The Downtown Plaza has been built at the site of downtown's original heart where it meets the "Bowtie" Area, linking historic buildings to the new multimodal Transit Center and in accordance with catalyst project recommendations of the draft Downtown Specific Plan (also prepared by FTS). While the Plaza hosts performances and community gatherings on weekends and holidays, it is mostly an everyday public space for relaxing and cooling off in the shade and interactive fountain, especially during the hot summer months.  With the intersection roundabout and the Plaza's traffic reconfiguration, 6th Street shops are now fronted by curbside angled parking that can be converted to outdoor dining areas.

Before

View of the site's former parking lot configuration with historic buildings opening onto it (looking east along 6th Street).

• Upon Tracy’s 1910 incorporation, the future site already lay at the city’s crossroads by the Grand Hotel and facing the train station.
• 1920’s auto traffic shifted retail north towards 11^th Street, the train station eventually closed, and the site became a parking lot.
• The draft Downtown Specific Plan prepared by FTS laid out revitalization strategies for the Downtown and Bowtie Area, including a new multimodal Transit Center and a public plaza.

Assignment

• Create an activity focus and everyday-use plaza at the southern edge of downtown.
• Shape public space to activate shops in historic buildings and link to the new transit center .
• Reconfigure traffic with angled parking and a roundabout to support storefront businesses while enhancing circulation.
• Complement downtown’s historic character while maintaining relevance to the community’s tastes and lifestyles of today.
• Develop concepts through community workshops while working with a modest budget.

Outcomes

Built

• Construction was completed on time and on budget in May 2012.
• The design features a Central Avenue & 6^th Street roundabout, a paved plaza and 4 pylons with interactive fountain jets, flanking lawn areas, new shade trees, and angled parking at existing shops in  a “flexible parking/dining” format. A plaza pavilion may be built in a future phase.
• The project has received a 2012 San Joaquin Valley Blueprint Award of Excellence for Downtown Revitalization from the Fresno Council of Governments.
• The Plaza is used year-round for community events, including outdoor concerts and block parties in the warm months and the Holiday Lights parade terminus and downtown Christmas Tree location in the winter.

In collaboration with:

CHS Consulting Group, Ron Hodges Landscape Architect, Rempel Architects, Alliance Engineering, City of Tracy