The long-neglected C Street corridor was finally given proper attention on April 20 during a Master Plan public workshop for the street, facilitated by the Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC) and held at the Westgate Hotel.
District 2 Councilman Kevin Faulconer kicked off the event.
“We have seen the tremendous activity that’s happening south of Broadway, in the Marina area and the ballpark, and there’s lots of great stuff happening, but we need help here on C Street,” Faulconer said. “We need focus and attention to this area.”
The current ills of C Street are numerous. Crime is particularly frequent, and because the narrow street serves as a major part of the MTS trolley route, automobile access is spotty and non-continuous. Blocks vary from trolley only to single-car lanes and double-car lanes. Also, C Street provides access to garages, dumpsters and service areas due to lack of service lanes, giving it a backstreet feel. Retail is largely absent, with boarded-up fronts and legitimate blights in their place.
“The primary focus of the C Street Master Plan is to create a general vision for the physical and economic transformation of the C Street corridor, all the way from India Street at the One America Plaza transit stop to Smart Corner at the City College transit stop” said Garry Papers, CCDC spokesman. He readily indicated that C Street needs help with transit, garage access, utilities, and other issues, saying the project is “more than just street trees and pavement.”
The workshop was just the first in a series of meetings. Future public discussions are tentatively scheduled to take place in mid-June and mid-August, during which the public will prioritize their concerns. With its central location, any new plan for C Street must work for the next 25 years. Papers and CCDC hope to get approval and recommendation from the city by the end of this year.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP, an architecture and urban design firm secured by CCDC, presented their recommendations. They advocate private amenities to eliminate blight and upgrade quality of life.
Ellen Lou of Skidmore repeatedly advocated a vibrant environment, which would consist of encouraging upgrades and rehabilitation of historic downtown buildings for a more efficient, pleasant and safe corridor.
Skidmore’s ideas included upgrading trolley service, building a continuous automobile lane and attractive, comfortable sidewalks, with spaces for retail activities. However, all of these improvements would require 100-plus feet from building to building, but there is currently only 80 feet available.
During prior stakeholder interviews, crime and safety came up over and over again. While support was strong for public transit, many admitted the trolley has a negative impact as well. Restoration of places like the California Theatre at Fourth Avenue and C Street were also a priority.
The interviews also asked what people imagine C Street to look like. The response was a vision similar to Fifth Avenue, but with fewer bars and restaurants and stronger retail. This would entail removing the many unsightly barriers and planters along the street. Businesses would consist of hospitality, cultural institutions, offices and community retail. Stakeholders are also looking for opportunities for art, playgrounds and areas to bring people together.
“C Street should be a vibrant corridor that strings together housing, offices, the city center area, as well as other new uses and cultural institutions,” Lou said.
“Familiarity breeds contempt,” a worker long employed around C Street remarked at the workshop.
“I’ve been frustrated by this area for a long time.” He then reasoned that poor confidence in the area is responsible for the shape it’s in as development has blossomed all around it. He attributed the lack of investment to the city sending mixed signals about the area’s function.
The pendulum of suggestions also swung toward the unorthodox. One woman argued that C Street should be a fun, interesting and exciting place. Her main idea consisted of looking at Zurich, Switzerland’s gastro tram, a dining train wildly decorated and dedicated on a loop around downtown.
Other comments were more blunt and practical. One man drew the most nodding heads of the evening when he stated, “C Street can have all the planters, all the streetscape, and it’s not gonna fix what needs to be fixed on C Street.” He argued that massive development fueled the revitalization of the Gaslamp Quarter and East Village with the Convention Center and the ballpark, respectively.
He continued that C Street needs a major, significant, intensely developed project that tells the lender community and the developer community that “this is now the place to spend money.” He then asked the panel to avoid streetscape and short-term and inexpensive and instead adopt a comprehensive land use plan with a redevelopment effort focused on getting a big development along C Street.
“Safety will follow, developers will follow, investment will follow, private investment will follow, and it will fix most of what we’re concerned about on C Street,” he reasoned.
Many people, however, did support beautification, whether it includes removing barriers, playing music, increasing artwork or simply making the streetscape more interesting to look at. A student wanted a place to ride a bike, along with landscaping and seating.
Mark Haines, real estate manager of the 7-Eleven on C Street and Sixth Avenue, said more activity and more retailers will make a difference. A member of the CCDC Technical Committee said C Street is unique because of its light rail on the street. He added that the redevelopment needs to take a strong direction “” either as an artistic urban environment, or as a linear park like the Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade as a green, bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly light rail park. In his professional opinion, C Street is clunky right now, being neither very urban nor very public.
The daunting task of revitalizing C Street was best illustrated at the workshop by an employee of the Westgate Hotel, who said the Westgate rents a street-level space that has remained completely unoccupied for the last 18 years.
For more information on C Street and future public workshops, contact CCDC at www.ccdc.com.