ANAHEIM : Site Being Studied for Education Center

Negotiators for a proposed higher education center that would include innovative instructional institutions are considering a site just around the corner from the city’s downtown redevelopment project.

The center has been proposed by the North Orange County Community College District on property owned by the Redevelopment Agency between Olive and Philadelphia streets on Broadway. “It’s an enormous project,” said Ron Krimper, vice president of institutional advancement at Fullerton College. “There’s nothing quite like it in California.”

Some proposed components include a small-business incubator, which would allow beginning companies to operate out of the center for a few years until they are stable, and a factory, where students would learn technical trades by actually working in the factory and producing a product.

In addition, the proposed 120,000-square-foot center would house a police academy and a state-supported institute for dealing with hazardous materials, as well as an adult education center, a child-care center and a health center geared to meet the needs of the employees expected at the new downtown Pacific Bell/Anaheim Civic Center complex.

Lisa Stipkovich, director of community development, said the project, designed to serve up to 10,000 students, is not a top development priority but offers the city “something we’re interested in looking at.”

The $17-million venture, which organizers hope will net the city about $500,000 in annual tax revenue, is seen by city officials as a noteworthy step for the college district.

Some council members, however, expressed concern that the city take a cautious approach in approving so extensive an endeavor.

“It’s promising, I support the concept of the project,” Councilman Tom Daly said. “But there’s still quite a ways to go in terms of hammering out the details.”