Salinas committee hears predevelopment plans for Chinatown Soledad Street sites; no votes due to lack of quorum

At a meeting of the Salinas Housing and Land Use Committee, city staff presented predevelopment plans for multiple properties on Soledad Street in Chinatown, including design concepts, funding approaches and emergency stabilization work for the Republic Cafe. The committee did not take formal votes because it lacked a quorum; the minutes from the Jan. 20, 2026 meeting were continued to the March meeting.

Mr. Leonard, who led the presentation, outlined the project goals and site consolidation for 34–40 Soledad, 37–39 Soledad and 45 Soledad Street. He said the work is intended to reduce risk for private and nonprofit developers by assembling land, completing environmental studies, producing plans and moving sites toward entitlement. “We were successful in applying for and receiving approximately 1 and a half million dollars in funding to do predevelopment work,” he said, referring to a 2024 regional early action planning grant and the selection of TEF Design and Architecture for design and entitlement services.

Staff described the sites in detail. 34 and 36 were one-story commercial buildings (one formerly the PI Market) that were demolished after a fire; 38 (the Ayers Pool Hall) was a…