Compiled by Kelly Ryan
ANAHEIM
A drive-through restaurant and a strip retail building are under construction on North Lemon Street just a few blocks north of the Riverside (91) Freeway in the Anaheim Gateway commercial shopping center. Robertson Properties Group, part of Decurion Corp. in Los Angeles, is the developer behind the shopping center. Plans call for construction of a 2,675-square-foot restaurant and a 6,630-square-foot, five-unit retail building. The Gateway is already anchored by Lowe’s, 24-Hour Fitness and La Curacao and has a Mc-Donald’s near the construction site. Gardena-based Greg Georgeanne Construction is the general contractor. The developer would not disclose the name of the restaurant or any details about the retail building. It did hint that on-site construction could be slowing down because of economic woes.
BUENA PARK
Contractors have begun to retrofit a building as a karaoke recording studio on Orangethorpe Avenue, midway between Beach Boulevard and Knott Avenue. Feel Karaoke operates a similar family-oriented studio in Los Angeles. The 5,346-square-foot building was previously occupied by Kawasaki Motors Corp. USA. The studio will have 17 separate karaoke rooms, a waiting/lobby area, kitchen and two bathrooms. Customers are offered recording equipment to create their own music CDs. Guests can buy Asian food, drinks and beer and wine. Exterior modifications include the removal of three vehicle roll-up doors to the rear and two pedestrian doors in the front. The parking lot will be resurfaced and painted for 38 parking spots.
A new community center building is under construction near the corner of Knott Avenue and La Palma Avenue. The Walter D. Ehlers Community Recreation Center/Senior Center is adding a 9,582-square-foot activity building to its six-acre complex. The new building will feature a multipurpose room with kitchenette, lobby and a small outdoor seating area. The room is designed to seat 576 in a theater-style seating arrangement and up to 368 in a dining table arrangement. The center will also see a new entry canopy and access drive.
HUNTINGTON BEACH
DJM Capital Partners Inc. received approval from the City Council last month to go ahead on its Village at Bella Terra, a mixed-use project near the Bella Terra Shopping Center. Plans call for high-density housing, with 45 units per acre in six-story buildings.
IRVINE
A Korean church at the corner of University Drive and Harvard Avenue is building a larger sanctuary. Bethel Korean Church currently has about 3,000 adults attending its regular services each weekend. The 45,000-square-foot building will have restrooms, a choir practice room, parlor, pastors’ offices and baby crying rooms. The old sanctuary was razed before construction began in February, and the new building should be finished in April 2009. The general contractor is Miller Contracting Co. in Irvine. The projects architect, DHD Inc.’s DeRevere & Associates, also has completed work for Mariners Church in Irvine.
NEWPORT BEACH
Construction crews are working on an office building a few blocks from the intersection of Jamboree Road and MacArthur Boulevard. Far West Industries Inc. is the developer of the three-story, 30,000-square-foot steel and glass building. Ware Malcomb in Irvine designed the building with two levels of office space over a ground floor parking structure. KPRS Construction Services Inc. in Brea is the general contractor. Crews broke ground in June and the building should be finished in April.
ORANGE
Chapman University has a new residence hall going up on North Grand Street, on the grounds of the main campus. The University aims to decrease the number of students who commute. The 218,000-square-foot Chapman Residence Center will be able to fit 300 students in dormitory and apartment-style housing. A 20,780-square-foot dining commons will be on the first floor and will serve all students. Some 17,840 square feet are reserved for conference facilities, meeting rooms and offices. Plans call for a 72-foot tower that might include a rock-climbing wall. The $45.8 million center should be delivered this summer. McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners in Irvine is the architect. Project manager Earl Corp. recently completed the Erin J. Lastinger Athletics Complex at Chapman.
