Compiled by Carol Park
BREA
Construction is under way on Los Angeles-based Regency Centers’ 350,000-square-foot Market Place Shopping Center on East Birch Street. Regency is demolishing and rebuilding 156,000 square feet and adding 43,000 square feet to the center, according to Eric Nicoll, economic development director for the city. Stroud’s, Kids “R” Us and Toys “R” Us left the center in the past few years. Plans call for a two-story, 138,000-square-foot Target. The entire project is set to include 1,400 parking spaces. Current tenants Circuit City and Beverages & More are moving within the center to make way for Target, set to open mid-2009. Plans also call for a 4,000-square-foot, two-story office and retail building on Birch Street. The project is part of the city’s plan to redevelop Birch Street with different uses, walkways and landscaping, Nicoll said.
CYPRESS
Cottonwood Christian Center’s $60 million, 200,000-square-foot church expansion on Katella Avenue is set for completion by June. The 32-acre center is set to include three buildings and more than 1,600 parking spaces. Plans call for a children’s center, a multipurpose building and a 3,500-seat church with offices. Cottonwood plans to leave 50,000 square feet of the project unfinished, according to Rev. Mike Wilson, the church’s development director. The church doesn’t have the money to complete the project, he said. “We’ll get it,” he said. “It’ll take a while, but we’ll get it.” The 5,000-member Christian church operates out of a 2.5-acre church just over the city line in Los Alamitos. The project is the result of a legal battle and ensuing land swap with the city of Cypress. Cottonwood originally planned to expand to an 18-acre site in the city, which Cypress officials wanted for a retail development. That site now houses a Costco and is being developed with restaurants and stores by Kansas City, Mo.-based Jones Development Co. Cottonwood’s expansion, on the site of a former golf course, is slated to include 500,000 square feet in all. Construction will roll out in four phases during the next eight to 10 years. “This (project) was a longtime coming,” Wilson said.
COSTA MESA
Redevelopment of an 11,211-square-foot Connell Chevrolet sales building is moving ahead. The building is set to be turned into a 28,242-square-foot showroom at 2828 Harbor Blvd. Plans call for the building to be 39.6 feet tall, 9.6 feet above the city’s maximum allowed height for that type of building. The city approved the added height to accommodate mechanical, fire suppression and electrical systems, an elevator shaft and to hide rooftop equipment.
SAN CLEMENTE
Construction is under way on the city’s 45-acre La Pata/Vista Hermosa Sports & Aquatic Center at the corner of Avenida La Pata and Avenida Vista Hermosa. Plans call for a 50-meter, eight-lane pool, a 28-yard pool, an aquatics center with locker rooms, reception area, a conference and meeting room, gardens and viewing terraces. A youth baseball hub with lighted fields, bleachers and picnic tables also are planned, as are a lighted soccer area with bleachers and a concession stand. Plans call for the center to be constructed in phases. No word yet on a completion date.
ANAHEIM
Plans for an expansion of the Concourse Bowling Center on East La Palma Avenue are moving forward. The expansion is set to include a new management office, an outdoor patio and telecommunication towers as well as a remodeling of the building’s facade. A request to install two signs along the adjacent Riverside (91) Freeway was denied. Owner Bart Rainone is set to spend up to $3 million on the project.
LA HABRA
Construction on Imperial Promenade at Imperial Highway and South Idaho Avenue is nearly complete. Outer shell buildings are nearly done and soon will be leased to tenants, according to La Habra officials. The promenade is set to include a Corner Bakery, a Chipotle and a Pinkberry. The main structure, set to house a Target and Circuit City, also is nearing completion. That structure should be ready for tenants within a couple of months, officials said. Target is set to occupy 136,715 square feet while Circuit City is set to have 40,742 square feet.
FOUNTAIN VALLEY
An application for the construction of a car wash at Sterling Autobody Center has been approved. The car wash is set to be built on Euclid Street. Natick, Mass.-based Sterling Autobody Centers is a chain of auto repair facilities that’s part of Allstate Corp.
NEWPORT BEACH
Santa Ana-based Gentosi Builder Inc. started construction on the Environmental Nature Center’s 8,535-square-foot learning center. The center will be used to display and interpret California’s natural history. An existing structure was razed to make way for the center.
HUNTINGTON BEACH
A former Montgomery Ward at 7777 Edinger Ave. is set to be razed and become part of the Bella Terra Mall’s second phase of redevelopment. The project includes plans for shops, offices and homes. The city is processing environmental reports for the expansion and surrounding projects.
