The (seemingly) never ending saga of the San Ramon City Center

The City of San Ramon, which incorporated in 1983, has been attempting to create a “City Center” for years. Prompted by the success of downtown Danville and Pleasanton, and the recent resurgence of downtown Livermore, the city has long sought to create a “downtown” area for San Ramon.

First it was going to be in the Crow Canyon/San Ramon Valley Blvd area, which contains many older industrial buildings and small retail businesses. But (stop me if you have heard this before) as funding became an issue, they moved to plan B, which was to construct a city center on 40 acres of land in Bishop Ranch along Bollinger Canyon Road near the current civic center and park. But the dream of a city owned center with cultural, civic, and community ammenities is again being modified. The current proposal is for a mixed use project with public ammenities combined with retail and residential projects to help defray the cost. And not everyone is happy about it.

The $750 million plan will be financed through a deal between the city and Sunset, the details of which are still being worked out.

Instead of the city shouldering expenses up front, revenue from rent, the sale of housing units and other project profits will be shared with the developer.

Former councilman Jerry Cambra, who was a strong advocate for the previous civic-centered plan, said he was confident the current council will listen to, and abide by, the wishes of residents at the multitude of upcoming meetings.

“The residents will definitely tell them whether they think it’s a good plan or not,” he said. “Everyone has an idea of what should go where, but in the end, you always have to pay for it. … You have to find a balance.”

Desmarais vows that the issue will play a part in the next election.

“They’re not working in the best interest of the city,” he said. “There’s some other factor. Come election time, there’s going to be a shake-up.” The $750 million plan will be financed through a deal between the city and Sunset, the details of which are still being worked out.

Instead of the city shouldering expenses up front, revenue from rent, the sale of housing units and other project profits will be shared with the developer.

Former councilman Jerry Cambra, who was a strong advocate for the previous civic-centered plan, said he was confident the current council will listen to, and abide by, the wishes of residents at the multitude of upcoming meetings.

“The residents will definitely tell them whether they think it’s a good plan or not,” he said. “Everyone has an idea of what should go where, but in the end, you always have to pay for it. … You have to find a balance.”

Desmarais vows that the issue will play a part in the next election.

“They’re not working in the best interest of the city,” he said. “There’s some other factor. Come election time, there’s going to be a shake-up.”

Thanks to the success of Santana Row in San Jose, the high-end mixed use retail and residential project with an urban flair, other cities are duplicating the formula. Dublin has similar projects on the drawing board, and you can expect to see other cities follow suit. And now San Ramon appears to be drawing from that formula to create a city center that generates revenue to offset the substantial cost, and blends shopping, a movie theatre, and hotel with community ammenities like the new city hall.

Stay tuned….

Courtesy of the Contra Costa Times.