Fullerton : City Staff Ready to Seek Deposit on Plaza Parcel

City staff members are expected to go before the council today to request $5,000 in redevelopment funds as a deposit toward the purchase of key property for the proposed $12-million Fullerton Museum Plaza.

The non-refundable deposit will freeze the sale of the one-acre parcel at 125 E. Wilshire Ave. until July 31, at which time the city hopes to have completed the necessary studies for the project, according to Ron Hagan, city director of community services.

“We really need to tie up this property now because it’s the key to the development,” Hagan said. “The project could not go without this property.”

Plans for the downtown plaza call for a giant-screen theater, a museum with traveling exhibits and shopping galleries.

In addition to the deposit, Hagan said, the owner of the property has agreed to accept the city’s offer of $180,000 for the site. However, the city will have to forfeit the deposit if it does not purchase the land by July 31, Hagan said.

Also, the City Council is expected to consider a recommendation to approve a city-owned and operated hangar complex at the southeast corner of Fullerton Municipal Airport and an engineering firm for the $450,000 project.

The city is in the process of purchasing the four-acre site, which includes three rectangular hangars, for $1.6 million, City Manager Bill Winter said.

Winter said that work on the project will include new tie-downs, hangars, paving and drainage for the complex. With approval, construction could begin in about seven months.