Huntington Beach Sets Deadline on Main Street : Redevelopment: Owners of eight retail shops have until Jan. 12 to come up with money to participate in the Main-Pier project or face condemnation.

The city this week mailed letters to eight Main Street property owners giving them a Jan. 12 deadline to come up with enough money to participate in the city’s Main-Pier Redevelopment Project.

The notifications are a last-ditch effort to involve the owners in the project before the city invokes its power of eminent domain to acquire the remaining properties, City Administrator Paul Cook said.

Condemnation proceedings for the retail shops lining the north side of Main Street between Pacific Coast Highway and Walnut Avenue, which were scheduled to begin Monday, were postponed by the move.

Cook said the letters send a clear sign to the owners that “we’re getting a little tougher. We have deadlines to meet, and we need to get moving with this and get condemnations started, if that’s what’s necessary.”

The eight properties are included in the retail-oriented Phase II of the Main-Pier project, the centerpiece of the city’s redevelopment.

Officials from the city and Griffin Related Properties, the project’s developer, have been negotiating more than a year with the owners, who run or lease small businesses in the shops.

For owners to participate in the redevelopment project, each needs to contribute a required percentage into the project, Cook said. The amount of required capital varies, but most owners need to acquire bank loans of about $1 million, he said.

Some of the owners oppose the plan’s concept, but the main stumbling block for many is whether they can come up with the deposit.

Council members have said they hope to avoid resorting to eminent domain to acquire the properties, but will if necessary.

“You always hate to have to think about eminent domain,” Councilwoman Grace Winchell said. “A lot of those owners have been there a long time, and they run bona fide businesses. It puts them in a tough spot.”

Earlier this year, the property owners uniformly opposed the redevelopment project, but several in recent months have become strong supporters.

“I’m 100% for it,” said George Draper, owner of George’s Surf Center for the past 23 years, who said he intends to post the required participation contribution. “I’ve enjoyed being in the low-profile (opposition) movement, but I’m ready for the change now.