The $10.5 million renovation project at Santa Anita Fashion Park has begun, with a formal ground-breaking ceremony to be held January 26. The project is expected to last 10 months.
Plans to add a Nordstrom Department Store to Santa Anita Fashion Park received a set-back when the Arcadia Planning Commission voted down a request to reduce the required number of parking spaces at regional shopping centers.
Santa Anita Fashion Park's plan to expand its facilities to include a Nordstrom Department store and additional small retail stores is scheduled to come before the Arcadia Planning Commission at its November 27 meeting. According to Chuck Cline, general manager of the mall, plans are very much in the preliminary stages and no architectural plans have yet been drawn.
A bomb scare at the J. C. Penney Co. store in Santa Anita Fashion Park mall led to the closing of about ten stores and the evacuation of more than 100 customers and employees.
Air conditioning is being installed at the track as part of $3.4 million in improvements being made this summer in preparation for the first season of inter-track wagering offered at Santa Anita Park this year from July 27 to September 14.
Reconstruction of the main dirt track and secondary turf track at Santa Anita Park in final stages, closing out a project that meant a near rebuilding of the courses at a cost of almost $2 million.
As part of a $2.6 million capital improvements program, Santa Anita Park race track has built a 2-story addition to the east end of the club-house. The 2nd story patio will be open during the Oak Tree meet, with a third story to be constructed next year.
The City Council was decidedly disappointed at the low tax evaluation put on Fashion Park this year. The county says that the land will be re-assessed upward each year as its business and development is expanded.
Fashion Park is more than a center of business activity. It sponsors various special events such as the Community Health Fair designed to entertain, educate and assist residents. The mall's sales and property taxes constitute a large portion of the city's revenues.
There has been some hassle over the lack of restroom facilities at Fashion Park. The City Council would like to see 2 restrooms on each level open at all times. Stores make their restrooms available, but some events take place when the stores are closed.