, have lunch, buy a book or office supplies. The courthouse should come online by the end of 2005.
The Downtown Association works with merchants, the city and the Chamber of Commerce to get the word out that downtown Morgan Hill is hospitable to small businesses. Draws like the Friday Night Music Series, free outdoor concerts all summer long showcasing a total spectrum of live bands, bring in hundreds of residents, all potential new customers.
Depending on a flighty economy is never predictable or comfortable, but Morgan Hill’s downtown has the support of a dedicated organization, a committed City Council and a populace waiting for the next exciting chapter.
www.morganhilldowntown.org
