Downtown 2000: is the CFRP making a difference? In 1993, Arcadia City Council and the Redevelopment agency implemented the Comprehensive Revitalization Strategy and Program, a project designed to bring a new economic vitality to the downtown district. One of the main components of the program is the Commercial Facade Rehabilitation Program (CFRP), which provides financial assistance to downtown merchants for store-front improvements. Garlan Roberson received $11,000 from the Arcadia Redevelopment Agency for improvements to his business, Sullivan's Paints. Since the facade improvements, Roberson says business has increased significantly.
The Housing Rehabilitation Project will receive $165,000 of the $238,250 Community Development Block Grant funds that Arcadia receives from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Recent changes in HUD's regulations require that no less than 70% of a grantee's funds go toward programs that help those with low and moderate incomes.
The Arcadia City Council plans to seek more than $1 million in damages against its original contractor for cost overruns in the City's Downtown 2000 revitalization project.
The Arcadia City Council approved a $57.4 million budget for 1993-94 that includes a new fire station, renovation of the library and revitalizing the downtown area.
Downtown 2000, the $4 million revitalization project, will primarily affect Huntington Drive and First Ave. Huntington Drive will have more landscaping and lighting, while First Ave. will have angled parking and landscaping to be more pedestrian oriented.
The Arcadia Redevelopment Agency has started a Commercial Facade Rehabilitation Program that reimburses merchants up to 50% for what they spend on such things as awnings and signage for their buildings.
City Council members voted 4-0 to change lighting plans and add a new storm drain system to the Huntington Drive streetscape project, changing the cost from $4.1 to $5.6 million.
To spur downtown business and help merchants fix up storefronts, the City Council has approved a $326,000 package of marketing programs, business incentives and no-interest loans.
The start of the school year will bring cable TV to the Arcadia Unified School District, which is hooking up to the nationwide Cable in the Classroom program.
Joseph Sargis, a member of the Board of Trustees for the Pasadena Area Community College District, has been elected the 1993 president of the Board. He is profiled.