The Gateway 101 Retail Center in East Palo Alto looks like it is going to get a new name. The City Council agreed Tuesday night to adopt a name that pays homage to Ravenswood High School, which was demolished to make way for the shopping center.
It's unclear exactly what the name will be, but the City Council told staff that it wants Ravenswood to be part of that name.
"I think it would be nice to find some way to recognize it as the former high school site," said Vice Mayor Sharifa Wilson.
Another reason for the name change to Ravenswood, Wilson said, is "there are too many gateways" in the Bay Area.
"I think it is a wonderful idea," said City Council member Rose Jacobs Gibson. "I think the community would support keeping the (Ravenswood) name."
City Council member Myrtle Walker noted that Ravenswood was also the first name for the community, back in the 19th century, so the name has greater historical significance.
Ravenswood High School was closed by the Sequoia Union High School District in 1976 because of declining enrollment. East Palo Alto students now attend Menlo-Atherton and other district high schools. When Ravenswood was open, it was a focal point for the community, which didn't incorporate as a city until 1983.
"I'm supportive of it," City Council member Duane Bay said of the Ravenswood name. "I hope to live long enough to live in the city of Ravenswood," he added, noting that East Palo Alto isn't east of Palo Alto, but north of Palo Alto.
The Gateway 101 Retail Center will have four major stores and two restaurants in its first phase, totalling about 200,000 square feet. It will be located just east of the Bayshore Freeway, one block south of University Avenue.
All of the lease papers and other agreements have now been signed by the four stores (Home Depot, Office Depot, the Good Guys, and CompUSA), said Bob Beyer, the Gateway project manager for the city. The city is now waiting for approval on its bank loan of about $3.2 million, Beyer said Tuesday night.
The stores are supposed to be open sometime in 1998.
--Don Kazak
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