REDWOOD CITY, CA -- The glimmerings of a new entertainment mecca on the Peninsula are starting to surface as construction hammers away to make over Redwood City’s sleepy downtown.

On top of the landmark 20-screen Century Theatre, the restoration of the historic courthouse plaza and major street improvements are all scheduled for unveiling within a year. To add to the city’s new pedestrian-friendly image, city officials are also transforming Middlefield Road into a European-style walkway called Theatre Way.

So what does it all mean?

On any given Friday or Saturday night, it could translate into 10,000 more people milling about downtown.

“That’s 10,000 people who aren’t here now,” said John Anagnostou, director of the Downtown Business Group and co-owner of the Fox Theater. “This is going to be the biggest entertainment town in San Mateo County.”

With 4,200 seats, Redwood City’s cinema project is more grandiose than the 12-screen, 1,800-seat theater that opened a year ago in San Mateo. It will include an underground garage and ground floor of major chain retailers. Two national “anchor tenants,” a mid-range retail store and about six smaller retail stores and restaurants will fill out the area.

The massive project will be laid out on the huge chunk of land bounded by Broadway, Jefferson Avenue and Middlefield Road.

Economic Development Manager Pat Webb said inquiries from interested business owners are already starting to trickle in.

Even though the impact of the theater will be felt right away, she said getting the ideal mix of restaurants, retail and entertainment will be a 20-year process. In the first wave, she said restaurants will flock to the area. Retailers selling appliances and TVs will be next, followed at last by coveted “soft good” retailers — those selling products like clothes and shoes.

“The reality is those kind of retailers won’t come on board until they’re absolutely sure there’s a critical mass of people,” Webb said.

It’s the same process unfolding in areas like San Mateo and Santa Monica, she said. Since the Century Theatre opened a year ago in downtown San Mateo, foot traffic in the area has jumped dramatically and new eateries and shops have opened. That same success will be enjoyed on an even grander scale in Redwood City, Anagnostou said.

The vibrant scene everyone is envisioning is in stark contrast to the downtown that was characterized as quiet even in the best of economic times.

“Even during the boom on the Peninsula, it was still sleepy,” said Councilman Jim Hartnett.

Restaurants always fared decently during business hours since the city is the county government seat, Webb said. But after hours, everyone goes home and the town shut down.

“It’s the evenings that have been difficult,” Webb said. “One reason the cinema will be so great is that it is going to get our evening clock going. We’re going to have an 18-hour day.”

And with the improvements to the streets, Hartnett said pedestrians will flock to the area even if they don’t plan on seeing a movie or grabbing a bite to eat. The unveiling of the new courthouse plaza in particular will make downtown a pedestrian-friendly gathering place, he said.

Even if it’s taken years of planning — and considerable struggles — to make the ambitious plans come to fruition, Hartnett said the future possibilities are just starting to dawn on people now that downtown is a massive construction site.

“Seeing is believing,” Hartnett said. “When people start seeing paper plans move to concrete steps, they start seeing the change as very real.”