Publication Date

Spring 1997

Degree Type

Master's Project

Degree Name

Master of Urban Planning (MUP)

Department

Urban and Regional Planning

Abstract

Downtown San Jose has recently undergone significant changes in the economic, physical, and social characteristics of the area. The focus of these changes is the San Antonio Plaza Project area. This eight block area is the sight of massive public and private investment for the purpose of redevelopment and profit. The public investment is provided by the San Jose Redevelopment Agency, the leading force behind improvement activities. From 1969 to 1984 the San Jose Redevelopment Agency outlined and implemented redevelopment plans unsuccessfully. In 1984 the board members of the Redevelopment Agency adopted a new plan by signing a Disposition and Development Agreement with master developer, Campeau-Small. This agreement has resulted in a majority of project completion with only one full block remaining to be built out.

The San Antonio Plaza Project represents a collection of planning theories and techniques that involve both public and private action to accomplish the hefty goal of rehabilitating a degenerated downtown. The purpose of this paper is to document and evaluate the process that has been and is occurring in the San Antonio Plaza Project.

Analysis of maturation of American central business districts, with a comparison to San Jose provides background information. Research on the formation of Federal and State redevelopment law furnishes the legal realm and planning environment which the San Jose Redevelopment Agency developed and operates in. Utilizing chapters two and three as a foundation, newspaper articles, documents, and interviews cumulate to form chapters four and five, describing the process that San Antonio Plaza Project has endured. In conclusion, an evaluation of San Antonio Plaza is given with a description of future projects.

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