Retail Strategy in Oakland

I've always thought that Oakland was a city with lots of potential. For those of you who live in this city --- especially whose who love to shop --- here's an opportunity to make your voice heard:

PUBLIC MEETINGS
As part of development of a new citywide retail strategy, the City of Oakland invites local residents, visitors and those who work in Oakland to attend one of four community meetings scheduled in June and July. Participants will be able to share their perceptions, preferences and thoughts on retail shopping in Oakland and desired future development paths. Convenient neighborhood meeting locations with easy transit connections have been selected to encourage the maximum participation and input from residents.

Meeting dates and times are:

* Saturday, June 23, 2007, from 10:00 a.m. to Noon at Mosswood Recreation Center, 3612 Webster Street
* Monday, June 25, 2007, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Oakland City Hall's Hearing Room 4, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza, 2nd Floor, just off 14th Street near Broadway
* Monday, July 9 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Allen Temple Baptist Church, 8501 International Boulevard
* Wednesday, July 11, 2007, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Fruitvale/San Antonio Senior Center, 3301 E. 12th Street, at Fruitvale Village near the Fruitvale BART station

No R.S.V.P. is necessary. Participants are encouraged to arrive early as the limited seating will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. If English is not your first language, translation services can be made available in Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese at any meeting by calling (510) 238-6812. The Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community may request ASL translation by calling (510) 238-3254. All translation requests should be made one week prior to the meeting date.

ONLINE SURVEY
In developing a citywide retail strategy, the City of Oakland is encouraging local residents, visitors and those who work in Oakland to take a quick-and-easy online survey. Results from the confidential online survey, which was launched in late May, will provide the City with valuable insight on retail perceptions and preferences as well as what factors influence shopping decision making and what types of products, shops and restaurants respondents would like to see added to Oakland's retail mix. In addition to English, the online survey is available in Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese at www.shopoakland.com/survey

The 26-question survey can be completed in less than 10 minutes with multiple-choice answers and easy-to-click boxes as well as space to provide more detailed answers if the respondent chooses.

Upon completing the survey, respondents have the option of entering a drawing for an Apple iPod nano. The prize drawing for the nano will be held on July 27, 2007, from all valid and complete entry submissions received by 5:00 p.m. on July 26, 2007. The winning entrant will be notified by e-mail and/or telephone. Entering the drawing does not change the confidential status of responses to the shopper survey.

MORE INFORMATION
The City of Oakland is working with a consulting team to develop the first-ever Citywide Retail Strategy and Implementation Plan. While examining numerous target areas across the city, the consulting team will evaluate the retail potential of each area including current sales leakage, gather demographics and lifestyle characteristics of potential shoppers, identify which types of retailers would be a good fit in the available sites and what infrastructure improvements or incentives may be necessary to enhance retail. Feedback from the public meetings will be vital in developing this strategy. The strategy is expected to be completed in Spring 2008.

For more information on Oakland retail, the strategy or these events, visit www.Business2Oakland.com/main/retailmarketupdate.htm or contact Keira Williams via e-mail at kwilliams@oaklandnet.com or via telephone at (510) 238-3853.

Props to Stachmo for the info.