Surf City taking close look at Edinger Corridor

Tariq Malik

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- City officials hoping to put a new face on a large

chunk of land along Edinger Avenue are turning to Surf City citizens for

input.

More than 80 residents and business owners filled the theater of

Golden West College to discuss the future of the Edinger Corridor, about

300 acres bordered by Goldenwest Street, Beach Boulevard and the San

Diego Freeway, with landscape planners and city officials at a meeting

Dec. 6.

“Our goal is to find an identity for the area, one that takes into

account what residents want to see there but can also lend itself to near

and long-term uses,” said David Biggs, the city’s economic development

director.

The arterial Edinger Avenue allows access to attractions such as

Huntington Center, Old World Village, as well as Golden West College and

is the largest parcel in the city that could be transformed into a themed

destination through landscaping and redevelopment.

Ken Ryan, owner of the urban design firm Edaw Inc. in Irvine, said the

area is more than just an economically important piece of land for the

city.

“This is a gateway area for the city,” Ryan said. With the proper

freeway visibility and theme, it could draw in sales tax revenue from

nonlocal shoppers, as well as provide an area for residents and students

to enjoy.

Since August, Edaw has been working to establish a specific plan to

blueprint the types of residential, public and commercial uses for the

area. Ryan presented several plans ranging from merely cosmetic to

aggressive redevelopment.

“Unless something gets done with the [Huntington Center], all of these

changes we’re discussing will be moot,” said Jed Horowitz, an 11-year

resident whose plastic surgery business is within the Edinger Corridor

study area. “Otherwise, the people will most likely take their business

to places like South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.”

City officials said the landscape planners began evaluating the

Edinger Corridor with the belief that the Huntington Center would be

redeveloped into an Italian-style village with upscale shops and

restaurants.

That plan, drawn up by the Irvine-based Ezralow Retail Properties,

fell flat last month when the City Council chose not to use eminent

domain to relocate businesses at the center.

Doug Gray, Ezralow president, said a newly revised plan for the mall

now has the area slated as a power center with a multiscreen movie

theater.

Biggs said that a specific plan for the Edinger Corridor should be

completed by the middle of next year, but any changes to the area would

be completed over a number of years as new businesses come into the area.

A third public workshop is scheduled in January at Old World Village.