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Fremont update

Globe still empty, but spinning forward, developer says

Fred Kim and developer John Wynn of Imperial Investment and Development are working on city permits for the next village, an ode to the Pacific Rim, but they don't have money to build it.

"We've had to revise our strategy in terms of funding," Kim said, noting that credit is tight these days. Their plan is to find foreign capital, he said.

They also are asking the city to let them make a major change to the development plan, putting a 200-room hotel in Europa Village, which was slated to have European-themed shops.

Saigon Village
Cyclo Cafe-The prospective owner of the Cyclo Café — a coffee shop that is fully furnished, but not yet open — backed out for family reasons, Fred Kim said. A few other prospective tenants also backed out this year for various reasons, he said.

Pho Appetit (Open October 9, 2008) (Free soda on 10/9/08-11/9/08)

Pho Appetit, a Vietnamese restaurant, is scheduled to open next month in Saigon Village. Six more establishments, including a food court, sushi bar and nightclub, dentist office and rice museum could be in by early 2009, Kim said.

With only an East West Bank and World Gourmet opened on the edge of Saigon Village, Pho Appetit owner John Nguyen is concerned about being the first merchant to open inside of it.

"It's going to be tough there; there's no foot traffic, Nguyen said.

He said he has been paying rent for nearly a year and was told that other shops would be open that still aren't operating.The restaurant will offer authentic Vietnamese food with modern service, he said.

Kim said he understood Nguyen's concerns, and said other shops were on the way. Among those that have either gotten city permits or are planning to get them are a food court, a Thai and Vietnamese restaurant, a dentist shop, a rice museum and Yogurtzinha — a tea, gelato and frozen yogurt shop that is will have a second location in Pleasanton.

Kim, who said he also is negotiating with a potential sports bar operator, is looking for city permission for a sushi bar and nightclub.

Orchid Restaurant
Taste of Asia/Vietnam - Food Court (Open Soon)
Rice Museum
Miss Saigon
Royal Thai
dentist shop

Yogurtzinha (Open December)
Second location: Downtown Pleasanton
600 Main Street, Suite F
Pleasanton, CA 94566

Publish Post

Fremont Times Square
Now under construction

Pacific Commons
Asian Pearl (Open September 4, 2008)

Coming soon Fremont Bank Aqua Adventure Water Park update.

Fremont needs to change. Part 1/2

Rich Cities and Poor Cities
Many people are shopping and going to the Century Theater to watch movies. Fremont is poor, while other cities are rich. Why is that? Milpitas has great shops, restaurants, and high-tech companies. People like to shop, dine, and play over there. When people shops and go eat at a restaurants, more revenue go to the city. I went to the Great Mall and there were so many people shopping and dining. That makes Milpitas get more tax revenue. I mostly go to Milpitas Square to eat at restaurants because Milpitas Square has great restaurants and a big shopping center. I also went to San Jose, Union City, Newark, and Cupertino restaurants. Sometimes I go eat at Chinese restaurants in Fremont, but Fremont has less restaurants than other cities. A lot of people work at high-tech companies. Mostly people who work at Cisco or Google are mid-high income. High-tech companies earn alot of money, so more revenue go to the city.

Shopping , Dining, and Play
People love to shop, dine, and play. I really want a shopping mall in Fremont, where there is an outlet shopping center or luxury shopping center that people would love to shop at. The shopping center has to be new and have up-to-date architecture. This would also attract more people to Fremont. Why is Fremont building alot of shopping center if less people shop in Fremont? Because people love to shop at clothing stores. Such as American Eagle Outfitters, Banana Republic, Hollister, etc. Fremont just keeps building the same shopping center. Also they tried to bring us stores like furniture, home, and office supplies. Who will shop there? I only buy furniture, home, and office supplies every 1-5 years. But clothing stores, I will shop once per week or month. Bob Wasserman brings 90 restaurants to the Fremont area and a lot of people, including me love going to them. But we need to stop opening restaurants at old shopping center, so we can improve on other things rather that restaurants that don't get that much business. I will discuss more in the next paragraph. We need bowling alleys, sport teams, movie theaters, and ice skating rings in Fremont. Why? I will discuss in Part 2. We have this in Fremont already, but they too old and need to be updated and remodeled .

Rebuild shopping center + Why are restaurants closing?

We shouldn't keep opening restaurants at downtown Fremont, until we improve shopping centers. Fremont Plaza Courtyard used to have Uno, then it change to Pasta Q, then it's now Joey Basil's Pizza & Pasta. Next to Sweet Tomatoes, we used to have SFO Pizza and now we have Straw Hat Pizza. We shouldn't keep adding restaurants there. Because a lot of restaurants are opening and then closing a few years later. We should start improving that area and rebuild a better shopping center there. If we start improving the areas that need to be improved, then more people will shop and dine in Downtown Fremont. I'm can't wait for them to start construction at Capitol Avenue Downtown Project.


Fremont should change 30-50 years. How we want are city to look like.

Our city should change from Suburban to Urban, because of Global Warming. I will like the city to be more like Dubai. Also, I wish the government would spend more money on buying single family housing, so they can turn into mixed-use development. All I want for this community is to live, work, play, shop, and dine. Not everywhere in Fremont, but in one location. Instead of driving to shop, work, or even play, we can have more have shopping areas closer to our peoples homes. Example, I live in condo then I walk few block to work, then few block to go groceries store. But Suburban, people have to drive to get groceries then drive out of town to work. In the general plan, Fremont should design a street where light rail can go. This would help save gas money for people and will keep our environment cleaner. Fremont should try to ask MTC for funding a light rail service. Fremont should have it where people can walk or take transportation to work.

A's Ballpark Village.

I'm very supportive of the A's moving to Fremont. Last time my cousin went to Santana Row and she like watching a Jazz Concert. She loves Jazz music and she want a Jazz concert in Fremont. I said theres a concert at Lake Elizabeth. But she wants a jazz concert near the shopping center. So, I said A's Ballpark is going to be similar to Santana Row and there will be a concert there. Before she was against the A's moving to Fremont, but now she is supportive of the A's moving to Fremont. The A's Ballpark Village will have a park.

Ashely Furniture has no right to oppose the A's Development. Ashely Furniture opened a store after the A's announce they are moving to Fremont. Parking and Traffic is mostly the big concern in Fremont. Last week, I talked to a Lawyer about the A's Ballpark Village. The lawyer said that they need at least 20,000 parking space. It must be a multistory garage. A's proposed plan is 11,000 parking space. If the bus can hold 4,000 people then they need at least 5,000 parking space. If Fremont, A's, and MTC work together, then the A's Ballpark can happened. Most Developers don't like spending money on parking because most parking won't get charge. This causes the developers to not get money on parking, but if Fremont and MTC give the A's money to pay for parking, then it will happened

Next, I will discuss part 2, and who I will endorse the city council and mayor, and why?
Part 2, I will discuss recreation, school, and Newark and Fremont.

Fremont Update: August

The Globe

Saigon Village
Cyclo Cafe (Open Soon)
Pho Appetit (Open 2-3 weeks)
Orchid Restaurant
Taste of Asia/Vietnam - Food Court (Open September-October)
Rice Museum
Miss Saigon
Royal Thai

Fremont Times Square
Navlet's Garden Centers (Demolish August-September) The ground-breaking is scheduled for Sept. 9.

Pacific Commons
Asian Pearl (Open Mid-Late August)

Suburbs may make you fatter

New research suggests that it might for those who reside in neighborhoods designed more for cars than foot traffic.

People in the study who lived in the most walkable neighborhoods weighed an average of 8 pounds less than people who lived in the least walkable areas.

Neighborhoods built before 1950 tended to have sidewalks and other characteristics that made them more accessible to pedestrians, including being more densely populated and having restaurants and other businesses nearby, lead researcher Ken R. Smith, PhD, tells WebMD.

In general, newer neighborhoods offered fewer opportunities for walking.

The study appears in the September issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

“We aren’t saying the move from older to newer neighborhoods is the cause of the obesity epidemic, but it may be a factor,” Smith says.

Walk Less, Weigh More

In an effort to test the theory, Smith and colleagues calculated the body mass index (BMI) of 453,927 residents of Salt Lake County, Utah, using height and weight data from their driver’s license applications. Adults between the ages of 25 and 64 were included in the analysis.

The researchers also reviewed census data that included information about the neighborhoods where the residents lived.

In general, the research suggested that the more walkable a neighborhood was, the less likely its residents were to become overweight or obese.

Based upon the analysis, a man of average height and weight who lived in the most walkable neighborhood in Salt Lake County would be expected to weigh an average of 10 pounds less than a man living in the least walkable neighborhood. For women, the difference would be 6 pounds.

Smith says the growing emphasis on designing pedestrian-friendly places for people to live, work, and play could have a large, positive impact on health in the future.

He cites a recent report from the Brookings Institution predicting that by the year 2030 half the buildings in the United States will have been built since 2000.

“That represents a huge opportunity to think about how we are building our communities and to make them better places, both from a health and an environmental standpoint,” he says.

Walkability a Goal

This is the goal of the CDC’s ‘Healthy Places’ initiative, says Andrew Dannenberg, MD, MPH, of the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health.

“Our mission is to get health on the table when building decisions are being made,” he says. “This has not been done much in the past, but awareness is growing.”

The recent stratospheric rise in gas prices and concerns about climate change have helped focus attention on the subject, but it is still too soon to know if the attention will lead to change, Dannenberg says.

The CDC’s ‘Healthy Places’ web site makes it clear that the challenge is daunting, as it calls for substantive changes with regard to future growth.

“Today, typical suburban homes sit in cul-de-sac subdivisions that empty out onto high volume roads,” it reads. “Zoning laws encourage the separation of residential areas from schools and shopping malls by long and often dangerous travel distances. Elementary school bicycle racks stand empty as parents fear for their children’s safety on narrow or traffic-laden roads. (And) pedestrians take risks as they cross dangerous intersections in communities where safe crosswalks are all but nonexistent,” the CDC statement reads.

Fremont fall election

Fremont's elections are shaping up as a free-for-all, with establishment candidates competing against each other and against opponents from ends of the political spectrum that often aren't represented.

In Fremont, the mayor's race is a veritable battle of the titans with Mayor Bob Wasserman squaring off against former Mayor Gus Morrison and Councilmember Steve Cho.

Expected to be at the center of the debate is the Oakland A's ballpark village proposal, which Cho and Wasserman support and Morrison opposes. The A's are acting like a campaign already is under way. The club has sent residents two glossy mailers this year touting the team's potential contribution to Fremont.

As for the council, incumbent Bob Wieckowski has said he wants to seek another term, and he will face at least two challengers for either his seat or Cho's seat.

In Fremont, however, Cho is being termed out of his council seat this year. Planning Commissioner Suzanne Chan would be considered a favorite for the seat, but she said "I am doing my homework and assessing the pros and cons of running for public office. This is not an easy decision, but I am getting closer to a decision."

Another planning commissioner, Dirk Lorenz, already has declared his candidacy. Lorenz, a pro-business Republican who owns Fremont Flowers.

Also in the race is Sierra Club member Vinnie Bacon. Bacon, a former transportation planner who now works in technology, has criticized city development policies and promised not to take contributions from developers.

New Retail Center in Fremont, Ca

New Retail Center
Osgood Retail Center-Auto Mall Parkway, Fremont, California
3350 Mowry Avenue
Old Mission Courtyard

Stevenson Row
Charles Schwab
Fuzio Universal Pasta