Worthington Square moves ahead in downtown Imperial
IMPERIAL — More than a decade in the making, the $13 million Worthington Square building, intended to be a focal point of the downtown’s ongoing revitalization, is moving forward.
A three-story building combining commercial space on the bottom floor with apartments on the top two floors right in the heart of downtown at the corner of Barioni Boulevard/Worthington Road and H Street, funding for the private development has been all but secured and the city could sign off on the plans as soon as March 18, City Manager Marlene Best said.
“We’re looking forward to this project,” Mayor Mark Gran said. “It will add ambiance to the area because it will be nice-looking.
“It’s the kind of project we want in Imperial,” he said, “people living in the downtown and commercial space.”
The site is now a vacant lot across from El Sol Market and the Imperial Public Library and close to a bus stop, all elements and a location that makes the project desirable for state-required sustainability planning, Best said.
The project was sent back to the Planning Commission recently to deal with some traffic circulation (sidewalks and access to nearby businesses) and parking issues, which will then come back to the council for final approval mid-month.
Meanwhile, she said she’s trying to convene a special meeting of a city oversight board that needs to approve resolutions tied to the project.
The project is on the former site of the “Old Worthington Building” destroyed in earthquakes decades ago. Although the land was purchased by the former city Redevelopment Agency in 2005 and a developer’s agreement was signed in 2006 with R.D. Brown Co. of Encinitas, the developer only recently secured the estimated $13 million needed to construct the building.
Best said the city is attempting to deal with parking and flow issues rather quickly to meet a strict bank-lending deadline for the developer.
Meanwhile, the design of the building has been completed for a number of years now, with about 120,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. Some of that on the north side of the building will be leased to the city for recreational program uses.
The apartments will include both market rate and low-income units, she said.
The location of the project near a transportation hub — the bus stop at the intersection of Barioni and Imperial Avenue — fulfills a state requirement in reducing greenhouse emissions by promoting public transportation.
With additional access to the public library, a grocery store and a growing number of retail shops and eateries, the mixed-use of the building will begin to expand on a redevelopment plan designed by the city many years ago.
Gran said the design of the building itself will make it a beacon and centerpiece to what the city is trying to achieve in drawing renewed attention to the downtown area.
Moving forward, Best said, the city will attempt to help draw in the types of businesses to the retail space that will dovetail with the downtown experience, such as a sit-down coffee shop along the lines of a Starbucks.
Although, Best said, Starbucks refuses to build in Imperial because of the proximity to the Starbucks in Target.
Some of the issues now requiring additional work from the developer and Planning Commission center around access from the building to the downtown, El Sol Market and the library, as the city is looking for ample space to walk, with lighting for the safety of residents.
The biggest concern seems to be parking. The developer wants to use an area off of H Street for parking, but the city has concerns about that reducing parking for those trying to access the downtown area.
“Staff is trying to figure out a way to balance out the parking,” Best said.
Photo by Karina Lopez
This story originally ran in the Imperial Valley Press, March 7, 2015.