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.
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 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.
Arcadia's historic Derby Restaurant may be relocated. A mixed-use project may take the place of The Derby and Embassy Suites at 211 East Huntington Drive - 233 East Huntington Drive. Local historian Sandy Snider expressed concern that the 99 year-old building may end up being razed. George Woolf bought the Derby in 1938, originally named Proctor Tavern when it operated in 1922. Councilman Paul Cheng supports the relocation of The Derby. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 2, August 13, 2020 for "The Derby-what's next?"
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.
Arcadia to spend $450,000 to upgrade Planning Department and Public Works Department software to streamline how city personnel track building permits and the condition of equipment and infrastructure.
The City Council approved a contract with Rokni Electric for a new 800 Kilowatt generator and a new telephone system (not to exceed $342,251) from SBC-Pacific Bell for City Hall. A contract with Systems Source Inc. for furnishings for the new police station was also approved. The City Librarian job title was changed to Director of Library and Museum Services.
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.
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.
The city welcomes construction of two office buildings at 225 and 255 Santa Clara Street. The buildings will be occupied by the law firm of Hart, Mieras, Morris and Peale, LLP, and Los Angeles District Church of the Nazarene.
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.
Construction of the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum is experiencing delays. The city can charge penalties to BEGL Construction Company for delays of up to $500 per day. The project is 3 months past the completion date.
Denny's CEO considers firing up the old windmill in 2016. It is atop the Denny's Restaurant at the corner of Huntington Drive and Santa Anita Avenue. It used to be the Van de Kamp's Holland Dutch Bakery, founded in 1915, a Los Angeles institution for much of the 20th century. According to Los Angeles Conservancy, the building was completed in 1967 and designed by Pasadena architects Harold Bissner and Harold Zook. Denny's Corporation CEO Stephen Dunn is happy to explore the possibility of activating the windmill.
Governor Brown appoints Arcadia man Raj Patel, 54, to the California Building Standards Commission, where he has served since 2015. The position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held at Arcadia's new 911 Center on a 3.5 acre parcel where the National Guard Armory once stood adjacent to the Arcadia Police Department.
Historic preservation coming to Arcadia. City is in process of drafting ordinances on historic preservation aimed at safeguarding historic districts, structures and buildings. Ordinances are expected to provide defined procedures and criteria for property owners and communities to judge their historic relevance. Correction: see Arcadia Weekly, p. 10, February 22, 2018 and another correction Arcadia Weekly, p. 13, March 1, 2018. Correction to the Historic preservation coming to Arcadia article. Arcadia Weekly recently ran an article about the Arcadia City Council drafting a historic preservation ordinance. It incorrectly read, "The draft would demand the consent of 60% of property owners along with Planning Commission review and City Council adoption." The corrected statement reads, "The Draft Historic Preservation Ordinance proposes that at least 60% of properties within the district must contribute to the historic significance of the district and 75% of the property owners within the district need to consent to the designation."