We are excited to be able to provide you with an update regarding our redevelopment efforts at Christown Spectrum, located on the southeast corner of 19th Avenue and Bethany Home Road.
As you will likely recall, we filed a master plan PUD (Planned Unit Development) zoning case back in early 2021 for Christown Spectrum on behalf of Christown 1755, LLC, an affiliate of Kimco Realty (“Christown”). That master plan proposal is for an extended multi-phased approach that would transition Christown over time into a dynamic and vibrant urban environment, incorporating pedestrian‑oriented thematic areas, retail, commercial, multifamily residential, entertainment, and offices, in a master planned setting.
That PUD case will still move forward, but its timing is uncertain. Before it restarts, we will bring it back to the community for additional input and eventually public hearings. To keep making progress in the meantime, we want to get started on Phases 1 and 2 of the redevelopment plan. These phases consist of 12.26 acres of surface parking and the prior Auto Center building in the southeast corner of the site. As initial dominoes, these phases will help to build positive momentum in the redevelopment process.
To move these first two phases forward, we need to transition this part of the shopping center to the Walkable Urban Code, which was established for development near the light rail corridors. Accordingly, we have recently filed a rezoning request for the Phase 1 and Phase 2 areas to rezone from the existing PSC TOD-1 (Planned Shopping Center District Interim Transit-Oriented Zoning Overlay District One) to Walkable Urban Code, Transect T5:5 (WU Code; T5:5) (Application # Z-80-22). Transect T5:5 is the transect shown for this site in the Solano TOD Policy plan, which was put together by the City in conjunction with community input. The T5:5 transect would allow building heights up to 56 feet. This site is also within what is known as a “Primary Core,” which is where higher density and intensity is intended to be located. With the light rail running adjacent to Christown, the property is prime for this proposal.
As we have discussed previously with the community, what this site needs most of all is additional people—more people to shop at the stores, dine at the restaurants, use Solano Park, and generally put eyes on the street and mall area. This will help Christown attract and retain quality tenants in the short-term and long-term and help to improve safety and security for the area.
Accordingly, as we showed during the master plan discussions, the proposal for Phases 1 and 2 is to bring best-in-class market-rate multifamily to fill in the underutilized surface parking areas. As needed for existing and future retail tenants, those parking spaces would be made up within new parking structures.
Note that during the master plan process, we discussed with the neighbors east of the project using “stepbacks” to push building heights over two stories much further away from 15th Avenue than the WU Code requires. Our current proposal would utilize the same concept to create a transition and buffer to that community. This element would be incorporated into the zoning approval itself.
Location
Project Narrative
Representative Examples of Conceptual Plans
Contact Information
Application Form
Notification Letter
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