The City’s Redevelopment Agency retained Richard T. Loewke, AICP to prepare a specific plan and EIR focused on stimulating redevelopment of the aging Contra Costa Center located adjoining Monument Blvd. and I-680. This process involved coordinating planning, environmental and economics professionals to develop a series of conceptual plans and corresponding fiscal impact profiles, designed to test the opportunities and constraints associated with a range of development intensities and uses for this 12.8-acre site. The process was complicated by the competing interests of owners with existing lease commitments and financial obligations, as well as strong public participation. The adopted Specific Plan provides flexibility for phased redevelopment involving up to 330,000 aggregate square feet of primarily retail space, within 3 designated “subareas”, providing for replacement of a former Montgomery Wards department store and Century Theater complex. Preparation of the Specific Plan was accompanied by a project-level EIR which examined a full range of environmental effects. The first 2 phases of this project are now occupied, while phase 3 remains in design and subject to negotiations between owners and the Agency. The most challenging issues in this project included: (1) coordination of competing interests between owner/developers; (2) community outreach leading to an acceptable mix of planned uses and development intensities; (3) satisfying the economic goals, legal requirements and practical realities of the Agency; and (4) development of a set of structured yet flexible development standards and design guidelines to shape the physical form of development, while remaining responsive to market conditions. Project phasing, while effective in facilitating early redevelopment, necessitated extensive fiscal documentation and environmental alternatives.