Reawakening its efforts to determine the best layout for a
possible remake of Monterey Road through downtown Morgan Hill, the
city will conduct a community meeting next week to gather input on
the short list of options.
Reawakening its efforts to determine the best layout for a possible remake of Monterey Road through downtown Morgan Hill, the city will conduct a community meeting next week to gather input on the short list of options.
Following a series of similar, open-house style meetings late last year, the city council in February narrowed the list of five concepts down to three.
Those options will be presented to the public from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, at the Community and Cultural Center, 17000 Monterey Road.
The purpose of the workshop is to “address the community’s priorities for this important segment of road,” according to downtown redevelopment consultant David Heindel of HMG Real Estate.
Specifically, those options are a two-lane configuration and two four-lane designs, including one that would be a “hybrid” containing a mix of dimensions for the sidewalks, median and other amenities that were proposed last year.
The hybrid option could open up the median in some areas and taper it down in others, for example, or even close off a block to motor vehicles, along the seven-block stretch of roadway under consideration for redevelopment, according to previous discussion among council members and city staff.
The other two options were chosen from a list of designs compiled by consultant Callander Associates, who the redevelopment agency hired at a cost of $245,000 last year to conduct public outreach and present possible designs with a variety of downtown-style features such as bike lane, sidewalk, outdoor cafe space, and median options.
Previous cost estimates indicated the existing four-lane configuration could cost $4 million to $7 million to cover improvements, and the two-lane option kept open by the council could cost $6 million to $10 million.
City staff and consultants will present a report on the community’s feedback to the city council in October.
The potential redesign of Monterey Road is part of the city’s ongoing efforts to enact its downtown specific plan, which envisions downtown Morgan Hill as a spot where residents can live, work and play with easy access to a variety of sustainable transportation options. It also hopes to attract visitors to the downtown.
The city is currently negotiating exclusively with potential developers to revitalize three downtown properties. City Ventures has shown interest in redeveloping the property at the corner of Monterey Road and Second Street that currently houses Royal Clothier. The city wants to build a new multi-screen cinema there.
City Ventures is also negotiating with the city to redevelop the “Depot Center” property at the corner of Depot Street and Third Street, which houses BookSmart, Jesus restaurant, MHAT studios and other tenants.
The city’s Downtown Economic Development Corporation owns the Royal Clothier site, and owns a $1.7-million option to purchase the Depot Center property from current owner Llagas Valley Investments.
Furthermore, the city is in talks with Stephen R. Pace of Lonestar Development to negotiate a possible development agreement for the former site of Simple Beverages at the corner of Monterey and Third streets. The EDC owns that property.
