Santa Ana : $10-Million Renovation Project Awaits Approval

Five businessmen hope to turn a run-down, four-block area of downtown into the Fiesta Marketplace, a Latino-oriented shopping area featuring remodeled shops, street vendors, mariachis, restaurants and theaters.

The City Council will consider final approval for the $10-million project Tuesday.

Construction could get under way early next year and is expected to be completed by November, 1986, said Irv Chase, owner of Chase Development Co. and one of the project’s partners.

Although city officials hope the center will draw tourists into downtown, Chase said, the initial goal is to create an area for Latino residents.

Several sources of funding are lined up for the project, including a $6-million industrial development bond issue and $1 million in Department of Housing and Urban Development grants.

The city will loan the developers about $200,000 and provide about $500,000 in various street improvements.

A 700-space parking garage on 5th Street is also planned.

The project will be bounded by Bush, French, 3rd and 5th streets.

A three-screen movie theater is planned and officials also hope to turn the historic Yost Theater into a community cultural arts center to be managed by Rancho Santiago College’s Fine Arts Department.