New library not likely in Town Center
The location of a new, larger public library--once seen as settled for a significantly sized parcel on School Street in the proposed revitalization of the Old Town area--now is up in the air, with economics sure to be the determining factor in placing a new facility.
Recently discussed possibilities include a vacant parcel on Lakeview Avenue between Yorba Linda Boulevard and Lemon Drive (often referred to as the “strawberry field” or Site 13), the recently closed Von’s market on Valley View Avenue, the vacant site next to the Community Center and the “tank farm” adjacent to Lakeview Elementary School.
A final site decision for the city’s most-visited public building--an average of 1,100 daily patrons--is anticipated by City Council members after the Nov. 6 election in which seven candidates are running for a majority of three seats on the city’s governing body.
Should council move the proposed 50,000-square-foot facility out of the 31-acre Town Center District, more land would be available for sales-tax generating retail businesses, based on reports from Zellman Retail Partners, planners for the historic downtown area.
Brett Foy, the firm’s co-president, said a new library is “neutral” for the proposed Town Center project, which he’s dubbed Yorba Linda Commons: “It would bring people to the site, but [a library] is not a retail or entertainment draw that our targeted retailers seek.”
Foy’s comment came in a letter to a city official, in which he said “results have been fantastic” when the proposed Yorba Linda Commons has been discussed with “target retail anchors,” namely “several high-end theaters” and “several high-end markets.”
Foy added, “We believe the market will bring in daily traffic and the theater will bring in nightly traffic. Combined, we believe the draw will allow us to bring in the type of users to the site we envision.”
Relocating the library, Foy noted, “could add significant additional square footage to the project” and “better orient the buildings to satisfy the parking requirements of the markets and be able to open up visibility from the street to the project.”
The library’s current site, with frontage on busy Imperial Highway, is seen as a lucrative retail site, which Foy said Zellman would be interested in redeveloping in a future phase.
Cost estimates for alternate sites range from around $29 million to $47 million, with a two-story in Town Center, a one-story on the “strawberry field” and a one-story on the Von’s site at $29 million and Community Center plans at $41 and $47 million.
Funding for a new library also was once thought settled, but the dissolution of the city’s Redevelopment Agency has created some uncertainty regarding selling bonds to finance Town Center redevelopment, noted a recent report to the council.
The library has $12 million saved from its separate property tax revenue stream, $3 million could come from selling the current site and the library budget could afford payments and interest on an $8 million loan from the city, leaving a $6 million “funding gap” with “options to be further explored,” the report stated.
Recently discussed possibilities include a vacant parcel on Lakeview Avenue between Yorba Linda Boulevard and Lemon Drive (often referred to as the “strawberry field” or Site 13), the recently closed Von’s market on Valley View Avenue, the vacant site next to the Community Center and the “tank farm” adjacent to Lakeview Elementary School.
A final site decision for the city’s most-visited public building--an average of 1,100 daily patrons--is anticipated by City Council members after the Nov. 6 election in which seven candidates are running for a majority of three seats on the city’s governing body.
Should council move the proposed 50,000-square-foot facility out of the 31-acre Town Center District, more land would be available for sales-tax generating retail businesses, based on reports from Zellman Retail Partners, planners for the historic downtown area.
Brett Foy, the firm’s co-president, said a new library is “neutral” for the proposed Town Center project, which he’s dubbed Yorba Linda Commons: “It would bring people to the site, but [a library] is not a retail or entertainment draw that our targeted retailers seek.”
Foy’s comment came in a letter to a city official, in which he said “results have been fantastic” when the proposed Yorba Linda Commons has been discussed with “target retail anchors,” namely “several high-end theaters” and “several high-end markets.”
Foy added, “We believe the market will bring in daily traffic and the theater will bring in nightly traffic. Combined, we believe the draw will allow us to bring in the type of users to the site we envision.”
Relocating the library, Foy noted, “could add significant additional square footage to the project” and “better orient the buildings to satisfy the parking requirements of the markets and be able to open up visibility from the street to the project.”
The library’s current site, with frontage on busy Imperial Highway, is seen as a lucrative retail site, which Foy said Zellman would be interested in redeveloping in a future phase.
Cost estimates for alternate sites range from around $29 million to $47 million, with a two-story in Town Center, a one-story on the “strawberry field” and a one-story on the Von’s site at $29 million and Community Center plans at $41 and $47 million.
Funding for a new library also was once thought settled, but the dissolution of the city’s Redevelopment Agency has created some uncertainty regarding selling bonds to finance Town Center redevelopment, noted a recent report to the council.
The library has $12 million saved from its separate property tax revenue stream, $3 million could come from selling the current site and the library budget could afford payments and interest on an $8 million loan from the city, leaving a $6 million “funding gap” with “options to be further explored,” the report stated.
posted by Jim Drummond at 12:00 AM
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