BREA : Gateway Center Seen as Boost to City

The Gateway shopping center, first of three phases in an ambitious and controversial downtown redevelopment project, is expected to support 200 full-time jobs and generate $440,000 annually in sales and property tax revenues for the city.

The center’s grand opening last weekend comes at a time when Brea officials are struggling with the financial consequences of the county investment pool collapse.

Brea had $9 million in the pool when the county filed for bankruptcy Dec. 6.

“Most of the economic news coming out of Orange County has been depressing,” said John Hunter, president of Watt/Craig Associates, which developed the shopping center at Brea Boulevard and Imperial Highway. “But the Gateway’s opening shows the underlying strength of the region.”

Major tenants at the $19-million, 184,000-square-foot center include Ralphs, Blockbuster Video, PayLess Drug, PetsMart and Cost Plus.

Later phases of Brea’s 50-acre downtown redevelopment will involve the construction of about 100 single-family homes and the Birch Walk pedestrian mall featuring a movie theater complex, fountains, public art, shops and restaurants.

Efforts to redevelop the downtown area, which began in 1971, have been praised by some residents and business owners and harshly criticized by others.

Tensions escalated in 1989 when the city began using its power of eminent domain to acquire property from reluctant sellers.

State and federal investigators have scrutinized the city’s actions, and two former mayors stepped down from the City Council in 1992 after being hit with conflict-of-interest charges in connection with the redevelopment.