"In 1957, Santa Clara secured millions of federal and local dollars to restore its historic downtown. But those funds were diverted - used instead to build a "modern" City Hall on new Civic Center lands away from downtown. By 1962, downtown Santa Clara was demolished. Today, a jumble of unrelated office buildings, strip malls and apartments surrounded by acres of unused parking lots is the carcass of a once booming downtown."
"Ironically, seven decades later, those same lands may again be sold off or sacrificed once again to finance another City Hall move that was not a 2025 city priority - and that distinctly undermines the 2025 priority of returning downtown to Santa Clara. During a special December City Council meeting, Santa Clara's leadership approved more than $20 million as a potential first step to relocating City Hall to the former Agnews state mental hospital site."
Santa Clara demolished its eight-block downtown in the 1960s after funds intended for restoration were diverted to build a new Civic Center City Hall. The demolition left a disconnected mix of offices, strip malls, apartments and vast parking lots where a vibrant downtown once existed. Current leadership approved over $20 million as a potential first step to relocating City Hall to the former Agnews state mental hospital site, a move not listed as a 2025 city priority and lacking community consensus and transparency. Selling civic-owned lands could finance the move despite recent infrastructure bond requests and past budgeting concerns.
Read at San Jose Spotlight
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