Avenue E

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
i read that article. it is so sad how that couple stretch to get in and now they are in trouble. i would not pay 700k for anything in westminster/garden grove..........



Eventually, he'll be responsible for making full payments of $6,000 a month, he said, adding, "I don't know how we'll be able to pay that."



"It's not just the financial aspect. It's the emotional," Dunn said. "We can't eat, can't sleep. I can't concentrate on work. This is all I think about."
 
I dont know about the new mall, but they are trying to plan rennovations for the bolsa area. Hopefully they are successful in passing their plans. The la times link does not work anymore so I'm attaching the text from some doc.



***********************************************

A New York-style vision for Little Saigon

Land-use experts propose transforming the district into a destination with lofts, high-end stores, hotels and sidewalk cafes.

By My-Thuan Tran

Los Angeles Times Staff Writer



November 15, 2007



Imagine what would happen if New York City-style development came to the heart of Orange County's Little Saigon, now a jumble of mom-and-pop shops in mostly old strip malls.



Lofts would sit atop high-end stores. People would lounge at outdoor restaurants and sidewalk cafes.



The area would have hotels and a sculpture garden.



And the street of old newspaper and TV offices would become the "Vietnamese American Times Square," complete with plasma screens and electronic headline news signs.



That's the ambitious vision put forth by a group of land-use experts to transform the area, home to the largest concentration of Vietnamese Americans in the country. Little Saigon has not lived up to its potential as a tourist spot, the group says, and it's going to take a lot of money, cooperation and faith to get it to the next level.



On Wednesday a panel from the Urban Land Institute, a national nonprofit research and education organization, presented its recommendations to the Westminster City Council.



The panel spent three days studying the area in October.



Community leaders have long worried that the three square miles that make up the district would slowly decline as the second and third generations of Vietnamese families moved away.



The study is the first hard look that local government leaders have taken at the entire area since it emerged more than 30 years ago when Vietnamese refugees set up businesses amid the strawberry fields and used-car lots along Bolsa Avenue.



Since then, Little Saigon has morphed into the capital of Vietnamese Americans. Primarily located in Westminster, the district spills over into Garden Grove, Santa Ana and Fountain Valley.



Bolsa Avenue, the main drag, is filled with an unremarkable array of small Vietnamese-owned stores, some in deteriorating strip malls. Nothing about the stretch of road, save the Vietnamese signs, sets it apart from any other tired-out street in central Orange County. And that needs to change, the land-use panel said.



Little Saigon has a lot of untapped potential, said Kevin Lawler, chairman of the panel and a managing partner of a development company.



The area should take on more of a big-city downtown feel, the institute said. Apartments should be stacked on top of stores; there should be an Asian-themed food market with outdoor produce and a public plaza on Bolsa Avenue. Add in hotels, a conference center, art galleries and theaters.



The result would be something the panel dubbed "Downtown Saigon USA," an area so grand it would be the mother of all other Vietnamese enclaves in the nation, Lawler said.



Little Saigons have popped up in Seattle, San Francisco and Houston, but Orange County's was the first and remains the best-known.



The ambitious plan isn't without its challenges, the panel acknowledged. Little vacant land is left in the district, except for a large mobile home park near Asian Garden Mall.



City money for redevelopment is scarce. Westminster would also have to win the support of the bedroom communities that surround Little Saigon.



The panel's ideas would represent sweeping changes not just in the context of Little Saigon. The recommendations suggest urban developments that are rare across suburban Orange County, said Westminster City Manager Ray Silver.



City officials will decide which parts of the institute's study to keep, weighing community support and whether Westminster's economy will support the ideas, said Westminster City Manager Ray Silver.



The city will rely mostly on private developers to transform the area, he said.



Little Saigon is already one step ahead of the panel's recommendations: Frank Jao, a Vietnamese American developer who created Asian Garden Mall, plans to spend about $20 million to turn the parking spaces in front of the mall into a public plaza, with fountains and an entertainment area.



Plans include the area's first three-story parking structure, behind the mall.



Westminster is working with Jao to narrow Moran Street, which holds the newspaper and radio studios, and create 20-foot-wide sidewalks with trees -- resulting in an area that may one day offer outside dining.



"Little Saigon has gone a long way, and it has very impressive accomplishments," Jao said. "But we have done as much as we can."



He hopes the institute's vision inspires entrepreneurs and business owners to pump life back into the area, whose residents have yearned for a new look for years.



"The community is always looking for change," Jao said.



"It's very encouraging that the city will help the community reach the growth that it deserves."
 
Land-use experts propose transforming the district into a destination with lofts, high-end stores, hotels and sidewalk cafes.





hahahahaaa don't make me laugh.... mom and pop store don't tend to like changes. i think what is going to happen in bolsa will follow the lead of old china town in LA and new china town in montreal park. the new asian mall will open up somewhere and newer shop will pop up. the old bolsa will be old and dingy and the new asian mall will be newer and nicer. same thing happen up in San jose, where they have the old asian communities on Tully and now they open the new asian mall called the dyanasty center or something like that.
 
The City of Westminster hopes there will be changes in Bolsa, but it ain't gonna happen. Those Asian landlords are charging an arm and leg for rent. It costs more to rent in Bolsa than Bella Terra. Some landlords charge as much as $ 4 per footage. These pop stores will get sicks of the rent and they will moved outerskirt of Bolsa. Take example of NQ jewelery store....they expeand their business away from Bolsa, because of rent and they want to attracted more asian base customers.



I agreed with Jbatmaru...Bolsa will be the old Chinatown eventually. Lots of pop stores around Bolsa are looking to relocate outside of Bolsa. I can't wait to see that happen, then those greedy landlords deserve it.
 
i hear ya tulip.... my sister shop is only 1000sqft and the landlord is charing her 4k and raising it all the time. she was piss and almost moved to but he backdown to 4k....orginially he wanted to raised it to 5500 per month. insane......
 
NQ J isnt your ordinary mom and pop shop. They have a continuous customer base and have many stores around the area. As for most of the mom and pop places, I dont know how they survive paying the rent. I rarely see any customers go in and come out with something. The mom pop places dont expect much in terms of profit. I think they just want enough to survive, something to do.



I think bolsa shops have 2 strong items. FOOD and Jewelry (NQ) dominates this though. Real estate is down, services are down. I dont see those people hanging out around town anymore.



So if there will be new business centers, malls, where's the money coming from? communist? cause mom and pops will stay where they are so the new money has to come from somewhere else...
 
money is flowing from communists for sure. no question about it. the supremarket on beach and McFadden is back with communists money. when i say communists i don't just mean viet commie, also chinese comm. or it could just be rich chinese people here in the US.



your forgot to mention that bolsa is also dominate by cell phone store and coffee shop. there is at least 2-3 in each plaza. hahahhahaaaa
 
<p>Graphrix, What the?!...Thanks for the article. Who in the world buys a $800k home and finance it with an Option ARMs? My gosh...</p>

<p>Oh, the good old days. Hahaha!</p>
 
i wouldn't go so far and say it is horrible. i would say it is up and coming. and it is not on main street. it is on fairview and edinger. there are always some bad area in every city but i think that area is ok. it is across the street from a park so it is not too dense. if the per sqft drops down to 175 i would not mind living there. there is nothing price can't fix.
 
sorry. didn't mean the name "main street"... it is on a MAIN street, as far as i remember at least two lanes each way... that's noise all day/night ...
 
Is Avenue E location really that bad? I thought any builders that's going to develope a piece of land into housing, they would already do the comp and survey the area wouldn't you think?
 
just stop by there... i think they have some great floorplans, but you look out the window.... it's everyones own decision...if these units come down in price and you are short on cash it might work for you... but stop by there at 10 at night and take a walk and see if it will work for you
 
Flmgrip,



That bad ha? I don't know the area, but I would think as a builder like John Laing, they would do their homework before building half a million dollars townhouse for sale.
 
I agree, they have some nice floor plans, but I have to say that the area is pretty bad. There's a run-down Stater Bros., Taco Bell, and the houses around there aren't exactly charming. Also, according to the Megan's Law website, there are 13 sex offenders within a 1 mile radius. MIGHT consider it if they slashed prices by 40%. Even then the $270/mo. HOA is still killer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top