Donated plaza to be developed
EL CENTRO — Plans by the city of El Centro are currently underway to redevelop the partially vacant Valley Center Point Plaza after the property owner donated the large parcel to the city in late 2017.
The donation of the property comes at a time when funding for major capital projects has become available through the city’s voter-approved Measure P, a half-cent sales tax projected to generate $5.5 million annually.
“We are currently preparing to start seeking professional services to start the redevelopment of the site,” City Manager Marcela Piedra said.
Currently, the city’s public library, Carrows restaurant and Imagine School Imperial Valley operate their respective enterprises at the plaza, located on the west side of Imperial Avenue between Villa and Scott avenues.
The donation to the city by Beverly Hills-based Astani Enterprises excludes the property where Imagine School and Carrows is located.
The plaza had formerly housed Mervyn’s, Miller’s Outpost and Sears and will provide the city with more than 100,000 square feet in office space.
“The whole kit and caboodle is ours,” said Mayor Cheryl Viegas-Walker.
Already, city officials are considering permanently housing the 13,000-square-foot library at its current location and possibly relocating the outdated El Centro Police Department station to the plaza.
A recent feasibility study for the library had identified its current location as the primary option for its future location.
“We have an opportunity to save money on not purchasing land,” Piedra said. “That’s a big plus for us.”
The city is also looking into whether the El Centro Regional Medical Center could potentially make use of additional space at the property.
One such possibility would include the relocation of the hospital’s purchasing and material department to the plaza. “That would certainly free up some space at the current campus,” Viegas-Walker said.
Another possibility is the establishment of additional recreational facilities at the plaza.
The desire to do so comes in response to the recent and pending development of the Martin Luther King Jr. Sports Pavilion, Sidewinder Skate Park and aquatic center, all of which are located east of Eighth Street. “It would kind of balance the city in regards to recreation,” Viegas-Walker said.
In a recent video produced by Spectrum Creative Services highlighting the donation, Astani Enterprises developer Shane Astani stated that the donation is in keeping with the company’s interest in the well-being of communities it has ties to as well as its support of education. “We felt it would be better to give the donation and let city control the complex,” Astani said. The development company had also recently allowed Imagine School to use the property for free and donated an adjacent lot for the potential development of a soccer field, said Principal Grace Jiminez.