Good Morning, Walnut Creek! 🌳

Four blank walls downtown got new murals this summer, and all four sit within a couple blocks of each other. Also in this issue, Thursday's last concert of the summer, three homes on the market right now, and a full market weekend to plan around.

Lead Story

Four downtown walls look completely different

Downtown picked up four new murals this summer, the first projects ever funded through the city's Mural Grant Program. The paint is dry, the artists are done, and you can see all four on one short walk.

Three live at 1419 N. Broadway. "Junglelaya" by Steve Anderson covers the south-facing parking lot wall, "Confluence" by Tsui Xiao Rui and Elliot Trent Thompson takes the north-facing wall, and "Creek Dwellers" by Joey Rose and Alexandra Underwood wraps two walls in the breezeway between them. The fourth, "A Step Off The Path" by Zoe Adiah Boston, is at 1372 N. Main St.

The city celebrated the finished walls at the end of July, and the grant program is built to keep funding new ones. If you have not walked N. Broadway lately, this is the week to change your route.

Detail of mural created by Tsui Xiao Rui and Elliot Trent Thompson. Photo courtesy of City of Walnut Creek.

Featured Event

The last concert of the summer is Thursday

Summer Night City, an ABBA tribute band, closes out the Broadway Plaza Summer Concert Series this Thursday, August 20. DJ Rich Era spins at 5:30, vendor booths open at 6, and the band goes on at 7 at Broadway Plaza. It is free, and it is the last one until next summer, so bring a chair and claim a good spot early.

Around Town

Elite Armory has filed plans for an indoor shooting range, firearms training facility, and gun shop at 2615 N. Main St., the vacant building that used to hold Lewis & Lewis Carpets. Plans filed with the city would expand the building from 3,000 to 4,280 square feet and add a nine-lane indoor range with reinforced walls and sound-absorbing construction. The Design Review Commission takes its first look tonight at 6 PM at City Hall. Tonight's session is advisory only, and covers the building design rather than the bigger question. The Planning Commission decides the use permit at a later hearing. Residents have already begun filing comments. If you want yours in front of the commission tonight, email [email protected] before 4 PM, or show up at 1666 N. Main St. and speak for two minutes.

The proposed storefront at 2615 N. Main St. Rendering from project plans filed with the City of Walnut Creek.

 

The Walnut Creek Senior Housing Transit Village Initiative will be on your ballot Tuesday, November 3. The measure would rezone 2.4 acres at N. California Boulevard and Ygnacio Valley Road, directly across from BART, for a project with more than 200 senior housing units plus shops and dining. Backers led by Walnut Creek's Hall Equities Group gathered roughly 7,200 signatures to put it in front of voters, and City Council placed it on the ballot in July. We will break down both sides as November gets closer.

 

City Council took up the city's Electric Vehicle Strategic Plan Tuesday night. The posted staff report floats user fees at the city's public chargers, 16 cents to a dollar per kilowatt hour depending on the station. The city runs 52 public ports and spends about $250,000 a year keeping them powered. We will report what direction council gave in next week's issue.

 

The city proposes putting $210,000 in leftover federal funds toward downtown sidewalk accessibility upgrades. Public comment is open through September 15, with a hearing at City Hall that evening at 6 PM. If you know a stretch of downtown sidewalk that needs the help, email [email protected].

This Week

Soccer Saturday at Heather Farm. Walnut Creek Soccer Club throws its first Kickoff Jamboree this Saturday, August 22, 10 AM to 3 PM at Heather Farm Park, with a ribbon cutting for the brand-new turf on Fields 1 and 2. Local vendors, food trucks, music, and a kids zone fill the lot next to Field 1. One more thing. The Nut hats sold out at the Locust Street Festival, so we restocked and we are doing a surprise pop-up at the Jamboree to back the club. Come grab one and say hi.

Our booth at the Locust Street Festival on Aug. 5. Every hat went home with someone. Round two is Saturday at Heather Farm.

Makers Market at Broadway Plaza. Saturday, August 22, 11 AM to 5 PM, between Nordstrom and Macy's. More than 40 local makers, live music, free to walk, kids and dogs welcome.

Diablo Valley Farmers' Market at Shadelands. Every Saturday, 9 AM to 1 PM, at N. Wiget Lane and Mitchell Drive.

Walnut Creek Farmers' Market downtown. Every Sunday, 9 AM to 1 PM, on Locust Street between Cole and Lacassie.

What's Good Walnut Creek

89 California artists, one gallery, pay what you can

CALeidoscope, the Bedford Gallery's juried survey of California art, runs through September 13 at the Lesher Center. Painting, photography, sculpture, and mixed media from 89 artists, jurored by curators from the San José Museum of Art and ICA Los Angeles. Open Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 5 PM, and admission is pay what you can.

Market Pulse

What the Walnut Creek market is doing right now

Redfin's numbers covering the three months ending in June.

On the market this week

Community Board

MELO'S ITALIAN TABLE · Italian dinner downtown at 1360 Locust St. The kind of table you take your parents and your kids to on the same night. Reservations at meloswc.com.

CARDONA LANDSCAPING SOLUTIONS · Landscape design and construction for the yard project you keep pushing to next season. Serving Walnut Creek and the Bay Area. Free quotes at cardonalandscapesolutions.com.

LANDA RUEN ART · Watercolor kits and art classes for kids and adults, based in Walnut Creek. Workshops, private events, and paint-at-home kits at landaruenart.com.

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