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In preparing for the City Council meeting, the consultant team met with City staff, participated <br />in an extensive downtown walking tour, studied neighboring and competing retail markets and <br />familiarized themselves with existing regulations, performance reports of existing businesses <br />and leakage reports. Equipped with a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the <br />opportunities and challenges facing Downtown Redwood City, the team will provide <br />information about the types of retail and hotel investment the City can expect in the <br />Downtown area. It will consist of the following components: <br /> <br />· “Downtown Retail 101”, providing insight into how retailers think, how they <br />approach site selection, what they look for and worry about, how Downtown retail <br />typically “evolves”, how “unintended consequences” might be avoided, how much <br />consumer demand is generated by new residential and office projects, etc. <br /> <br />· Discussion of current retail trends, both in the Bay Area and more broadly, and <br />consideration of the impact of e-commerce. <br /> <br />· Assessment of Downtown Redwood City, addressing why the development caps <br />for retail and hotel have not been reached, then pinpointing Downtown’s current <br />“stage” in the evolutionary process and offering general strategies for increasing retail <br />and hotel uses. <br /> <br />ALTERNATIVES <br /> <br />This is an informational item only. No alternatives are proposed. <br /> <br />FISCAL IMPACT <br /> <br />Consultant fees were funded through the City Manager’s Office budget; no additional <br />appropriations were required. <br /> <br />ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW <br /> <br />This is an informational item only. This is not a project under the requirements of CEQA. <br /> <br />CATHERINE RALSTON <br />ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MANAGER <br /> <br /> <br />MELISSA STEVENSON DIAZ <br />9.A - Page 3