By Susan Motander
Most cities have a downtown commercial district. Some have more than one. Arcadia has an embarrassment of riches with five separate business districts. Last year the city contracted with NAI capital, a commercial brokerage firm, to assess those districts and make recommendations to improve them and bring in appropriate, compatible businesses. Last month, NAI submitted its report to the city.
It is important to remember that these are only the recommendations of NAI and have not yet been reviewed by the city council as a whole and have not been adopted. As Jason Kruckenberg, Arcadia’s Assistant City Manager noted “These are not the council’s recommendations, and they have not been prioritized or vetted through the council.”
NAI’s report defined the five areas as: “downtown” centered around Huntington Drive and First Avenue encompassing the Gold Line Station; “Baldwin” centered on that Avenue and stretching from Huntington Drive down to just below Camino Real; “Live Oak” being the area along that street from El Monte Avenue to the city limit on the east; “Duarte” along that road, again from the eastern city limit west to just beyond Santa Anita Avenue; and, finally “Foothill,” again, along that thoroughfare from the city limit west to just beyond Santa Anita. As defined by the consultants, each area has its own strengths, character, and concerns.
NAI called the “Downtown” area one of great potential for several reasons. As the report states: “The new Light Rail Station and Transit Plaza, proximity to regionally famous institutions like Santa Anita Park, international notoriety as one of the best pre-college educational systems in the state, and the high household/discretionary income create an opportunity to transform this area into a pedestrian-friendly, eclectic mix of retail, restaurants, residential, and office uses within steps of the new Gold Line Station.”
Their report also noted the challenges to the area such as competition from Pasadena and Monrovia as well as the lack of an entertainment draw such as a multi-screen movie theater and of major daytime population from a large employer. The report also suggested improving the signage to designate the area as specific destination.
The section of the report on this area concludes, “In short, Arcadia Downtown is in competition with its neighbors. In order to be successful, it needs to understand who its potential customers are. Ideally, the area is designed around those would live, work, and shop in the area while creating private sector partnerships that will enhance its standing and provide financial support. The new transit hub provides an opportunity for reinventing and redesigning a potential regional destination.”
The next area they reviewed was “Baldwin,” which NAI called “a primarily Asian oriented area in terms of shopping and eateries.” NAI suggested the city build on this by “creating a distinct look and feel” for the area by bringing in other such businesses. For this area NAI also suggests a theater or “other destination-type family entertainment concept.”
The report states that what it calls the Arcadia Hub Center, the contiguous stores along the west side of Baldwin south of Duarte Road (for old time residents, this was the block from Hinshaw’s to Nash’s), has as its north anchor Burlington Coat Factory which is looking to vacate the space. NAI suggest that this be seen as an opportunity to “revitalize and redevelop” the space.
Perhaps the most important statement about this area is: “we recommend that the city embrace what it has become by creating an area identity for a high end shopping district for its Chinese residents. In China, Arcadia has a reputation for being a highly desired location. As such, a high-end shopping district needs to be created in the city and Baldwin Avenue is the ideal place.”
The third area the report looked at is “Live Oak.” This area consists largely of small offices, restaurants and automotive related businesses. There are exceptions such as the Albertson’s Savers and Santa Anita Plaza. Here NAI recommended residential condominium development and mixed-use development (i.e. residential and commercial combinations such as Colorado Commons in Monrovia).
As they point out, one of the advantages of residential development in this area is the desirability of an Arcadia address. The report also states that the developers have shown interest in Santa Anita Plaza for such a mixed-use development. The report suggests the commercial product in these mixed-use developments should be there to provide commercial services that support nearby residents.”
“Duarte” was the next area upon which the report focused. NAI called this a “secondary commercial area” and suggested developing mixed-use and standalone residential condominiums to enhance the commercial retail tenants already in the area and to bring in new “high quality retail.” The report also suggests the city consider redeveloping the older commercial properties in the area.
The major suggestion for this area was to look to rid the area of the 99 Cents Only Store at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Duarte. NAI stressed that the city should look to catering to “mid-level professionals” and to assist with the city’s affordable housing needs.
The final commercial area NAI examined was “Foothill.” The consultants suggested that nothing would change in the area east of 2nd Avenue, but that the Highlander Center (the shopping center around the McDonald’s) was available for a significant change. Since the Vons store left and Fresh and Easy was not successful there, there is an opening for a large commercial entity.
Their suggestion here was to capitalize on the high income residents in the area and to try to attract a major tenant such as Bristol Farms or Gelson’s.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that these are only the suggestions of the consultant and have not been adopted by the Arcadia City Council. A complete copy of this report is available for review at Arcadia’s City Hall.
