The City Council took the first step toward placing a bond issue of up to $8 million on the ballot for the November 2 election. The bond is needed for building a new police station.
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 Council decided to ask voters to approve $8 million in bond funding for a bridge at Santa Anita Avenue. If 2/3 of voters support this bond, Arcadia would be the only city on the Gold Line extension route to finance its own grade separation.
One candidate for City Council, Sheng Chang, has signed a pledge issued by Arcadia First!, the Westfield-funded organization formed to defeat the Shops at Santa Anita mall. Chang opposes the proposed new mall project.
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.
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.
View of south side of Santa Anita Santa Fe Station being rebuilt on its new site at Arboretum, the result of a city-wide drive to preserve the station.
The Arcadia Tournament of Roses Association will break its ties to the Chamber of Commerce and will form an independent body in order to gain status as a tax deductible organization.
The Arcadia Educational Foundation, a non-profit public benefit corporation, is now in the process of incorporating. The purpose of the organization is to provide financial support to the school district. Several other cities in the area have formed similar organizations.
Santa Anita Athletic Club had formal installation of Mrs. George Mumford as 1975 president of the social organization, which was organized in 1937 in Arcadia.
The Arcadia Fire Department has formed a special relationship with Dean Street Station 105 in Brooklyn, New York. One Voice For Tomorrow is a local non-profit organization that helps raise money for the Dean Street Station Fund and to help the Arcadia Fire Association Widows and Orphan Fund.
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.