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negotiations. He stated that no commitments had been made to the theater groups, and negotiations were in the exploratory phase. He said this site was a key parcel in the downtown area, and the City felt it would be important to control its destiny. He said the City had negotiated to purchase the property from the School District, and the School District would build its offices on the Bradford site behind the Fire Station. He stated that the committee was excited about the concept and would like to have input to ensure the best direction for Redwood City. Economic Consultant Kelly, of Keyser Marston Associates, gave an overview of the theater industry and explained that there was a boom in the development of multiplex and megaplex complexes, housing from 10 to 30 screens. He indicated that the new state-of-the-art multiplex theater usually had 3,000 to 3,500 seats, not less than 14 screens, stadium seating, and state-of-the-art sound systems. Mr. Kelly said that new, high technology was driving the theater industry to building new theaters, and older theaters had to be redesigned. He also stated that theaters could attract Y:z to I million people to a downtown area. He described other multiplex theater projects, which include retail stores and restaurants. He reviewed the technical issues of a theater project, such as parking, environmental impact report, traffic, security, etc. He suggested that the theaters could share parking with the office buildings in the downtown area, as the theaters would need the parking facilities at night and on weekends, while the office buildings would need the parking facilities on weekdays during business hours. He said the "low usage time" was a key way to make the parking work downtown. Economic Development Coordinator Webb reported that there were five theater operators and one developer who were interested in a theater project downtown. She said they focused on the 2107 Broadway block because it was on the main corridor, and it was centrally located to existing parking and restaurants. She stated it was close to transportation and Sequoia Station, and the major parcel was for sale. She said there was also a proposed residential development (Franklin Project) and the DC Berkeley Extension that would bring in critical masses of people to the downtown area. Economic Development Coordinator Webb showed slides of other multiplex theaters, both urban and suburban, located in Santa Clara, Saratoga, and San Diego and reviewed the design issues. She said that, typically, the theaters were wrapped with retail, and that was the type of project visualized for Redwood City. She also displayed photographs of the different facades and suggested that the architecture would be an important aspect of any theater complex. Economic Development Coordinator Webb stated that a total of 3,777 parking spaces were in the downtown area, including public lots, and business ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING MINUTE BOOK NO. 56 MAY26,1998 JOINT STUDY SESSION MINUTES Page No. 508 PAGE 3 CONCURRENT COUNC1LlREDEVELOPMENT AGENCY MEETING