05/15/1984 - Laserfiche WebLink

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. Mr. Joseph F. Johnson, Senior Vice President, Federated Department Stores introduced Mr. John Boorn who presented a slide show to the Agency. Mr. Johnson then introduced Mr. Robert C. Little, Vice President and Regional Director to address the Agency. Mr. Little described the proposed developnent and stated, "there are two questions which I would like to respond to for the record in regard to the project. First is why we need the flexibility to add the additional space in the future; the office building and hotel. A retail project of this type cannot support the land cost in this area on its own. It must have a greater density and that is supported through the office buildings and the hotel facilities plus it adds to the mix and makes the center a much stronger center economically and it produces greater revenues. The second question is why is this particular site the most appropriate site for developnent of this size and scope. This is probably one of the very few projects in the country which is served basically by three freeways. The Santa Ana freeway, the Garden Grove freeway and the Orange freeway which is just off to the right of this plan. Also the access to Main Street; the circulation road around the project and the future transportation plans for Main Street contribute to the location. It is already an established retail location with Bullocks and the existing Fashion Square shops which will continue in operation during the entire construction period and it is also an established location for office space located on Main Street and both KLST buildings and the other buildings that are located on the other side of the freeway and the City of Orange. The Santa Ana freeway also gives access to the O:>sta Mesa freeway and the 57." . . The o:>nununity Developnent Director stated: "In summary, the Fashion Square expansion project represents the largest private sector developnent undertaken in the City. While the project will have certain significant effects on the environment, we feel that the benefits of the project far outweigh the environmental effects. Some overriding considerations include: 1. The project will stimulate future private redevelopnent in the area, which is consistent with the goals established in the Redevelopnent Plan. 2. Additionally, the developnent of this area will provide the link between the northern retail portion of the City and the downtown central core. . 3. The viability of the existing center will be substantially enhanced by this new developnent. The center is presently under-utilized and does -4-