SAN JOSE — A revamped plan that has sprouted for a southwest San Jose shopping center well-known for a rotating carousel sign would create a mixed-use village and a new Main Street for the Cambrian district.

If completed as now envisioned, the project would create a gateway to the Cambrian area of San Jose and bring the district new housing, retail, hotel facilities, open spaces, and a community gathering area — and preserve the carousel structure currently perched alongside Union Avenue.

“Willow Glen has Lincoln Avenue, Campbell has Campbell Avenue, Los Gatos has Santa Cruz Avenue,” San Jose City Councilmember Pam Foley said in a letter to her Council District 9 constituents and neighbors, adding that the Cambrian section of San Jose should have the same destination thoroughfare.

That’s what the revised plans for a mixed-use village to replace the outmoded and fast-aging Cambrian Park Plaza center should be, in Foley’s view.

“Cambrian deserves to have its own Main Street,” Councilmember Foley stated. “It should serve as an iconic gateway to this beautiful corner of San Jose and as a foundation for building a greater sense of community.”

Weingarten Realty’s latest proposal is a major step forward to achieving those goals, in Foley’s view.

“This brand new plan has something for everyone,” Foley said. “It is not perfect, but it is impressive.”

Weingarten executives noted that the real estate firm worked with San Jose city officials for more than four years and listened to community comments and concerns.

The development company said it was guided by new city design goals and a concept plan that neighbors crafted.

“We have created an innovative new Signature Project for Cambrian, a truly mixed-use village which will become the heart of the community,” Weingarten stated in a post on the project’s website.

Weingarten’s proposal includes plans for:

— Public open spaces totaling six-plus acres including a community plaza and a central park with an amphitheater.

— Mixed uses of residential and commercial spaces, consisting of 305 podium apartments built atop 60,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, located next to a community plaza with underground parking. The building would be six stories high.

— A 229-room, five-story hotel with underground parking and outdoor restaurant decks facing the central park.

— Assisted senior living totaling 165,000 square feet that will be connected to the central park, four to five stories high.

— 25 townhouses along Union Avenue and 48 single-family homes that will be near existing residences in the neighborhood.

“Weingarten Realty has dramatically re-envisioned Cambrian Park Plaza Shopping Center’s future,” the developer stated.

The existing shopping center was originally built in the 1950s and now consists of 171,000 square feet of retail. BevMo! wine store, Round Table Pizza, and DollarTree store are the anchor merchants.

“Since originally developed, the center has become unattractive to potential new tenants due to its lack of modern function and appearance,” Weingarten stated in an assessment of the existing property. “The current vacancy rate remains incredibly high.”

The new village aims at being pedestrian-oriented, rather than a typical suburban center that’s geared toward visits by people in their vehicles. Cars will all park underground, for one thing.

“Our village plan is designed for people, not cars, with walking promenades connecting acres of public open space, including a central park with an amphitheater next to a community plaza surrounded by small commercial shops, restaurants, and outdoor seating,” Weingarten said.

A new “main street” will connect sections of the new village and encourage people to stroll through the complex.

Councilmember Foley noted that the project is pushing ahead even though the coronavirus has unleashed an array of economic woes and uncertainties. Government-imposed shutdowns of many businesses has compounded the deadly bug’s impact.

“This project in particular gives me hope for our future,” Foley said. “Even with all the economic uncertainty around us, Weingarten Realty is still interested in proceeding with this project.”