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Walnut Creek unveils 2027–28 economic development action plan, emphasizes downtown vitality and targeted industry support
Summary
City staff presented a two‑year Economic Development Action Plan focused on six strategies — growth, investment, downtown vitality, land‑use alignment, auto industry support and business resources — using market data on office inventory, industry clusters and hotel performance to set measurable goals.
The Walnut Creek Economic Development Division presented its draft 2027–28 Action Plan on June 16, outlining six strategies to support growth and maintain downtown vitality.
Economic Development Manager Mike Neiman summarized accomplishments from the prior action cycle, including a mayoral business retention program, outdoor dining grant awards, permitting streamlining efforts and targeted tenant recruitment. A recently completed office market study was highlighted: the city has roughly 13,000,000 square feet of office space with vacancy patterns that, under several scenarios, imply between roughly three and ten years of future employment‑driven office demand depending on return‑to‑office and density assumptions.
The plan lays out six strategies: promote Walnut Creek as a regional economic center and retain quality employers; attract investment that diversifies the local economy; preserve and enhance downtown vitality (events, outdoor dining and visitor experience); align land use to market realities through the General Plan update; continue supporting the auto industry while also maintaining health‑care outreach; and serve as a business resource and data broker for employers and entrepreneurs.
Staff shared several baseline metrics: citywide office vacancy (reported at ~20%), hotel occupancy around 75% (above national averages reported in the presentation), and employment near 70,000. The plan sets measurable goals such as tracking business license growth, vacancy rates by land use, website visits and unemployment trends. Councilmembers asked detailed questions about the office vacancy data source and noted segmentation within the office market (higher amenity downtown buildings performing better than older product elsewhere).
The plan stays largely continuity‑focused, emphasizing implementation, measurable outcomes, and coordination with partners including the Chamber, Walnut Creek Downtown, Diablo regional arts and regional economic development entities.
Quote: "We’ll continue our efforts to attract and retain businesses, particularly industries that provide quality jobs and help diversify our economy," Mike Neiman said.
Ending: Staff will continue outreach and return with measurable updates; the General Plan update will feed longer‑term land‑use alignment work.
