WESTMINSTER : City Pitches In to Enhance Storefronts

A run-down shopping center has been restored to a high gloss in the first major use of a city program, which officials hope will increase property values and business.

Under the program, the city offers to pay business owners and tenants up to half the cost of refurbishing their storefronts.

“In some ways we’re competing with South Orange County, which has gleaming new retail centers,” said Brian Fisk, a spokesman for the city’s redevelopment agency. “Most of the retail centers here are 30 or 40 years old, and it’s time for a face lift.”

The shopping center at Chestnut Street and Westminster Boulevard underwent $250,000 worth of exterior improvements. The redevelopment agency paid $96,000, hoping “the improvement will encourage other business owners to start work on theirs,” said agency spokeswoman Lyn Gillespie.

Fisk said the improvements are overdue.

“The commercial area definitely needs revitalization. What you see when you drive down Westminster Boulevard is big pole signs and automotive repair garages with big doors that open onto the street. It’s not very attractive,” Fisk said.

Officials say they hope the city’s cost will be recovered in increased retail sales, which would boost sales and property tax revenue.

For businesses that cannot afford their share of the remodeling cost, the agency also offers low-interest loans. The money can be used for architectural improvements, painting, exterior cleanup and landscaping. A total of $600,000 has been budgeted for the program this year, he said.

The year-old effort has completed only one other remodeling at a medical office at 7901 Westminster Blvd. early last year at a cost of $20,000. Still, Fisk said he expects that it will become more popular.

“We haven’t done a lot of marketing yet. Once we do more things like we’re doing today, I suspect more people will be interested in it. It’s really a great opportunity because the agency pays up to 50% of the improvement of their property. That doesn’t happen too often,” he added.