Village Plaza in La Mesa Wins Council Go-Ahead

The City Council, sitting as the redevelopment agency, unanimously agreed Tuesday to allow construction of a $21-million “Village Plaza,” a condominium and commercial development that city officials hope will accelerate rejuvenation of the downtown area.

The 5.6-acre complex is the second phase of a 12-year-old city plan to redevelop 57 acres of downtown property.

The two-year project by The Commonwealth Companies Inc. will use office structures, a restaurant, condominiums and space for future retailers in an attempt to further the turnaround of the once-blighted downtown.

Commonwealth, a San Diego-based development firm, said construction on the project, on the northwest corner of Spring Street and La Mesa Boulevard, should begin by May.

“The project is going to be a tremendous boost to La Mesa,” said Gordon L. Austin, executive vice president of the La Mesa Chamber of Commerce. “The mixed use of residential, office and retail space is ideal in supporting each other.”

Austin said residents of the four-story condominium complex, with its projected 100 units selling for about $100,000 each, will help support the plaza and other downtown businesses.

He also pointed out that “by putting people into the downtown area,” La Mesa, considered by many to be a dormant city after 5 p.m., could turn into an attractive place during the evenings.

Before redevelopment got under way, downtown housed numerous small, independently owned businesses that closed as quickly as they opened, city officials said.

“Businesses came downtown and left downtown as if there was a revolving door at the end of the street,” according to Mayor Fred Nagel.

Today, however, with the recent construction of the La Mesa Springs Shopping Center and a mid-rise apartment complex for senior citizens, “a once-dying area” has been transformed into an attractive city for residents and retailers alike, city redevelopment administrator Janice Weinrick said.

Weinrick said city officials are optimistic that the La Mesa Village Plaza will follow the lead of its successful predecessors.

“It is going to be the beginning of the end of a eight- or nine-year dream of revitalization and restoration of the center city of La Mesa,” Nagel said.

The city’s redevelopment agency will almost double revenue currently received from tax increments, a procedure many cities use to support redevelopment projects.