The goal of the Grand Boulevard Economic and Housing Opportunities (ECHO) Assessment is to describe the transformational potential of the 47-mile auto-oriented commercial corridor into a vibrant, multimodal corridor that is accessible on foot, by bike, by transit, and by auto, through the intensification of housing and employment. This level of corridor transformation has profound economic and physical implications which include the potential to increase economic activity and prosperity, to enhance the visual experience of the Corridor, to change mobility patterns, to improve the livability of the Corridor and the region, and to contribute to environmental sustainability goals.
In order to understand the potential growth on the Grand Boulevard, the Consultant Team relied on existing growth scenarios developed for the Corridor, in lieu of creating another forecast. These scenarios provide context by defining the potential magnitude of change. Using these growth scenarios, the Consultant Team, led by Strategic Economics , measured the fiscal benefits of transformation, produced from additional housing and employment uses on the Corridor, as well as retail spending from new residents. In addition, the Consultant Team, led by Freedman Tung + Sasaki, developed building prototypes and renderings that illustrate how physical transformation results from enhancing a combination of both the Corridor and encouraging development in a way that simultaneously reflects local communities and presents a recognizable Grand Boulevard experience along the length of the Corridor. Click the thumbnails below to view the prototypes.
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San Mateo, 3-4 story stacked flats |
South San Francisco, 2-3 story townhomes |
Sunnyvale, 5-6 story stacked flats |
The report is organized into five sections: