The Community Services Department (CSD) will be bringing back a number of major events to the downtown this spring and summer, including:

Concerts on the Plaza: from June through September, CSD hosts Concerts on the Plaza at Civic Center Plaza. Each week there will be live music in the Plaza with an anticipated several hundred people in attendance. The concert series will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., prior to performances held at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts.

Music on Castro: A light music series will be added again this year to the 200 block of Castro Street featuring singers, songwriters, and small musical acts to activate the space for those shopping and dining in the downtown. The Music on Castro series is anticipated to occur April through October for close to 30 weeks of light live music on Wednesday evenings.

KidStock: A kid-friendly music series, KidStock, takes place May through July from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on Civic Center Plaza. This series is geared towards families with preschool-aged youth with live children’s music performances and arts and crafts.

Learn more.

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The City is in the process of development a wayfinding signage program for the downtown.

The goal is create welcoming environment with signage that helps downtown visitors easily find points of interest and introduce them to new locations that may not have previously been on their radar.

Key Benefits of the Wayfinding Program:

• Enhanced Visitor Experience: Making navigation intuitive, providing clear directions to points of interest and uncovering unique destinations.

• Increased Visibility: Shining a spotlight on locations that may have been overlooked in the past. This not only benefits local businesses but also introduces visitors to the diverse offerings within our community.

• Community Connectivity: Strengthening the connection between residents and businesses, fostering a sense of community pride and engagement.

The City is currently working a consultant for the development and design of the wayfinding signs.

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The City is working create place-making opportunities with the incorporation of decorative street treatments in the central walkway of the 100, 200, and 300 blocks of Castro Street. After presenting three street treatment options to the Visual Arts Committee on Wednesday, January 17th and the Council Transportation Committee on Tuesday, January 30th, both committees recommended proceeding (with slight modifications) with the “Ribbons” concept and proposed colors.

The City of Mountain View released a call for artists in July 2024 to support the painting of two bollards per intersection for a total of 12 bollards that will act as gateways into the Pedestrian Mall.  Bollard are anticipated to be painted in August of 2024. The remaining bollards within each intersection are painted with the City's logo colors with will align with the future ribbons painting that will occur in the Fall of 2024.  Each intersection now has decorative patio fencing along with drought resistant plants, improving the aesthetics at each intersection.

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With the permanent closure of Castro Street, the decorative bus shelters located within the Interim Pedestrian Mall no longer serve their primary role supporting public transit.  The shelters do currently provide public seating but are slated to be removed and replaced with other City street furniture and wayfinding infrastructure. The removal of the bus shelters is slated to take place in 2024.

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Facade Improvement Program:

The City of Mountain View Facade Improvement Grant Program is designed to stimulate investment in commercial retail buildings with first floor storefront businesses. To encourage economic vitality and commercial viability of storefront businesses, the City will share the costs of improving and enhancing commercial facades with grants of up to $15,000 for projects that meet the eligibility criteria. Staff is now accepting applications.

Learn more and apply 

Window Display Grant Program:

The City of Mountain View is preparing a Window Display Grant Program to provide financial support to retailers and businesses to design and enhance their window displays. To help create attractive and inviting streetscapes and shopping centers, the City will retain the services of one or more qualified Visual Merchandisers to provide $2,500 worth of window display related services, including business consultations, display design, installation, and development of a maintenance plan. Staff is currently finalizing the grant program guidelines and will begin accepting applications soon.

Learn more about the program.

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Downtown Mountain View is experiencing elevated ground-floor vacancy, which occurs for a multitude of reasons. This section outlines some of the reasons, and describes the vacancies and some of the actions the City is taking to address this issue.

The reasons for vacancies in Downtown include:

• Demand for physical store space is declining in key retail sectors across the region.

• Downtown Mountain View does not currently have a critical mass of retail stores, nor does it have the level of activity required to meet the typical retail location criteria for expanding retailers.

• Aging and outdated commercial spaces in the Downtown are difficult to fill because of the high costs to potential tenants.

• Retail rents are not typically able to cover retail development costs.

Along Castro Street between Evelyn Avenue and El Camino Real are 18 ground floor vacancies. Of those ground floor vacancies, eight have tenants working through the permitting process, and six spaces are experiencing prolonged vacancy (greater than three years). Within the greater Downtown (excluding Castro Street) there are another 10
ground floor vacancies with two of those vacancies with tenants in the permit process.

On the upper floors (2nd story or greater) providing office space, there are an additional 24 vacancies throughout the larger Downtown area, totaling approximately 154,000 Square Feet. The current Downtown office vacancy rate is 20.2%, which is comparable to regional rates and reflective of a transitioning economy and new patterns of remote work.

• Marketing Vacancies: The Economic Development team has been marketing the ground-floor vacancies for potential investment on the City’s website and meets frequently with property owners and prospective tenants to help secure new leases.

• Collaborations and Conferences: Staff recently attended educational opportunities on the retail sector produced by the Econic Company and Retail Strategies, and the Economic Development team will be attending the Internal Council of Shopping Centers (ISCC) conference at the end of March to talk with prospective retailers about opportunities in Mountain View. Staff is also collaborating with our neighboring jurisdictions to host a broker breakfast in the spring.

• Consultant Services: The Economic Development team is also in the process of bringing on board a consultant (Retail Real Estate Resources) to work with selected Downtown properties to assess the desirability and market conditions of the vacant storefront units. The purpose of the assessment is to understand

  • How the units are being marketed;

  • Whether asking rents are viable; and

  • If the units are market-ready, can be made market-ready, or are functionally obsolete given market demands and costs of required building code updates.

• Assessment: An assessment will be provided to the City to determine if other program considerations should be evaluated to support the revitalization of these spaces.

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The City of Mountain View developed an Economic Vitality Strategy that recognizes the unique character of Mountain View’s businesses and community as well as identifies and addresses the opportunities and challenges. The Economic Vitality Strategy is a guiding document that aligns the City’s vision for a welcoming, vibrant city that plans intentionally and leads regionally to create livable, sustainable neighborhoods, access to nature and open spaces, and a strong innovation-driven local economy. The strategy identifies implementation strategies and actions the City and its partners can focus on for the next 10 years.

Learn More.

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