A $55 million retail redevelopment plan for a former Nabisco plant in Buena Park got an initial green light from the city last month.
Developers Seligman Western Enterprises Ltd. of San Francisco and Regency Centers Corp. of Jacksonville, Fla., can start grading on the site, which used to hold the Nabisco building, once they submit final plans to the city for approval.
The city’s review of the companies’ development plan could take up to two months, Buena Park senior planner Michael Ressler said. The development team has to start grading within a year, he said.
They expect to start sooner than that, said Jim Dillavou, senior manager of investments for Regency in its Los Angeles office.
“We’re full-speed ahead,” he said. “We want to move this project forward and begin as quickly as we can after securing the requisite tenant interest.”
The developers plan to target three major national retailers to anchor the retail center, Dillavou said.
The weak economy hasn’t hindered the talks, he said.
“Notwithstanding the economy, we’ve received a lot of tenant interest in the location and the city has been very supportive of a retail development,” Dillavou said.
Most observers and city officials give the site high marks for its location along the Santa Ana (I-5) Freeway. It’s one of the few developable sites along the Santa Ana Freeway in the county.
No tenants have been announced, but building size and city staff reports indicate certain kinds of retailers are in mind.
Best Buy
One of the buildings is designed for an electronics retailer. Best Buy Co. had looked at the site when it briefly considered a store at the former Movieland Wax Museum site, just a few blocks away on Beach Boulevard in Buena Park.
Best Buy is still looking at the space, according to Dillavou.
“It’s a wonderful location,” said Patsy Marshall, Buena Park councilwoman. “We’re happy about this because it’s going to bring in sales tax.”
The 23-acre site has been empty since the Nabisco plant shut down in 2005. The 453,000-square-foot building that formerly stood on the site was a striking visual entry for drivers coming to OC from Los Angeles County for some 40 years.
“People know the Nabisco building,” said one developer. “It’s the gateway to Orange County.”
In mid-2006, Buena Park City Council changed the land use to commercial and zoned the site for auto dealerships, of which the city has several.
Dealerships no longer are part of the redevelopment plan, according to Dillavou.
More likely is a shopping center with a large building, several midsize retailers and five smaller buildings nearby.
The project must have at least one large tenant,of at least 100,000 square feet,according to the city.
Development had been delayed by freeway construction, which is set finish by 2010.
The main element developers wanted before building the retail center,a new off-ramp,is done.
Seligman’s Anaheim office is set to oversee construction.
