Anaheim : Officials Tell Proposal for Renewal of Plaza
Anaheim residents and business owners have been given their first glimpse of the city’s proposal to redevelop Anaheim Plaza and surrounding retail and industrial areas.
About 25 people came to the city’s first workshop, held at the Anaheim Family YMCA on Thursday, to hear plans to bring new life to the Plaza area. The plans have yet to be finalized, but officials said no residential areas would be included in the redevelopment project.
City officials hope redevelopment will boost retail activity in and around the Anaheim Plaza, which has been losing stores and customers for the past several years.
A consultant recommended last year that the city use its redevelopment authority to lure businesses back into the area. Redevelopment allows the city to use a higher share of property taxes to upgrade an economically blighted area.
The proposed area to be redeveloped includes Anaheim Plaza, a nearby industrial area bounded by Lincoln and Euclid avenues, the Santa Ana Freeway and Crescent Way, and surrounding areas.
Additional public workshops and hearings will be held in the coming months to help establish how the area will be redeveloped. For one merchant, it will not happen soon enough.
“We’re sitting here losing stores, losing retailers and losing customers,” said Chuck Cooper, 58, owner of the Hickory Farms stores at Anaheim Plaza.
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