Proposed Department store targeted. Members of Arcadia City Council acting as redevelopment agency have approved Exclusive Right to Negotiate with Beck and Associates of Los Angeles for development of a Target Department Store with satellite shops at Third Avenue and Huntington Drive.
Dean A. Beck and Associates, developers of a proposed Target Department Store on East Huntington Drive in Arcadia, want to know the status of owner participation opportunities which might be available to people owning property within the project area.
The developer for the proposed Target Department Store on Huntington Dr., which was defeated on a 2-2 vote of the Arcadia City Council, is trying to salvage the project by perhaps making a new offer to the city. If the difficulties are not resolved, Monrovia may be interested in acquiring the store, but Duarte is not.
Pete Kinnahan, assistant city manager in Arcadia, told City Council that Target Department Stores were interested in the Arcadia Datsun property and the adjacent city-owned property on Third Avenue.
Advocates and opponents of a proposed Target Department Store are having their arguments for what should be a lively discussion before the Arcadia Redevelopment Agency on December 4. The most controversial aspect of the proposed project is that, if approved, the city would buy property in the development area for $16-18 a square foot and resell it to the developer, Beech and Associates, as $12 a square foot.
Prior to signing an exclusive "right to negotiate" with the city, Beck and Associates, developers of the proposed Target Department Store are asking the city to contact business and property owners to determine if they want to be participants in the project.
The draft environmental impact report for the proposed Target Department Store was attacked at Tuesday night's meeting of the Arcadia City Council as failing to adequately address possible traffic problems and the loss of moderate-income housing.
Construction of a $21 million Target Department Store in Arcadia's redevelopment area became a distinct possibility when the City Council unanimously agreed to sign an exclusive "right to negotiate" agreement with the development firm of Dean Beck and Associates.
The Arcadia Chamber of Commerce's Industrial Commercial Subcommittee voted unanimously to recommend to its board of directors that the Chamber support the concept of a retail store on the site where Target plans to build. The Committee did not specifically support the Target project, but did indicate that a retail development of some type would be appropriate.
The Target Department Store and shopping center will not be coming to Arcadia. The contract that gave Beck & Associates the exclusive rights to negotiate with Arcadia expired without agreement January 9, despite a final revision of the plans designed to make them acceptable to the Arcadia Redevelopment Agency.
The possibility that the Target Department Store project could be resurrected may to some extent depend on whether Arcadia Datsun decides to relocate to Duarte in the near future.
Arcadia City Council in its role of Arcadia Redevelopment Agency Tuesday night moved very close to an agreement for the sale of the former Thrifty Drug Store site at the northwest corner of Huntington Drive and First Avenue.
The Arcadia School Improvement Program, successor to the Early Childhood Education Program, was dropped by the Arcadia School Board by a vote of 3-1, with one abstention.
Arcadia Datsun is expanding its services to the Mountain Vista Plaza Shopping Center in Duarte (current site of the Big Sky Drive-In Theater). The general manager of Arcadia Datsun says his company's recent agreement with Duarte means his business will have somewhere to move if Arcadia decides to redevelop his property with a Target Store or some other project.
Four proposals have been received by the Arcadia Redevelopment Department for a development on Huntington Drive in east Arcadia, across the street from the proposed Target Store. All four meet the criteria set out by the Redevelopment Agency. The agency had requested builders to design either retail stores, a professional office building, or a fine restaurant.
The Arcadia Planning Commission voted 4-2 to recommend against the proposed subdivision of a lot on South 8th Avenue into 5 separate properties, ruling it would not be suitable for the area, which is heavily populated by horse owners.
The Board of Directors of the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce voted unanimously to support a retail use for the property being considered for a Target Department Store. The committee did not specifically say that Target would be the preferred use.
City-owned property at northwest corner of Huntington Drive and First Avenue may become a temporary mini-park as a result of Arcadia City Council action. Includes Thrifty Drug, Pizza Man and Huntington Desk buildings recently demolished.