In 2022, as the world emerged from its Covid lockdown, LMV classmates Anne Cavanaugh, Jessica Chohan, Joe Curran, Hank Dempsey, Kira Pascoe, and Brooke Ray Smith kept noticing the same thing every time they came downtown for class: far too many empty storefronts on Castro Street (nearly 20%).

This all-too-visible reminder of the toll the epidemic took on local business owners led them to study the high level of commercial vacancies downtown for their class project. The team conducted interviews and surveys of commercial leasing agents and property managers in Mountain View to better understand the problem, its causes, and potential solutions.

And while the causes of the problem were many, there was no shortage of potential solutions: permitting and parking fee reform, better coordination between the city and leasing agents, reducing barriers to remodeling old properties, and the need for a clear downtown plan and beautification efforts to bring back sorely-needed crowds.

Once completed, the team forwarded its final report to the City Council, just in time to support a $1.5M allocation proposal for improvements under the Castro StrEATs program in the City's FY 2022-23 budget. The proposal was passed unanimously and the welcomed beautification efforts are now underway. As the original report wrote: "We believe that, with a little investment and creativity, the future of our downtown can be bright."

Thanks to the great collaborative work of the Council and the Chamber, that bright future looks a little more likely.

- Hank Dempsey (Class of 2022)

State of Downtown (during the project)