"I'm going to downtown West Covina on Glendora Avenue"
West Covina is taking baby steps - and I mean baby steps - toward revitalizing its downtown. Reporter Alison Hewitt reports the City Council approved about $500,000 Tuesday for new "old fashioned" lamp posts, new irrigation and planter boxes, and a repaved road and parking lot for the Glendora Avenue shops area.
Read on here:
WEST COVINA - An "Old Town Center" could replace Glendora Avenue as the city moves toward creating a downtown.
West Covina has long talked about revitalizing an area that some officials concede was never vital to begin with. It's an effort to unify the area - and of course, about branding - said Public Works Director Shannon Yauchzee.
"It's Glendora Avenue, and yet it's West Covina downtown," he said. "The hope is, if all the businesses are in favor, to give it a name that gives West Covina a downtown, as opposed to saying, `I'm going to downtown West Covina on Glendora Avenue."'
The council approved about $500,000 Tuesday for new "old fashioned" lamp posts and other improvements to the Glendora Avenue shops area to "recreate" a downtown that never existed.
Council members also approved exploring a name change for the avenue.
Previously mothballed plans have proposed clock towers, sidewalk cafes and living space above the shops. It's designed to tug at people's nostalgia, said Bill Deverell, a professor of history at USC.
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"Old Town Center," as West Covina's downtown might one day be known, was built in the '50s but never flourished, said Forest Tennant, who has a medical office there and leads meetings for the business owners.
"That was meant to be the downtown, and it was thwarted by the freeway," Tennant said. "When the freeway was put through, the area was blocked off."
The street is tucked awkwardly behind the Lakes movie theater, cut off from easy freeway access. Some shop owners say business is slow.
The adjacent Macaroni Grill and Wickes Furniture store are leaving as part of multi-location closures by both companies. The city is seeking a replacement for the restaurant and sees Wickes' closure as an opportunity to develop that site, officials said.
Meetings of the business owners, the historical society and the Chamber of Commerce have recently favored "Old Town Center" as a brand, Tennant said. The city plans to survey business owners and property owners to determine in the next few months whether to adopt the name.
Hewitt goes on to report that Councilman Roger Hernandez envisions a downtown with condos, restaurants and parking, but other council members aren't to hot about the idea.
I find this is something a lot of cities struggle with - whether to include mixed-used developments in proposed downtown areas, or simply retail centers. Most officials say the idea behind the mixed-use push is to offer much-needed housing in areas that just don't have it. Thoughts anyone?
You forgot to mention that the city spent a quarter million dollars for a more revamped downtown plan that includes the shopping/condos and such and held nearly 20 community meetings before shelving it. Probably out of spite since Hernandez has been pushing for it forever and all of a sudden, when there's a deep divide on the council, its not such a hot idea after all.