I’m really looking forward to Arcadia in 2014 and 2015.
by Scott Hettrick
If it feels like much of Arcadia has been under construction for a couple years now with extensive work at nearly every school in town, the expansion of three major intersections on Santa Anita Avenue, additions to the hospital, repaving major roads, etc., wait till you endure the next two or three years.
Construction is set to begin early next year on the “iconic freeway structure” (aka, the native American handbasket bridge — or “grenade” bridge) to carry the Gold Line Foothill Extension from the center of the 210 freeway towards its first new station stop in Arcadia. And that’s just the beginning; a year later, in May of 2012, just as the last of all the work to modernize schools is finally winding down, construction will begin simultaneously on all other elements of the Gold Line route through Arcadia, including:
expansion of the bridge over Colorado Blvd near Newcastle Park
new bridge over Santa Anita Avenue just south of Colorado Blvd — a major project to tear out the existing tracks and the little hill there to make a little dip in the same spot and add a double-wide bridge for two sets of tracks.
station and transit plaza on northwest corner of First Avenue at Santa Clara (across from 24 Hr Fitness) with two-level expandable parking garage, crossing gates, landscaping and probably some retail stores
second bridge added to existing bridge over Huntington Drive at Second Avenue, which will also be modified
And that’s all just related to the Gold Line. Although neither is approved yet, Westfield Santa Anita is requesting to build a major expansion to the mall with a new two story building (most likely a Target store) and an adjacent multi-level garage, and a new deal is expected to announced soon between Santa Anita Park and Caruso Affiliated to take another stab at a major retail center on the parking lot of Santa Anita. The Santa Anita project will likely take two years to build if and when it gets final approval, and both will require major environmental impact reports that could take a year.
So, if you do the math on all these proejcts, by 2014 all these projects could be completing construction at about the same time.
Grit your teeth and start preparing for the inconveniences for the next three years, but keep an image in your mind of an Arcadia by 2014 or 2015 featuring:
a beautiful new high school campus and completely upgraded schools
new joint-use community/school gymnasium at Dana Middle School
a brand new hospital wing and emergency room
nice wide intersections with multiple right-and-left turning lanes
huge new upscale retail and restaurant center with beautiful fountains and walking area to complement and preserve Santa Anita Park
two-story Target right next to the full-scale mall for one-stop shopping
plenty of movie theaters at both retail complexes
convenient station to jump on the Gold Line to many major areas in L.A.
revived downtown Arcadia area from new Transit Plaza down First Avenue south of and including Huntington Drive
Arcadians of decades past enjoyed the pride of welcoming major additions to the community such as Santa Anita Park in the 1930s, the opening of Arcadia High School and Methodist Hospital in the 1950s, and the introduction of Santa Anita Fashion Park (the former Westfield Santa Anita) and the I-210 Foothill Freeway in the 1970s.
It’s certainly time for this wave of modernization for which the current generation of Arcadians can be proud and which will ensure the vitality of the city for many more decades.
— By Scott Hettrick