4th St. Shop Plan Gains in Santa Ana

Santa Ana’s first step to redeveloping a seedy four-block area along 4th Street with trendy shops and Spanish-styled architecture won the approval of city officials Tuesday night.

The project, named Fiesta Marketplace by its private developers, will have “plenty of canvas awnings and cultural atmosphere,” said Robert D. Escalante, a local businessman and partner in the group that plans to develop the area.

“We want to create an atmosphere for customers to shop and buy along 4th (Street) without worrying about whether it’s safe,” Escalante said.

The City Council, acting on a redevelopment proposal, agreed Tuesday to apply for $1 million from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in “seed” money to eventually help pay $10 million in new construction and remodeling costs.

Family Entertainment

The aim, Escalante said, is to create an entertainment row--”something to bring the family and kids to”--that includes fancy restaurants with mariachis and small shops.

For more than a year Escalante, owner of Custom Auto Service, and four other Santa Ana businessmen have pushed for the project. The other investors in Fiesta Marketplace Partnership Ltd. are Irv Chase, owner of Chase Development Co.; Allen Fainbarg of S&A; Properties Co.; Raymund Rangel of R&R; Sportswear and Jose Ceballos of Libreria y Discoteca Mexico.

Once a major hub for business and socializing, the 4th Street area has declined economically in recent years. Drunks from area beer bars and prostitutes now account for much of the pedestrian traffic during late-night hours.

Roger Kooi, Santa Ana Downtown Development Commission director, said the four-square-block area targeted for low-interest loans for new construction and remodeling is bounded by French Street on the east, Bush Street on the west, and 3rd and 5th Streets.

Funding would come from a tax-exempt $7-million bond program issued through the Bank of America, Kooi said.

City officials expect to hear whether HUD has approved the application for seed money some time in late summer.

A preliminary master plan sets restrictions on architecture. Specifically excluded would be “stand-up” beer bars, of which at least four now exist in the area.

Bars Not in Plan

“A prerequisite for the proposal was that all parties would agree that we wouldn’t have any stand-up beer bars that didn’t fit the design,” Kooi said.

The city and local businessmen have been working with the bar operators to include them in future plans, Kooi said.

One owner, for example--Jesse Galvan, owner of the Chico Club--may participate in the new project and construct retail space and a restaurant on the land he owns.

Included in the area is the Cine Yost Theater, a 70-year-old Santa Ana landmark that the city wants to refurbish. Kooi said the city may use the theater as a cultural center, possibly in an arrangement with Rancho Santiago College District.