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Postscript: : History in the Making: East Irvine Restoration Project Awaits Approval

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Restoration of a blacksmith shop, general store and other buildings in a rustic area of east Irvine is set to begin in late summer or early fall.

But the developers say they are happy that the project, which had been scheduled to begin in June, was delayed. It means the blacksmith shop can stay where it is.

“It’ll be more historic now,” said Robert Smith of the J. Ray Development Co.

The delay was caused when the developers learned they wouldn’t have to move the blacksmith shop to make way for the widening of Sand Canyon Avenue, which runs by the site. The city decided to widen the street farther west of the shop.

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The new site plans will be submitted to the Irvine Planning Commission on June 13, Smith said. If the city approves the plans, work on the $10-million to $12-million restoration project will begin in a few months.

In addition to the blacksmith shop, the historical area north of the Santa Ana and San Diego freeway junction includes a warehouse, general store, a garage that once was a Ford dealership, an old wood-frame hotel, a worker’s bungalow and an old grain warehouse.

157-Room Motor Hotel

The developers plan to convert the grain warehouse into a 157-room motor hotel, with 90 rooms in the hexagonal grain silos and the remainder of the rooms in a 32,000-square-foot addition to be built this fall, Smith said. The hotel will be part of the San Antonia-based La Quinta Motor Inns chain.

Although the project will bring new uses for many of the buildings, the oldest of which was built in 1895, the developers plan to preserve the historic atmosphere of the area. For example, the Irvine General Store, a landmark which opened in 1911, will continue to sell bread, milk and soda pop after it is restored.

Other buildings will be used for purposes the original owners probably never imagined.

Smith said that because there isn’t enough demand for a blacksmith shop, the developers will turn the 3,600-square-foot structure into a combination of a family-style restaurant and specialty retail shop. A garage built in 1927 as a Ford Motor Co. dealership will become a cafe.

A 1913-vintage wood frame hotel that is now boarded up eventually will house small retail shops, boutiques and office space. One local clergyman, Smith said, has expressed interest in turning a 1,500-square-foot worker’s bungalow into a wedding chapel.

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“I think we’d do some business,” he said. “It’s a romantic site.”

The developers plan a 1930s motif for the site, Smith said. “It’s going to have red vinyl and stainless steel,” he said. “That kind of diner-look is what we’re looking for.”

‘Never Know What You’ll Find’

Several of the buildings, including the blacksmith shop, are under consideration for inclusion in the national registry of historical buildings, he said.

The work will take two to three years, Smith said, adding that restoring historical buildings “is difficult work. It’s not as straightforward as new construction. You never know what you will find.”

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