The City of Arcadia and Arcadia City Council are working on plans for a new civic center and multipurpose facility that would be located next to City Hall and the newly constructed police station. The project would use money from the capital construction fund and is not part of the city's general fund.
City Manager Bill Kelly outlined a $16 million program to finish all public building projects for Arcadia in three years, as part of the city's five-year capital budget. The spending would include a new $6.5 million City Hall, a $1.3 million upgrade to Fire Station 106 on Baldwin Avenue. The city plans to build a new fire station to replace Fire Station 105 on Santa Anita Avenue. A city gym for the civic center property is in planning stages. The city plans to re-roof the community center for $150,000 and to put up 1/2 of the $800,000 cost to make the high school sports field an all-weather facility.
Architectural drawings and the design for the new Arcadia City Hall have drawn criticism from the City Council. The new City Hall building is estimated to cost $11 million.
Construction has started on the expansion of the Westfield Shoppingtown Santa Anita. There will be two parking structures to replace current surface parking, 104,400 square feet of retail space, 18,400 square feet of restaurants, a 7,800 square foot food court, 45,000 square feet of specialty stores, 54,300 square feet of movie theaters, and a 5,400 square foot auto center. The tenant list includes an AMC theater, Borders bookstore, and a Sports Chalet. The expansion is scheduled to be completed September 2004. City manager Bill Kelly said Arcadia will proceed to expand Fire Station 105 to serve as the new fire department headquarters and will rebuild Station 106. The city is considering building a new City Hall and youth center from city revenues from Santa Anita Park. The new police station, the first city facility partly financed through bonds, will be open this fall. A $1/2 million project to remodel City Council Chambers is finally complete, with the opening of the council conference room.
The City of Arcadia has contracted with Gonzalez Goodale Architects to plan for a new City Hall. Both Upper and Lower City Hall buildings will be torn down after completion of the new facility.
Arcadia City Council has gone on record as supporting the building of a new city hall that would be built on the other side of the Civic Center property. Out of three options presented by city manager Bill Kelly, the council consensus was for a new building at a cost of $6.6 million and adjacent to Huntington Drive West.
The city council has decided to appropriate $35,000 toward the design of a light rail bridge over Santa Anita Avenue. This is to pay for early design work needed for an environmental impact report. The bridge project is expected to cost the city $10.7 million which may come from a bond. The Construction Authority would pay $18.4 million bringing total bridge cost to $29.1 million.
The parking lot at the Arcadia Community Center will be expanded by including the lot where the Arcadia Historical Museum was formerly located. New electrical equipment will be installed. Total cost will be $104,600.
Arcadia police station will have a grand opening on October 3, 2003 at 4:30 PM. The building cost $16 million. Picture of the demolition of the old police station.
New Arcadia police station opens to the public on Friday, October 3, 2003 at 4:30 PM. It is a state-of-the-art facility that is now bigger and better equipped than the old station that has since been demolished. It waas built using an $8 million bond measure in addition to $8 million that had alerady been allocated from the city general fund and city redevelopment funds.
Mayor Gail Marshall reports that the state of the city is excellent. She discussed some of the civic projects in progress, such as the $16 million police station.
The new Arcadia Police station, the largest public project ever undertaken by the City of Arcadia, officially opened last Friday, October 3, when city government and law enforcement held a ribbon cutting ceremony on its front lawn. The police station was built using funds from an $8 million bond measure that was passed with a majority of public support in 1999. The 41,000 square feet headquarters has an additional 12,000 s.f. for a firing range and training room, maintenance and communication shops, a vehicle impound area and a SWAT facility. Dave Hinig is the Chief of Police. The previous police station was built in 1956.
The police station is scheduled to be demolished and a new one will be built behind the current facility. The project is estimated to cost $16 million. The new building will be 52,000 square feet and slated to open in the first part of 2003.
Survey proposed on Arcadia Arts Center. The city and school district may collaborate on a public survey to determine public attitude toward construction of an Arts Center in Arcadia. City Manager Bill Kelly told local leaders that an arts center could cost from $5 to $15 million, whether it is an auditorium alone, or a complex, which could include an art gallery and meeting rooms.
The Arcadia Police Department has moved to a new police station building at 250 W. Huntington Drive, Arcadia, CA, 91007, that is 42,000 square feet and cost $16 million. The official opening ceremony will be October 3, 2003. The old building that was built around 1956 will be demolished in a few weeks. Dispatchers Rosemarie Espejo and Carol Hunter are shown in a photo.
The $16 million Arcadia Police Station building, built with bond money and city and CRA funds, is on target for completion in July. WWM Associates designed the building. Mallcraft of Altadena is the contractor and Construction Control Group is the manager of the project. The station is the first civic project constructed with bond funding.
Five months after police officers moved into their new $16 million police station, the City Council will officially accept the construction contractor's work and sign off on the project.
Arcadia's new city government first formed in 1903 and its first meeting took place at Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin's Oakwood Hotel, located at First Avenue and Santa Clara Road. Baldwin's hotel featured gambling and fine dining along with city government. The Oakwood Hotel burned down in 1911, and the city government moved to the McCoy Building at First Avenue and St. Joseph Street. Two years later, City Hall moved across the street to the Hibbard Building. In 1917, the first building was constructed as a City Hall at Huntington Drive and Second Avenue (?). A two-story colonial building was built for $18,000. This City Hall opened on July 13, 1918. City Hall moved in 1949 to a 13-acre parcel between Huntington Drive and the Pacific Electric railroad tracks.