Politics & Government
City Plaza Wants to Boost Professional Space to Fill Vacancies, Mayor Disagrees
Developer wants Artesia City Council to approve plan to modify the South Specific Plan to increase professional space due to economic concerns.
A developer is trying to get Artesia City Council permission to modify the South Specific Plan to increase its service professional space in its shopping center to reduce its vacancies.
At the Jan. 23 meeting, the Council discussed for an hour whether Artesia Partners, LLC should reduce the minimum square footage of its spaces at City Plaza on South Street and Pioneer Boulevard to 500 square feet from the originally agreed upon 1,000 square feet, especially on the first floor, in order to attract more professional services.
Laurie McMahon, speaking on behalf of Artesia Partners, LLC, said that the economic downturn has made it hard to attract retail to the shopping center located near the border with Cerritos and wants the City of Artesia to modify its planning permit.
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“I think it’s very important that we look at not what we all like, but what the reality is,” she said to the Council, noting that many calls to lease at the center have been from service professionals. “We want to give ourselves flexibility.”
Councilman Tony Lima said that property owners like Artesia Partners should have the flexibility to operate is property to reflect the changing needs of customers during times of economic difficulty.
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“Stores are really difficult to keep open now because people are going to the Internet,” he said. “It’s a good move to be flexible and allow stores to survive in this terrible economy.”
However, Mayor John P. Lyon was not keen on having the city allow Artesia Partners to have such flexibility at City Plaza on the first floor, saying it could create more problems when the economy picks up.
“I do think we have to look long-term for the city’s projections and my fear is nine-foot storefronts when the economy does get better,” he said. “We’ve created a bizarre-type feeling… and I think we need to maximize not minimize [the retail space].”
After much deliberation, the Council agreed to postpone a decision and will weigh in again on the City Plaza project at its Feb. 13 meeting at 7 p.m.
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