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The wheels are in motion for a new downtown — and really, a new Redwood City.
The Redwood City Council revisited the city’s Greater Downtown Area Plan in a study session at a recent meeting, where it covered the plan’s general areas of focus, like mobility, climate resilience, economic development, equity and placemaking.
Bounded by Whipple Avenue, US-101, Woodside and El Camino Real, and encompassing the Stambaugh-Heller and Centennial neighborhoods, as well as Veterans Boulevard and Broadway, the Greater Downtown and its future are starting to take shape, as expressed in a presentation by city staff and project consultants before the council on Jan. 12.
“Cities are among the most effective ways to deliver access to opportunity, prosperity, connection to other people and years of life at scale,” Council member Isabella Chu said at the Monday meeting, signaling enthusiasm about the revamp.
GDAP’s new look
Since 2024, the city has been collaborating with a consulting team to draft a plan to reimagine Downtown Redwood City and the neighborhoods adjacent to it. The project team has conducted an “existing conditions analysis” and has engaged “extensively” with Redwood City communities to understand “needs, concerns and aspirations,” the council’s Jan. 12 staff report stated.
This input informed the development of a “Vision Framework” that underpins the Greater Downtown Area Plan’s policies, a long way from the city’s rough sketches in August of what this plan might involve, which largely just emphasized “synergy” as a priority.
Central to the design for the Greater Downtown Area is the definition of seven districts across the city, each with a distinctive identity. Those include the “North of Downtown District” and “Downtown Core District,” which contain Broadway and offices, shops and recreational spaces. Under the proposal, the northern district would be organized around Redwood Creek and Main Street, while the downtown core would be characterized by its existing historic buildings.
The area around the Caltrain station would be designated as a “transit district,” allowing for a mix of housing, retail, dining and entertainment uses.
Veterans Boulevard and Broadway would fall within an “innovation and incubation district,” where city planners propose space for offices, start-up businesses, nightlife and casual dining.
The Stambaugh-Heller and Centennial neighborhoods would be targeted for additional housing and greenway improvements, while the El Camino Real corridor would be designated a mixed-use district, allowing for both residential and commercial development.
Climate resilience
Redwood City is well-positioned to face a number of hazards: earthquakes, liquefaction, extreme heat, coastal flooding, inland flooding and groundwater — the latter of priority concern given the city’s vulnerability to sea level rise.
Jim Stickley, another project consultant who presented at Monday’s meeting, said that the King Tide in Redwood City on Jan. 2 reached the height normal tides in 2050 will be, with about a foot added to extreme high tides every decade.
Flood mitigation strategies the city is considering include tree canopies, vegetated planting strips, “sponge parks,” parks with permanent water features and creek buffers at private properties. The city is also considering Redwood Creek as a “Central Park” for Redwood City, Stickley said in his presentation.
Public safety and connectivity priorities will be reflected in “pedestrian priority” zones, “low-stress” bike networks, and efficient transit, with the Caltrain station serving as a key transit connector. To improve accessibility, the city is also looking at widening sidewalks, adding more street trees for thermal comfort, lowering vehicle speeds and simplifying crossings.
Community feedback
Community engagement in 2025 involved the launch of a webpage for the project and five focus group meetings with youth and families, seniors and people with disabilities, Spanish-speaking residents, small businesses, and neighborhood associations. The city also hosted two community open houses; 10 meetings with boards, commissions and committees in Redwood City; two speaker panels; one neighborhood canvassing day; four community pop-ups and meetings with over a dozen stakeholders — including Caltrans, Redwood City Downtown Business Group and Kaiser Permanente.
Poonam Nakar, a project consultant who presented on Monday, said that many community members wanted more green spaces and play places for kids, though she said there are “limited opportunities for big interventions” of the sort. The focus, instead, is to leverage street driveways and utilize available public and private spaces. That said, improved connectivity to Hoover Park and enhancements to the areas surrounding Redwood Creek are expected to be signature features of the community space.
Other local feedback, according to the city’s presentation, included broad support for mixed-use districts, growth near the Caltrain station and north of Veterans Boulevard, pedestrian and bike safety features, and preservation of affordable housing stock.
City Council brainstorm
Council members agreed on the importance of engaging neighborhood associations and businesses, including those in and out of downtown, in the planning. The council also discussed issues with pedestrian-centered design, noting that people with disabilities may not be able to travel by foot, bike, or scooter if walkability and bikeability are prioritized.
Council member Marcella Padilla encouraged the use of “passive parks,” which are low-impact recreational spaces that can range from exercise equipment to signage encouraging stretching to community gardens.
Padilla, as well as Vice Mayor Kaia Eakin, said they were interested in adding more retail to downtown.
Eakin, having worked on the city’s Downtown Precise Plan of 2011 and seen the challenges with implementing grand changes to city planning, announced “here on the dias” that the council needs to “hold that line” and actually execute, despite the city’s vulnerability to economic cycles, “just like everybody.”
She said it was important to make sure property owners understand there will be trade-offs, particularly given some properties’ vulnerability to extreme weather events.
“No one wants to talk about retreat because it’s yucky,” the vice mayor said. “Redwood City is the oldest city in San Mateo County by decades, and so a lot of this infrastructure was built before anyone knew anything about sea level rise… this is a new world.”
Chu suggested that the city add a “spoke” with public amenities down Broadway to 5th Avenue, a suggestion echoed by Council member Christopher Sturken. She also said she agreed with comments from the president of the Friendly Acres Neighborhood Association, who during public comment called for protecting and supporting micro-businesses.
For 2026, the city intends to refine the vision framework, continue seeking input from stakeholders and develop a preferred plan framework for City Council endorsement in the fall. From the end of 2026 through 2027, the mission will be to draft plan policies, implementation strategies, and an environmental impact report, with a final plan ready for City Council adoption, ideally by 2027.
