City Unveils Riverwalk Redevelopment Plan

City officials unveiled conceptual designs Thursday for a redevelopment project they hope could become one of the county’s hottest entertainment destinations.

Known as Riverwalk, the plan calls for replacing aging homes and businesses on 53 acres off Harbor Boulevard with an ice-skating rink, virtual reality arcade and bowling alley. Apartments would become theaters and trendy eateries, and deteriorating streets would be transformed into a rambling waterway complete with boats and walking paths.

The ambitious $400- to $500-million project, proposed for the west side of Harbor Boulevard from Garden Grove Boulevard to just south of Chapman Avenue, is “intended to provide an alternative experience for visitors to Disneyland” while enticing locals with casual but interesting activities, said Matt Fertal, director of the Garden Grove Agency for Community Development.

“You could step off Harbor Boulevard and step into something entirely different,” Fertal said.

The project by OHI Ltd. must gain redevelopment agency and City Council approval before it can proceed.

The first of several steps in the complicated approval process was taken Tuesday when officials added a Buaro Street apartment complex to the redevelopment project area. The parcel was the last needed to bring the entire project site under the redevelopment agency’s jurisdiction, Deputy City Manager Cathy Standiford said.

Parking for Riverwalk is expected to link the attraction with several hotels planned nearby on Harbor Boulevard, which were also detailed by Fertal on Thursday.

Three hotels with a total of 1,050 rooms are planned for the southwest corner of Harbor Boulevard and Chapman Avenue, and another three hotels with a total of 700 rooms are planned north of Chapman.

Construction is expected before the end of the year.

While the city has committed millions of redevelopment agency dollars to acquire the land needed to bring hotels to Harbor Boulevard, no city funds will be spent on Riverwalk, Fertal said.

The city stands to gain millions of dollars in tax income from the hotels and the Riverwalk project, he said.

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Along a Waterfront

Garden Grove’s planned Riverwalk development would combine 53 acres of shopping, theaters and entertainment, intended to entice visitors as well as locals.