A proposed land deal will allow Rusnak Mercedes-Benz dealership to expand and Rod's Grill will not have to move. The Arcadia Redevelopment Agency has acquired the Dahlgren lot on Santa Clara Street, the last parcel of a 2-acre site it intends to sell to Rusnak. This sale would enable Rusnak to expand from 4 to 6 acres. A public hearing is scheduled for April 19. In addition to the recently acquired Dahlgren property, the current proposed site also includes the former Church of Arcadia on Morlan Place and a commercial strip along Santa Anita Avenue that contains 16 tenants. The proposed deal guarantees the city would receive at least $800,000 in sales tax a year for the next 10 years.
Arcadia launches the new Arcadia Downtown Business Association, with plans to revitalize the downtown district. Matt McSweeney is the association's chairperson and owner of Matt Denny's Ale House Restaurant on East Huntington Drive. City officials will spend about $90,000 on a parking study and about $18,000 in redevelopment funds to get Arcadia Downtown Business Association off the ground. The revitalization plans should work nicely with the slated opening of the Gold Line station at the northwest corner of North First Avenue and East Santa Clara Street by 2014.
Saving Arcadia, the anti-mansionization group, sues City over controversial two-story home proposed at 1101 S. Fifth Avenue. Lawsuit alleges the project violates California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Arcadia Denny's at northeast corner of Huntington Drive and Santa Anita Avenue to restore collapsed windmill. The building's original occupant was Van de Kamp's Holland Dutch Bakery. The windmill had been previously restored and reactivated on June 29, 2016. About $100,000 was spent refurbishing it at that time.
Proposed two-story home at 1101 S. Fifth Avenue causes kerfuffle. At this week's Arcadia City Council meeting, the project's neighbors appealed the Planning Commission's decision to approve the design of the 3588 s.f. house. Neighbors complain of loss of light and privacy. In a 3-2 vote, the Planning Commission's decision was upheld on the conditions that the owner remove windows on the north and south sides of the second floor.
Denny's windmill spins again. The windmill atop Denny's at northeast corner of Santa Anita Avenue and Huntington Drive was designed by Harold Bissner as the template for Van de Kamp's Holland Dutch Bakery's coffee shop franchise. It opened in 1967 in Arcadia, the first of 15 built from his designs. Denny's bought the location in 1989. Denny's spent $100,000 refurbishing the windmill.
Iconic windmill spins once more at Denny’s. Less than a year after it detached and crashed into the restaurant, the windmill atop the Arcadia Denny’s is spinning again at the northeast corner of Huntington Drive and Santa Anita Avenue. One new addition to the windmill is LED lighting capable of changing colors. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 1, 11, November 29, 2018.
Marriott seeks two hotels in Arcadia. Andrew Chang, of Continental Assets Management, and owner of Santa Anita Inn, is proposing to build two Marriott hotels on the property. His proposal seeks to add 110 rooms to the West Huntington Drive property and would include a six-story Residence Inn and a four-story Fairfield Inn and Suites (Marriott brands). The Santa Anita Inn was built in 1955. The project will require approval from the Planning Commission and City Council.
Arcadia city officials will consider changes to its General Plan, a 25-year blueprint for land-use decisions. The new plan aims to revitalize the city's downtown (First Avenue and Huntington Drive) as well as the Live Oak Corridor in the city's southern end. "We're making it easier to develop the downtown and the area around the (future) Gold Line station," said Council Bob Harbicht. If approved, it would allow for mixed-use commercial and residential complexes, commercial square footages could double and the height limit would increase from 40 to 45 feet.
Four day full closure of Huntington Drive and Second Avenue intersection in Arcadia begins Friday, August 8, for Gold Line Foothill Extension light rail construction.
In the first 7 week phase, eastbound Huntington Drive at Second Avenue in Arcadia, has been narrowed to one lane as the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works prepares to begin a seismic retrofit of the overhead train trestle (bridge) for the future Metro Gold Line. During phase 2, westbound Huntington Drive at Second Avenue will be reduced to one lane. It should take 4 months to complete the retrofit.
Major changes on tap for Arcadia in the new year. Delta Marriott Hotel slated for the old Santa Anita Inn; Arcadia's tallest building, currently housing Bank of America at 150 N. Santa Anita Avenue, has gone up for sale. The current Arcadia Self Storage at 35 W. Huntington Drive is proposed to become a modern food vendor location, reminiscent of the Grand Central Market in Downtown Los Angeles or the Anaheim Packing House.
Arcadia City Council denies proposed hillside development project, citing concerns over environmental impacts along with future risks including fire, flooding or mudslides. The applicant, Nevis Capital LLC, was seeking approval to subdivide 90 acres into two parcels to build a home on about 12 acres along the ridge line.
Wind-swept cities slowly recover from a severe windstorm that blew through the San Gabriel Valley early Thursday morning. Arcadia was hit hard and "city crews and contracts are continuing to work hard to clean roadways," said Arcadia police Lieutenant Tom Leveque. Road closures that remained in effect in Arcadia on Friday morning included: westbound Colorado Street at Santa Anita Avenue; westbound Camino Real Avenue at El Monte Avenue; Longden Avenue between El Monte Avenue and Holly Avenue; Colorado Place between Colorado Boulevard and Huntington Drive; the 200 block of W. Leroy Street; the 1100 block of S. Fifth Avenue.
Iconic Arcadia windmill atop Denny's to be dedicated June 29, thanks to restoration efforts of former Arcadia mayor George Fasching and Joe Sargis. The windmill's new variable speed motor will run about 6 rotations per minute and it will be illuminated at night. Denny's is at northeast corner of Santa Anita Avenue and Huntington Drive. The location used to be Van de Kamp's Holland Dutch Bakery and this windmill was its trademark. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 1, 13, June 23, 2016.
The Arcadia City Council unanimously approved a General Plan update that aims to make the future Metro Gold Line station the heart of a revitalized downtown and the plan includes a revitalization of Live Oak Avenue.
Arcadia Seabiscuit Pacifica Project-Phase 2 calls for revised mixed-use project. Arcadia City Council decided on July 3 they want to see more artists' renderings of what Phase 2 will ultimately look like, before going ahead with the $300 million hotel project on the former Santa Anita inn site. The applicant Chateau Group is also requesting to merge the two abutting properties a 100 and 180 West Huntington Drive into the Specific Plan area and change the General Plan Land use Designation from "Commercial with Downtown Overlay" to "Downtown Mixed Use," to revise the General Plan Land Use Map to reflect the changes, rezone the properties from "General Commercial with Downtown Overlay" to "Seabiscuit Pacifica Specific Plan," and include a Height Overlay of H8 on 180 West Huntington Drive to allow a portion of the mixed-use building on that property. The Santa Anita Inn was a 2-story hotel comprised of 6 buildings, 110 rooms, 34,775 s.f., that was originally constructed in 1955 and remodeled in 1985.
Last month's California Supreme Court decision that eliminates redevelopment agencies may jeopardize the Rusnak Mercedes-Benz dealership's expansion plans. Last year, Arcadia's redevelopment agency acquired the final piece of a two-acre site to sell to owner Paul Rusnak to expand his business to 6 acres. Rusnak is one of the city's top sales tax generators and wants to open a 40,000 square foot showroom on Santa Anita Avenue, just one block from the future Gold Line station downtown.
Residents object to proposed home to be built at 920 South Fifth Street. At issue are the size of the house and how its design may not fit in with the neighborhood.
Street closures for the 59th Annual Festival of Bands Parade hosted by City of Arcadia. Baldwin Avenue between Huntington Drive and Naomi Avenue will be closed 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Duarte Road between Golden West and El Monte Avenue closed 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM, and Campus Drive between Santa Anita Avenue and Holly Avenue closed 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM.