Downtown Merced Revitalization

Merced, in California's Central Valley, is currently undergoing a revitalization of sorts. Here you can see the streetscape has been designed to be more pedestrian-friendly, and indeed, some new retailers are moving in -- you can see in the picture Starbucks as an early downtown tenant.

Housing is situated nearby, certainly within a few minutes drive, but there is no housing immediately downtown just yet. A single mixed-use building with ground floor retail with lofts above, an interesting concept for the Central Valley, is nearing completion. For the time being though, what's critically lacking are people.

Time will tell if this neigborhood succeeds or if the new University of California campus being built several miles away is going to be the center of activity. Merced clearly has the right ideas in mind, and a key challenge will be to draw people associated with the U.C., both faculty, students, staff, and visitors alike to this neighborhood, or face a quiet future.