It’s rare to be able to build an entire downtown from the ground up, and even more so in a region like the Bay Area. But that is exactly what is happening in Downtown Fremont, a new community on the rise.

Bordered by Mowry Avenue to the north, Walnut Avenue to the south, Paseo Padre Parkway to the east, and Fremont Boulevard to the west, Downtown is a 110-acre area that is already starting to serve as a central gathering point for the entire Fremont community and beyond as a place to live, work, and play. The Downtown Community Plan published in 2018 provides the framework and vision for the Downtown District, and is also encompassed by the broader 430-acre City Center Community Plan area.

Recently recognized as a Main Street America Affiliate program, Downtown Fremont benefits from its close proximity to the Fremont BART station, as well as being straddled by the Fremont Hub, Gateway Plaza, and Fremont Plaza shopping centers.

The City has already made substantial investment in creating a walkable urban street grid with pedestrian linkages to the nearby BART station. With 15,000 residents and 50,000 employees within a one-mile radius; Kaiser, Washington, and Sutter hospitals; and retailers like Whole Foods, Safeway, Raley’s, and an incoming Korean grocery store Mega Mart, and Trader Joe’s within walking distance, many of the elements of a complete Downtown community are already in place. And the number of jobs keeps growing — in 2021 alone, 250 jobs were created in the area, and seven new businesses dubbed the Downtown District home. Many of these were small businesses, including Fremont’s first locally owned bookshop, Banter Bookshop, local favorite Din Ding Dumpling, and RawASF, a plant-based vegan café.

Fremont’s Downtown District is poised to become a vibrant urban mixed-use district.

Downtown Event Center and Plaza

To further prepare for Fremont’s new, vibrant Downtown core, we’ve recently opened the Downtown Event Center and Plaza.

Anchoring the corner of Capitol Avenue and State Street—downtown’s heart—the Downtown Event Center and Plaza is a center of community activity and serves as a destination for traditional community center functions such as community meetings, receptions, local business events, and economic development conferences. The Downtown Event Center features a plaza at the center of the site and provides unique flexibility for programming of community events and activities, including active games/sports, food trucks, concerts, maker fairs, markets, and more.

And keeping with Fremont’s commitment to sustainability, the Downtown Event Center is the City’s first all-electric building with zero dependence on fossil fuels. It features roof-mounted solar panels, deep roof overhangs, drought-tolerant plant landscaping, and sunshades to reduce glare and protects the building from heat gain.

Organizations, businesses, and residents who’d like to rent out the Downtown Event Center for their next celebration or special event can learn more and book a tour here.

The Future of Downtown Fremont

It’s safe to say that the future is bright for Downtown Fremont, and development will continue. That’s because Fremont is one of the only cities in the Bay Area to have a federal Opportunity Zone, meaning that it’s more attractive for investors, developers, and property owners to build here given federal tax incentives for qualifying projects.

In fact, one mixed-use project is already providing 11,000 square feet of new ground floor retail and amenity space, and more mixed-use projects are currently underway including Fore Development’s 275-unit mixed-use project located near Walnut Plaza and Fremont Bank’s new six-story headquarters.

The Downtown District is a place where residents can explore some of Fremont’s unique offerings with loved ones, network with professionals at the Downtown Event Center, conduct business, enjoy community events, and, ultimately, call home. 

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