250-acre corridor, much of which is still vacant land.  The team helped City staff lead an initial study session with the City Council, reviewing with them the  vision for the Corridor as defined in the recently adopted General Plan Update, and sharing what the team has learned and heard so far through existing conditions analysis and conversations with major Corridor property owners and other stakeholders along with some initial urban design concepts.  The Council was very enthusiastic about the possibilities presented and shared their hopes for the evolution of the old highway toward a significant City Center boulevard, along which new mixed-use centers, visitor attractions, and diverse new neighborhoods would be well integrated with historic visitor attractions, a redeveloping shopping mall, the Riverside County Fairgrounds and justic center, the historic downtown, and adjoining existing neighborhoods.  STP previously collaborated with Raimi Associates and the City in preparing the new General Plan and the 111 Corridor vision, adopted in 2019, and subsequently worked with the City to prepare a new Downtown Specific Plan, adopted in 2020.

 The Plan encompasses an area of approximately 700 acres in the southeast quadrant of the City, including approximately 1 1/2 miles of Wilshire and Robertson Boulevards, and almost a mile of Olympic and La Cienega Boulevards and Doheny Drive.  The Plan is focused primarily on these major urban corridors, and how they may better contribute to the local economy and the quality of life of the residents of surrounding neighborhoods.  Working with the community and the Southeast Task Force, the consultant team will develop strategies and designs for rebalancing each corridor from an auto-dominant through route to a more pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use place that better supports commercial and civic amenties while providing improved all-mode mobility for residents and visitors.  The first of Beverly Hills' two new Purple Line Metro subway stations - now beginning construction - is located at the corner of Wilshire and La Cienega, and the Plan will include "first/last mile" improvements to leverage the value of this major regional infrastructure investment for the residents of Beverly Hills.

City staff reported that STP's proposal was one of 15 received, and that after interviewing 5 teams the staff unanimously recommended the STP team for the job. The plan is funded primarily by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), under a TOD planning grant for this area within walking distance of Claremont' existing Metrolink station and planned Gold Line Station scheduled to open in 2025.  Key project objectives include enabling a valuable new mix of uses within currently underutilized and vacant properties, extending Claremont's unique village character south of the tracks, defining a beautiful south gateway to the Village from Arrow Highway, and providing new pedestrian and bicycle connections from neighborhoods south of the tracks to the new transit stations, the Village, and the colleges.  The STP team includes our frequent collaborators Raimi + Associates, Nelson\Nygaard, Metroplitan Research + Economics, Crabtree Group, Gibson Transportation, and Meridian Consultants.