Milpitas mayor highlights new job opportunities, city revitalization in State of the City address

Acknowledging Milpitas’s 70th anniversary, Mayor Carmen Montano highlighted the past and the present in her State of the City address, from funding local parks to supporting new businesses and revitalizing the main street.

Montano spoke about her family’s history of working and living in Milpitas, then launched into the various local development opportunities before dozens of residents and regional dignitaries at City Hall Thursday evening.

She noted the City Council recently adopted next year’s budget, which allocates millions towards improving city-owned parks. New tech companies also recently moved into the area, prompting the city to forge ahead with creating a new businesses district. Finally, Montano promised a revitalization of its main street, which was once a bustling place for local activity.

The $248.4 million budget utilizes funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a 2021 federal funding bill that provided families, businesses and governments with resources to recover from the pandemic. Milpitas received $16.7 million from ARPA funds in 2022 and used it to create dozens of programs aimed at improving community services, economic vitality, infrastructure, public safety and technology. The city must use the funds by December 2024 or risk being asked to return them.

Of those funds, $1.1 million were used to improve eight city-owned parks. The council also dedicated an addition $3.5 million from the general fund to upgrade another 14 parks. Such improvements include adding permanent pickleball courts, an on-call maintenance and repair services for parks and street landscape areas, and rehabilitation and restoration of the City’s turf fields.

“We know residents of Milpitas love and utilize their parks,” Montano said Thursday.

She also mentioned how major tech companies like Amazon, Corsair Gaming, BD Biosciences recently relocated their operations to Milpitas, creating “exciting” new jobs. The city has hired a new permit navigator, who will help companies navigate and streamline the city’s permit process.

“Time is money, and if we succeed, they succeed,” Montano said.

Companies already established in the city, including Cisco and Apple, have also increased their presence in the city. The influx of opportunities has the city implementing plans to create a 74-acre Business Innovation District located west of Interstate 680.

The city envisions the area to be filled with office and research buildings and home to artificial intelligence, automotive technology and biotechnology science developments. The district will also include infrastructure including bike paths, sidewalks and social gathering places. So far, the city has begun zoning land in the area to allow for such developments.

Montano also stressed the importance of providing a vibrant downtown, and reaffirmed the city’s commitment to crafting a plan that will revitalize the city’s Main Street along Calaveras Boulevard. The approximately 600 acres slated to be renovated over the next 20 years will take place around I-880, the Great Mall Parkway and Great Mall shopping. The planning process was initiated in 2021, and the council will adopt a finalized plan later this year.

“I’ve been a strong advocate for revitalizing our historic Main Street, which was once the heart and soul of Milpitas,” Montano said. “The city council is committed to rejuvenating this important area.”