The Next Nine Months

Evening Armory Park residents,

At the most recent Downtown Neighborhoods and Residents Council, I learned that there are a great number of projects, of all shapes and sizes, that will either hit significant mile posts, break ground, or be completed within the next nine months. I’ve included a list here to give you a taste of what’s to come, for better or worse:

• The Citizen-Advisory-Council portion of Downtown Links will be nearly complete by December, with 90% of the plans drawn.
• The Streetcar will be up and running, with a grand whistle-stop ceremony on July 25.
• The City Bond Selection Committee will largely be complete by October or November.
• The Bournes Project at Stone and Broadway will be built-out.
• The apartments at 16th and Stone will be under construction.
• The hotel at 5th and Broadway, with an estimated 150 rooms, will be under construction.
• The Johnny Gibson Market will be running by December.
• The Request for Proposals for the Ronstadt Transit Center will be come due in August (I think).
• The 9 acre Request for Proposals by Rio Nuevo will be back in one month.
• The Norville’s Project (a plan to build an exhibition hall where the temporary gem show tents go up) will either be under construction or fall apart.
• The Eckbo Fountain may or may not be added to the County Bond Package.
• La Placita may have changed hands.
• The Request for Proposals for development on the West side of the Santa Cruz should be out.
• The Paseo Redondo Request for Proposal may be out by then.
• Pizzeria Bianco will be open in a few weeks.
• Beyond Bread might be coming downtown.
• Three other letters of intent have been submitted for other businesses coming downtown, and in nine months, downtown will have filled all of its current retail space.
• The Gadsen Company will be breaking ground on working-class housing downtown.
• Wig-Orama will be back in business in their former location.
• Roy Place will be complete in the next three to four months.
• The space near Ikes may become home to an architecture firm coming downtown.
• The County Courthouse will be complete.
• More streetscape improvements—shade, murals, planting, etc—will be in place to for the Streetcar opening.

This is a rough list of everything going on, and I’m sure I’ve missed something. Nevertheless, I thought you all might like to know what’s going down. Should be a wild time.

Best,

-Grant