The few Morgan Hill residents who have shown up to voice their
preferences for downtown redevelopment have remained consistent in
their desire for a high-end grocery store (especially a Whole
Foods), specialty markets, ethnic restaurants, and a
traditional
”
Main Street
”
style of architecture.
The few Morgan Hill residents who have shown up to voice their preferences for downtown redevelopment have remained consistent in their desire for a high-end grocery store (especially a Whole Foods), specialty markets, ethnic restaurants, and a traditional “Main Street” style of architecture.
About 40 people attended the last of two community engagement meetings Thursday held by Barry Swenson Builder, the San Jose company that was selected by the city council to redevelop two downtown properties.
The purpose of the meeting was to gather input on the design and occupants of two projects on Monterey Road totaling about $40 million that BSB will be commissioned by the city to build.
One of the properties, on the 17400 block of Monterey Road, currently contains the empty Granada Theater, Downtown Mall and Morgan Hill Cigar Company. The other property, the 17300 block on the corner of Monterey Road and Second Street, houses Royal Clothiers.
The city’s Redevelopment Agency owns both properties.
Following presentations by the builder, city staff and community focus group Beyond Measure A, attendees were asked to write their preferences for retail tenants on the new projects on sticky notes, which were attached to poster boards circling the back of the room.
The builder also asked attendees to state their preference among four types of exterior building designs – traditional, modern, Spanish and industrial.
A similar meeting held by BSB drew about 50 people June 30. The builder will use the information gathered at both meetings to draw design proposals, which will be presented to the public at an Oct. 2 community meeting.
The city and BSB are currently in the “exclusive negotiating” process for the redevelopment projects. The parties hope to complete the negotiations for the price of the properties by the end of 2010. After the negotiations, the city and builder will work on an agreement in which the city will sell the properties to BSB, while the builder will agree to build what the city wants.
The current proposal, and the city council’s stated desire, is for a multi-level mixed-use building on the Granada Theater site, with retail stores – including a grocery store – on the ground floor and condominium-style housing on the upper floors.
On the corner of Monterey Road and Second Street, the city wants to develop a multi-screen cinema with about 10 housing units.
At Thursday’s meeting, BSB vice president Jeff Current said the housing upstairs from the theater will likely be “loft-style” rental properties, because there could be a conflict of use between a noisy movie theater and many potential downtown inhabitants.
The residences on both sites would range in size from about 750 to 1,300 square feet, Current said.
The city and builder also want the exterior designs of both projects to present a “continuous frontage” of a variety of specialty retail, dining and entertainment establishments, assistant to the city manager David Heindel said.
Current added that 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.
In a series of surveys and polls conducted among residents, Beyond Measure A found that local people reached a consensus on a number of ideas for downtown redevelopment, according to Julie Hutcheson. Beyond Measure A is a group of community members who has conducted a series of workshops with a variety of residents to determine their vision for what downtown Morgan Hill should be as the city proceeds through the lengthy redevelopment process.
Areas of consensus the group uncovered include the desire for a variety of “wants-and-need” shops, affordable shopping options, and shopping and entertainment options that connect people with each other and with business owners downtown.
Construction on the projects is not expected to begin before 2012.
