My thanks to Mayor Candace Andersen, who shared the following with the caveat that much of it comes from a presentation given in the Spring, and that some things may have changed. I have not quoted the Mayor directly and I have added comments of my own:

1. A key element to commercial success, in the downtown area, is adequate parking. In the last 2 years, the Town has added 151 parking spaces in the downtown area.
2. The Town is working with commercial centers to help maximize the parking in individual existing developments.
3. The Rose garden Center, at Navlet’s on Camino Ramon, is open with several new businesses in operation, including Navlet’s, Amici’s Pizzeria, Café Esin, Burke Williams Day Spa, Bittersweet Chocolate Café and Amaranta Cocina Mexicana, with others to follow.
4. Chow’s restaurant will soon open in the Iron Horse Plaza in the former Block-buster space. Chow’s will have 126 interior seats and 99 outdoor seats, which are sure to be popular.
5. Plans are underway to build a new building on the site of the former Times building on Hartz Avenue. This 12,000 square foot building will have retail space on the first level and will have access to the Town lot behind the Village Theater.
6. In front of Bridges Restaurant, the Sugitami building is nearing completion. It will have a wine merchant as tenant. We are grateful to Mr. Sugitami for generously providing the park use in front of Bridges, which we all enjoyed for several years before this development.
7. The Danville Hotel project is moving along. The historic character will remain, although the facades along Prospect will be razed. The finished project will include retail on the ground floor, offices and residential condominiums on the second floor and underground parking.
8. In 2009, the Town intends to make improvements to the Village Theater, including a marquee, an improved lobby, restrooms and concession area plus a gallery.
9. Under a 1921 mandate, the Veterans’ Hall is held in Public Trust for veterans. The County currently owns the building and the Town pays for maintenance and management. The County has agreed to turn over ownership of the Hall to the town. It will then be practical to improve the facility for better service to the veterans and seniors of the Town. Improvements might include an upstairs for the exclusive use of Veterans, and a downstairs with community rooms and a new kitchen to better meet the needs of seniors, and for larger veterans’ and seniors events. This project will require a high level of public fund raising in support of saving and strengthening this great community asset.

If you have questions about these projects, then please feel free to contact me. I will do my best to find answers.

Dale Price

7/18/08