You may have noticed a vacant store front here or there along the streets of downtown Pleasanton. You may be wondering what’s happening behind the paper covered windows or the details behind the “For Lease” sign. For all the answers turn to the Pleasanton Downtown Association(PDA)and executive director Christine Salidivar. Turns out, Salidivar maintains a list of people and businesses interested in moving to downtown Pleasanton. Some folks on that list are waiting for just the right spot to become available. Murphy’s Paw waited for over a year for just the right retail space to become available.

Empty store fronts may look vacant, but that is only while leases are being negotiated and new tenants are moving in. Most recently, the PDA has been trying to attract business to Pleasanton’s side streets. Redcoats and Amelia’s are two examples of this success.

Our vibrant downtown is one of the elements that make Pleasanton such a desirable place to live, work and raise a family. It’s good to know that downtown business space is in high demand. (The Pleasanton Weekly highlighted this topic in an article earlier this year. To read the article, click here.)

Almost everyone would agree that the heart of Pleasanton is our historic Main Street. Much of the charm of downtown are the architectural details from the past.

A new group was recently highlighted in the Pleasanton Weekly, whose focus is to preserve the historic character of downtown. The Pleasanton Heritage Association wants to create a preservation ordinance and to provide input on development proposals in the downtown area. The group also seeks to offer design guidelines for preserving historic character of building remodels, additions, and renovations.

The City Council has already designated historic preservation as one of its priorities and has had several meetings with the group. To read the entire Pleasanton Weekly article, click here.