Redwood City Council Aims To Diversify Downtown Retail

REDWOOD CITY — With a goal of diversifying Redwood City's downtown retail, the City Council adopted an action plan on Monday, Oct. 14 with a list of goals that include filling vacant storefronts and limiting banks on key corners downtown.

The plan also recommends creating design requirements for retail spaces, encouraging property owners to notify the city when spaces become vacant and offering incentives — like lowering rent — to support retail.

Retail opportunities downtown have improved in recent years, the report says, but a "missing component in the transformation is a diverse range of retail businesses."

"There are numerous restaurants, cafes and food purveyors, but not enough retail businesses that sell interesting local goods for purchase by visitors, residents and workers," it continues.

The plan includes input from the Downtown Retail Task Force, the Redwood City Chamber of Commerce and the broader community.

All 14 recommendations can be read here, and the full staff report can be read here.