Hollister officials are traveling down a red brick road to help
revitalize and beautify the city’s downtown district.
Hollister officials are traveling down a red brick road to help revitalize and beautify the city’s downtown district.
Before the new Highway 25 bypass is completed, city officials will spend nearly $200,000 from the state’s highway beautification program to help improve the consistency of the downtown atmosphere.
The City Council is expected in the coming weeks to approve about $180,000 for decorative red brick pavers that will add a look of consistency to downtown, officials said.
“We need to use this money from the Caltrans grant before the bypass is put in or we will lose it, because right now San Benito Street is a state highway,” Councilman Tony LoBue said.
Once the bypass is completed it will come under city jurisdiction.
The idea of decorative bricks was originally conceived in the 1991 Hollister Downtown Strategy plan, which was adopted by the City Council.
“The project as a whole called for public improvements of the visual enhancement of downtown,” said Bill Avera, director of the Hollister Redevelopment Agency.
Avera said after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the downtown district experienced a lot of reconstruction and officials at the time had planned to give the city a more uniform appearance.
Many new businesses opening in the downtown district have been required, as a condition of approval, to install the brick pavers. But it will take years for the look to be consistent, Avera said.
“This is why we are going ahead with the pavers so it is all consistent,” he said. “Overall it will make downtown look better.”
Covering 14 blocks from Monterey Street to East Street and from Third Street to Hawkins Street, every sidewalk will have octagonal brick pavers embedded in the sidewalk at the entryways to businesses.
Another aspect of the plan is to include pedestrian lighting within the 14-block area along with park benches throughout downtown.
“We have the big street lights for cars, but lighting to light the sidewalks at night will make it more pedestrian-friendly,” Avera said.
The pedestrian lighting will match what is being used at the Briggs Building and will be consistent with plans for the courtyard, he said.
“This is a way to revitalize downtown,” LoBue said. “We need to bring the community back to do local shopping. It’s real important because we don’t get much pedestrian traffic and if you increase the traffic, you increase the odds that people will walk into the stores and buy something, keeping our local economy alive.”
Avera said an important aspect of the improvements are that they allow business owners to take pride in the downtown district.
“When they see something is being done to improve their place of business, it makes them feel appreciated,” he said. “We want them to feel proud they choose downtown for their business.”
LoBue expects the item to be in front of Council in the near future for approval because plans are to start construction after July 4.
