REDWOOD CITY - The opening of a new public plaza this weekend and the recent opening of a 20- screen movie theater, shops and restaurants are just the beginning of a whole new downtown, one which officials hope will someday be a thriving, interconnected neighborhood that many call home.

Between now and spring, new businesses will continue to open in and near the retail-cinema site at Broadway and Middlefield Road, where visitors can dine on French pastries, authentic Mexican and South Pacific cuisine and custard-filled cream puffs that have drawn long lines in San Francisco.

At the same time, Redwood City will be putting its muscle behind a new, precise plan that will guide construction downtown, including up to 3,600 residential units and expanded room for retail and offices.

“The plan integrates transit, El Camino Real and housing to truly create this urban center that’s a place people want to be,” said Susan Moeller, manager of the city’s redevelopment agency. “We want it to feel like a place that’s integrated and whole.”

Redwood City’s downtown is bisected by two major thorough-fares - the Caltrain corridor and El Camino Real - that present design challenges for planners who want the region to feel more unified. The precise plan aims to create that unity through design and bicycle, pedestrian and vehicle connections that make sense, according to Dan Zack, downtown development manager.

“It’s a blueprint for an exciting, livable and viable downtown,” Planning Director Tom Passanisi said. “We’re really excited about it.”

Officials aren’t the only ones enthusiastic about the future of downtown. Downtown businesses reported a 10 percent to 15 percent uptake in sales in September after the July 28 cinema opening, Moeller said. She predicted further increases would follow.

Century Theatres’ new Cineplex is drawing locals of all ages and stripes, according to Mayor Bar¬bara Pierce, who sees that as a sign of good things to come.

“When you look at old downtowns and where they are successful, there are people living there, caring for it, watching it — that’s an integral part,” and one that has been lost, Pierce said. “Now, many towns are trying to bring that back.”

Recently, Zack was visiting the cinema site when he saw a handful of kids strolling through the new downtown and gazing up at the movie-theater marquee when one of them exclaimed, “This is so cool!”