The East Palo Alto City Council continued its push Tuesday to bring retail business back to the city by approving a move to develop the vacant site that used to be the Nairobi Shopping Center.
The Council, meeting as the Redevelopment Agency, unanimously approved a resolution calling on city staff to seek a "master developer" for the 20-acre plot at University Avenue and Bay Road known as the Four Corners project.
Mayor Sharifa Wilson urged that the site, which presently has two owners, be developed as a "unified" project.
The once-thriving Nairobi Shopping Center, built in 1957, became a symbol of East Palo Alto's deterioration during the 1980s, as drug addicts and the homeless occupied vacated storefronts. The remains of the center were finally demolished in 1989.
The site is currently divided into two parcels, one owned by San Mateo County and the other by Wilma Manuel. Though the Manuel family opposed tearing down the remaining buildings four years ago, she reportedly is willing to work with the city on future development plans.
"We want to outline a process for selecting a qualified developer," said Vice Mayor Bill Vines, who is also head of the redevelopment agency. "We want to have community involvement in the project."
The project could potentially draw in a large grocery, a bank, other retail stores and multi-family housing.
As this latest development plan was launched, the Council members passed two measures to move the Gateway 101 project into high gear. They authorized city staff to more actively pursue contacts with groups who might serve as "master developers" of the retail center proposed near the intersection of Highway 101 and University Avenue.
"We'd like to get some direction for the project," said Vines. "There has been no direction such that we can bring back proposals" to the agency.
According to Robert Beyer, the redevelopment agency's executive director, developers have shown "renewed interest" over the past month and a half in the site. Officials hope that the area, now home to the former Ravenswood High School site and other buildings, will be turned into 500,000 square feet of retail and commercial space.
They also approved a marketing plan for Gateway 101 that they hope will lure potential retailers to the project.
But several Council members expressed growing restlessness with the pace of the project. Rose Jacobs Gibson said the search for a qualified developer should be placed on "the fast track."
The evening meeting ended on a positive note, as Agency Counsel Steve Goldfarb announced that as of 5 p.m. Tuesday, the deadline for filing lawsuits opposing the Gateway 101 project had passed without a single suit being filed. Goldfarb said this was the first development project in the city's history which has faced no lawsuits.
--Jeff Israely
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