City Council approved lending the city redevelopment agency $1.2 million Tuesday to cover additional cost overruns with Downtown 2000 and other projects.
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.
City officials determined that Sulley-Miller is in gross violation of the Downtown 2000 project. In a unanimous vote, city officials terminated this company as contractor for the project.
Arcadia City Council voted 4-0 in favor of searching for a temporary contractor for the Downtown 2000 project. Striking workers have caused delays and fears of future health problems.
One year has passed since the Sully-Miller Contracting Co. filed a $2 million breach-of-contract suit against Arcadia, claiming the City illegally terminated it from the Downtown 2000 project.
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.
The City will pay $1.25 million to the Sully Miller Contracting Co. to settle a breach-of-contract lawsuit the company filed after it was fired from the Downtown 2000 project.
Between August 11 and September 30, the city will install brick sidewalks on Huntington Drive between 2nd Avenue and Santa Clara Street as the first major phase of Arcadia's downtown revitalization project.
The City Council approved a $3.4 million new fire station project bid by Merco Construction Engineers in Camarillo. The building will cost 20% more than originally estimated.
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 Arcadia City Council approved 12 goals of revitalization of the downtown area. The approval came following a public hearing intended to solicit input on the matter from merchants, owners and the public on the issue.
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.