Broadway / Valdez District Specific Plan
The Broadway Valdez District Specific Plan (BVDSP) will develop strategies to provide destination retail and mixed-use development along Broadway between Grand Avenue and Interstate 580 (Project Area Map). Broadway is viewed as the City’s “Main Street” and is significant due to its proximity to downtown, its location near two BART stations, a major AC transit bus route, as well as its relationship to adjacent residential neighborhoods, the adjacent medical campuses of Kaiser and Summit/Alta Bates, the successful existing Piedmont Avenue retail street, and the edge of Lake Merritt. The specific plan will provide an area-wide set of development regulations and requirements, including the distribution, extent and location of land uses, infrastructure standards and financing mechanisms for public improvements.
Oakland has long been the nations largest underserved Trade Area for comparison goods. Oakland currently exports 75% of its potential sales in this category, or roughly $1 billion in sales every year, to the neighboring communities of Emeryville, San Leandro, San Francisco, and Walnut Creek. While the City has many fine merchants, it lacks many larger retailers and a critical mass of retail selection. This dearth of retail options discourage its residents from shopping locally, which has implications regarding Oakland’s tax base that supports road maintenance, clean parks, and functional city services.
The goal of the BVDSP is to build upon the District’s many assets and to facilitate its transformation into a vibrant neighborhood that combines destination retail, housing, transit and attractive, walkable streets in a manner that is uniquely Oakland.
The benefits from preparing a specific plan include:
- Creating a level of certainty to both the community and developers by providing a framework to support development and enhancement of existing resources
- Balancing land-use goals with environmental, economic, preservation and quality of life related interests
- Provisions for improved, sustainable infrastructure (utilities, roads, and parks)
- Providing a certified environmental document which will expedite the entitlements process