Rifts Resolved, Santa Ana’s Set to Get on With Redevelopment

It’s a “blueprint” for development of downtown Santa Ana, say city officials and citizens who reached an out-of-court settlement last week ending a lawsuit that had blocked efforts to revitalize the decaying core of the county’s second-largest city.

After two months of negotiations that resulted in a complex series of trade-offs, redevelopment of the area can begin in earnest.

“It’s made life a whole lot easier for me,” said Roger Kooi, director of Santa Ana’s downtown development commission. Kooi has been like the captain of an icebound ship in recent months, waiting for the thaw that would allow him to get back to full speed ahead.

The settlement laid out a map detailing which of the old buildings downtown will be restored--many are elaborately crafted with such features as Corinthian columns--and which will be demolished to make way for new development.

To Remold Downtown

The city’s plan, City Manager Robert C. Bobb said, is to remold downtown into a “blend of the old and the new” with commercial space and upscale apartments that officials and developers hope will attract yuppies. Many work in the nearby Civic Center.

Cornerstone of those plans is the planned Fiesta Marketplace, a Latino-oriented downtown shopping center, with restaurants, movie theaters, strolling mariachis and shops that city officials hope will provide some much-needed night traffic.

The city’s plans hit a brick wall last August when a group of citizens calling themselves the Alliance for Fair Redevelopment filed a lawsuit that sought to block the construction of 194 luxury apartments to be built by Los Angeles-based Urban Ventures Inc. on a block bounded by 4th, 3rd, French and Minter streets. The group alleged that the city hadn’t conducted a proper environmental impact study and that the council should agree to make an additional commitment to build housing for Santa Ana’s low-income population.

Shortly after the suit was filed, the historical preservation group Heritage Orange County joined as co-plaintiff, arguing that an old train station that served as depot for the old Red Car line to Los Angeles should be saved.

Then the fracas got ugly.

In November, Heritage members went to court and obtained a restraining order after they discovered workers hired by the city tearing the depot down one morning.

In December, the City Council cut off funds to Heritage, which had conducted historical surveys and other work for Santa Ana since 1978. On Jan. 14, a Superior Court judge affirmed that no work could be done on the site until a trial was held on the lawsuit.

Both sides went to work at that point, attempting to hammer out a workable agreement. A few weeks ago, after a particularly volatile four-hour session, Heritage president Hal Thomas called attorney Fran Layton and told her to press on with the lawsuit because it would be impossible to work out the dispute.

City Council’s Endorsement

But Thomas, Alliance members and city officials did go back to the bargaining table, and finally, on March 13, a tentative settlement was reached. Last Tuesday, the City Council voted 5-1 to accept the agreement and get on with the business of rebuilding the decaying city center.

The settlement should put an end to perceptions that Santa Ana isn’t interested in saving some of its older buildings, said Bobb. “It reconfirms our commitment to historical preservation,” he said.

Kooi added that he’s glad to renew a working relationship with Heritage Orange County, which had its funding restored through the agreement. “It’s good to have them back in the game,” he said.

Thomas said the rebuilding of downtown Santa Ana involves a “symbiotic” connection between new construction and restoration of the older structures--you need both to pull it off. “I’m glad to see a restoration of this working relationship. The city is a necessary ingredient in revitalization. It simply doesn’t happen without them,” he said.

“It does set a blueprint. And it’s a clear mandate on the part of the city and Heritage to continue to upgrade, improve and rehabilitate historic downtown Santa Ana,” Thomas said.

Map for Redevelopment

The settlement maps out the following steps for downtown development:

- The Pacific Electric Depot Building will be demolished, but the 4th Street facade will be retained and stored. David Ream, the city’s executive director of community development, said efforts will be made to incorporate the facade into a smaller development, perhaps as part of a restaurant project. Two smaller buildings on the site will also be demolished.

- The Flagg Building, 114-116 N. Broadway, and the “Broadway Development Block,” a group of small buildings southwest of 2nd Street and Broadway, will be torn down to make way for what is designated the “A-12” project. Urban Ventures would also build that project, which calls for 197 apartments and about 14,500 square feet of commercial space on a block bounded by 1st, 3rd and Birch streets and Broadway.

- Restoration of the Salvation Army Building, which fronts French Street on the site of the 194-apartment project where the depot will be razed. Thomas said the building will be remodeled for commercial use to match the Fiesta Marketplace style. He noted that a stucco and screen covering will be peeled off the building and the underlying brick facade will be restored.

- The Hervey-Finley Building, 202-210 East 4th St., will also be restored for commercial use to fit in with the Fiesta Marketplace plans. City officials hope the expansive second floor of the building can be leased to a county dance troupe.

- Restoration of the Yost Theater and Ritz Hotel, adjoining buildings in the 300 block of Spurgeon Street. The city is negotiating with Rancho Santiago College in hopes of converting both buildings into a cultural center.

Another important part of the agreement, Thomas pointed out, is the reinstatement of $97,000 in low-interest loans to be administered by Heritage for restoration work on some of the fine Victorian-style homes in need of work in the downtown area. He said there are about 10 homes in the area, some dating back as far as 1888.

Heritage Projects

The funds could be used for painting and other maintenance projects on the homes. “It’s not a lot of money, but it is a start,” he said.

Additionally, Heritage will renew work on designing signs pointing out historic downtown buildings and on plans for a walking tour of the area. Thomas said it will probably be several months before the tour plans are ready for presentation to the City Council.

“I’m very pleased with the results,” said Connie Major, a member of Heritage’s board of directors, adding that “some give-and-take” is inevitable. She said her major concern now is to ensure that the city follows through on its promise to make a determined effort to incorporate the depot facade into another project.

She suggested that the facade, with its unique corner-cut design through which trains used to enter and depart, could provide a unique theme for a restaurant and perhaps rail tracks could even be laid down to restore the atmosphere of the old Red Car line so popular from 1927 until its closure in 1950.