A breath of fresh air.

That's what hit Hayward last week, and we're not talking about just the unseasonably mild weather that prompted blossoming trees to think spring has sprung.

The breath of fresh air is the City Council's vote for the contract with Walnut Creek-based Blake Hunt Ventures to develop the property at B Street and Foothill Boulevard. Once home to an Albertsons, the site has been vacant for some time now -- and it's on one of the busiest traffic routes in town.

The developer's plans call for a movie theater complex with restaurants and shops. This proposal has been bandied about for some time, with various scenarios considered but with no real action taken. Now the council has started the ball rolling on the idea.

Council members and many of those who own or work at businesses in the B Street area are enthusiastic about the prospects. The proposal has a lot going for it this time, including the naming of serious potential tenants. There are two, possibly three, movie theater operators interested in the proposed project, according to the developer. Cost Plus World Market also has expressed interest. The developer also told the council that 75 percent to 80 percent of the spaces would be leased before construction.

We're excited about the prospects, and even more excited that action is taking place at this prime location. It could be the answer to many of the nagging concerns voiced about downtown Hayward, from the lack of new businesses and no vibrant, bustling city core to the need for a movie theater in the city.

This plan could be the answer to the city leaders' dreams. If all goes as the developer proposes, there would be a 12- to 16-screen movie theater on the second floor of a two-level complex, with shops and restaurants and an outdoor plaza overlooking B Street. The ground level would be more shops, restaurants and a 200-space parking structure.

This plan could be the impetus for more improvements to the B Street downtown area, starting with parking.

The theater will require considerable parking. City planners are looking into building a three-level garage to add 330 spaces to the 100 in Municipal Parking Lot No. 2, off B Street between Foothill Boulevard and Main Street. The redevelopment agency might foot the bill for the estimated $3.3 million garage.

The exciting thing about this plan is that the new complex would be "a magnet to bring people to downtown," as Chamber of Commerce President Scott Ratty noted. A theater, a name retail store to anchor the complex and more restaurants indeed will attract people to the area. Movie crowds can browse through the neighboring businesses.

And the increased interest could spur B Street business owners to upgrade their buildings as well. As lead developer Brad Blake put it to the City Council, "I don't want to insult you, but right now it seems like you're trying not to wake people up."

We couldn't have said it better. There is a quiet beauty about B Street, but it certainly could use some enhancements and an injection of new life -- new business, new faces of people who for too long have bypassed the downtown area in favor of the malls and mega-theaters.

Change is already under way, even before this project came up. This week the $3 million B Street streetscape improvement project is starting, with the removal of Australian willow trees that line the thoroughfare. They will be replaced by deciduous Chinese flame trees.

The streetscape project also includes new sidewalks, patio areas, benches and lighted columns.

The proposed theater complex site has a lot going for it, but it's been hiding its potential far too long.

The city bought the property with the vision of its becoming a prominent gateway to a growing downtown district. For a while, it looked as if that dream was withering. Now it has a chance to happen.

The developer has said plans for the project could be ready for the City Council's approval by December and that construction likely would begin in spring 2004.

It can't happen soon enough for us. It's been a long time coming.