Downtown businesses wary of the Strand

Dave Brooks

Downtown business owners are starting to get nervous about the

impending construction of the Strand -- not that it will steal

business but that it could mean a loss of delivery space and employee

parking.

Contractors working on the 225,000-square-foot shopping center in

Downtown Huntington Beach have presented the Planning Department with

a report detailing the construction impacts and contend the merchants

will be taken care of.

The report is being reviewed by the Public Works Department and

should be available to the public in July.

An early concern is the project’s effect on businesses around the

100 block of Main Street, said Joe Claudio, associate civil engineer

for the Public Works Department.

“They haven’t really given us any specifics about how they plan to

deal with deliveries and employee parking [in the area,]” he said.

The Strand will be bordered by Main Street, Walnut Avenue, Pacific

Coast Highway and 6th Street, and will include a 149-room Residence

Inn and a shopping center with businesses like Pacific Sunwear,

Johnny Rockets and Ben & Jerry’s.

Main Street business-owner Joseph Cornman of Sunshine clothing

said he was concerned that the project, which begins in the lot

behind his store, will block access to his delivery truck.

“The whole business is that the store and my truck work together,”

he said. “Without it, I’m finished. The ball is in their court now.”

Claudio is recommending the contractor appoint a community liaison

to work with the business owners and ensure they can access their

vehicles.

The first phase of the project involves tearing up the delivery

alley to lay pipes and wiring and could force deliveries to go

through businesses’ Main Street entrance, slowing traffic on the

street.

The second phase will see the excavation of the rear public

parking lot, followed by construction of the buildings. The project

is set to be completed in December 2005.

Carla Wynia, general contractor for the Strand, said that in the

end, developers plan to accommodate Main Street vendors.

“We’ve contacted all the patrons to let them know that the project

is going forward and they would be getting detailed information

[about construction issues],” she said.