Santa Ana Approves Centerpointe Project : $85-Million Office-Hotel Complex Viewed as Anchor for Downtown Redevelopment
An $85-million office-hotel project designed to anchor a planned redevelopment of downtown Santa Ana was approved unanimously by the City Council Tuesday night along with two other multimillion-dollar building projects.
“In redevelopment terms, this is an extraordinary night for any city,” said City Manager Robert C. Bobb.
The council approved development of the office-hotel complex, called Centerpointe, by the Milwaukee-based Carley Capital Group. A 15-story, 240,000-square-foot office building connected by a glass atrium to an eight-story luxury hotel is planned, along with a five-level parking structure accommodating 1,250 vehicles. A 50,000-square-foot conference center will be built beneath both structures.
“This is the major step we need to proceed with construction,” said Maureen McAvey, director of development for Carley. She said the firm is negotiating with several financial institutions to underwrite the project. “We feel very confident,” McAvey said.
Centerpointe was originally planned as a 32-story tower that would have been the tallest building in Orange County. Those plans were scaled back to 15 stories after a city-commissioned study by the Urban Land Institute of Washington indicated that the city should take a slower approach to redevelopment.
Although the height of the building has been reduced, the scope of the project remains the same with the addition of the eight-story hotel, Bobb said, adding that the project is expected to be completed by fall, 1988.
He said completion of major projects like Centerpointe will spark other development.
“We feel it’s a major anchor for the core of the downtown area,” Bobb said.
Only three persons objected to the 6-0 council vote approving Centerpointe Tuesday night. Bob Lopez, who identified himself as a local businessman, asked the council to delay the action for one year, saying there already are too many hotels in the area.
Other projects approved are:
- The Fiesta Marketplace, a downtown shopping center that would include restaurants, street vendors, roving entertainers and movie theaters. The conversion of the historic Yost Theater into a community theater and satellite campus for Rancho Santiago College are part of the plans. The project is backed by five local businessmen: Irv Chase, Robert Escalante, Allen Fainbarg, Raymund Rangel and Jose Ceballos.
- A preliminary agreement for a $20-million, 10-story office tower south of Main Place, the $400-million expansion of the Fashion Square shopping mall now under way.
Bobb told the council Tuesday night that the cost of Centerpointe could reach $95 million, according to latest estimates.
It is estimated that city income from Centerpointe will be about $1.4 million in the first year of operation.
Santa Ana will wind up spending about $18.2 million on Centerpointe for acquisition of the land, demolition, relocation of former tenants and construction of the parking structure. The city will pay $5 million toward construction of the $11-million conference center.
Bobb said he believes that a glut in Southern California office space is now being absorbed.
“We believe the market is turning around,” he said, noting that several other office buildings are planned in the city and that the Orange County Transit District recently approved plans for new offices above its downtown transit center.
Housing for City Offices
The building will also house several city departments as Santa Ana’s staff outgrows City Hall. Five departments now leasing space in buildings throughout the area will move into Centerpointe, and more will move when expanding police and fire departments take over City Hall offices, he said.
Although studies have indicated poor occupancy rates for area hotels into the next decade, Bobb said the conference center will bring in small conventions and other meetings that will provide steady business. In addition, Bobb said Group W Cable TV will construct a $2.5-million television conference facility in the center to attract conventioneers.
The Fiesta Marketplace is expected to bring tourists into the area, according to Bobb, but Irv Chase, who acts as spokesman for the partners, said the primary goal is to have a decent downtown area for residents of Santa Ana.
“We think it could be a regional attraction,” Chase said, “but the important thing is to transform a rundown area into a place for the local people to go at night.”
Bobb made no attempt to hide his satisfaction with the changes planned for the area, which is occupied by taverns and frequented by prostitutes. “The beer bars are history, come Dec. 1,” he said.
