Centerpointe Project Gets Tentative OK From Judge

A Superior Court judge has said he plans to rule in favor of allowing construction of Santa Ana’s planned Centerpointe office-hotel project to proceed, despite claims by citizens groups that it would violate state redevelopment laws.

Judge Richard N. Parslow Jr. issued a tentative ruling Friday in a lawsuit filed more than a year ago by the Alliance for Fair Redevelopment and the Citizens Property Rights Committee.

The Centerpointe project, a 15-story office building that would be connected to an eight-story hotel by a glass atrium, is planned for a 3.2-acre site southeast of Ross Street and Santa Ana Boulevard. City officials consider it the “anchor” of plans to revitalize Santa Ana’s downtown area.

Suit Filed in ’85

Land has been cleared for the project, but construction was blocked in October, 1985, when the two groups filed a lawsuit alleging that the $90-million project violated height restrictions. The groups also claimed that, since it is a redevelopment project, it should have been subject to competitive bidding, that local developers should have been given priority and that training and employment for residents in the area should somehow have been ensured through the project. The city has approved the Milwaukee-based Carley Capital Group as the project developer.

“We want to see redevelopment agencies stop subsidizing lavish developments with taxpayers’ funds. In this case, we have $18 million in subsidies,” said David Llewellyn Jr., attorney for the two groups, referring to funds the city already has committed to the project.

Llewellyn said he will file arguments in an attempt to dissuade Parslow within the next two weeks but expressed faint hope of changing the judge’s mind. “Obviously, we’re very disappointed,” he said. “If that is the ruling, I expect to appeal.”

Judgment to Be Written

City Atty. Edward J. Cooper said Parslow has directed him to prepare a written judgment for the judge’s signature, and so Cooper doesn’t expect any major change in the tentative decision.

Cooper said he disagreed with Llewellyn’s characterization of the $18 million as a subsidy. In fact, the amount will probably be about $13 million because city plans to pay for a $5-million conference center are expected to be dropped from the project, Cooper said. The city still plans to pay for a $9-million parking structure, he said. The land, which has cost the city about $3.64 million to buy and prepare for the project, is being given to Carley, Cooper said.

Cooper said the ruling would clear the way for development, provided the appeal process does not discourage Carley from continuing the project.

“I see it as a giant leap forward towards completion of the project,” Cooper said.

Carley officials declined comment Tuesday.

During a mid-October trial, Llewellyn argued that the city’s plans to lease office space in the building also amount to a subsidy. Executive offices and city departments that now operate in downtown Santa Ana would move into an estimated 72,000 square feet in Centerpointe.

However, Cooper argued that growth of the city’s administrative staff and Police Department has increased the need for downtown office space. In addition, staff reports and an independent analysis projected about $1.4 million in income for the city in the complex’s first year.

Centerpointe would provide a vital link between downtown and the Civic Center, said downtown development director Roger Kooi. Another major aspect of the downtown revitalization plan will be a Latino-oriented shopping center called the Fiesta Marketplace, expected to open in late 1987, Kooi said.