The developers, St. Anton Partners, presented their plans for a multi-use building expected to begin construction by this summer. The property is 148 units of which 15 (or 10%) have been qualified for very low income housing. The intended use of the building is to provide workforce housing for those making a combined household income between $33,000 – $74,000. The targeted tenants consist of people working within the service industry in Downtown Fullerton, although traffic reports from BonTerra Consulting have indicated that the developers expect %10 of their tenants to be commuting via train to their work and back. These commuters are expected to inquire about vacancies during construction, while others will be targeted locally via direct mailing campaigns.

Since the property will be constructed next to a train track, a sound wall will be placed between the building and the track to prevent noise from trains. In addition, St. Anton Partners are working with acoustical engineers to provide better solutions to keeping noise down for the expected tenants.

St. Anton Partners placed the bid roughly $32,000 lower than their competitors when the city issued a Notice of Funds Available, and in turn received an RDA loan of $78,000 per unit ($11.5 million approximate total). Tenants of this property will be audited for financial and criminal activity at least once a year to see if they qualify under the guidelines set by the city for affordable housing, despite the fact that the majority of these units are at the highest level of the affordable housing scale.

In addition to housing units, 5,000 sq. ft. has been designated for retail space that will offer one to four shops to open within the property. According to representatives of St. Anton Partners they are open to many businesses who wish to set up shop, but those requesting to sell alcohol must acquire a conditional use permit (CUP), and they forbid adult shops from opening in the retail space.

The property has raised concern from neighbors at The Magoski Arts Colony as traffic has been an issue on Santa Fe Avenue. It’s operator, Michael Magoski, has stated that their goal is not to shut down the project, but to modify it so that both parties can operate without impedance. Magoski discussed how hectic parking may be especially during their exhibits for the monthly art walks in downtown. Developers with St. Anton Partners have explicitly expressed a willingness to work with the colony to provide a mutual benefit for both property owners. Currently Santa Fe Avenue is a one way street between Harbor Boulevard and Malden Avenue, and the street is the only access point for vehicles on the prospective property. By 2014 Santa Fe Avenue will be fully converted to a two way street, and the property developers anticipate improvements to increase visibility and traffic at the intersection of Santa Fe Avenue and Highland Avenue. St. Anton Partners believe that the 295 parking spaces they have allocated for guests, tenants, retail employees, and their customers will be an ample amount of parking. 

Both parties will continue negotiations in upcoming weeks to find common ground on which they both feel confident operating as neighbors.

Smoke started billowing out of the Cherch building around 8:00 AM this morning according to resident Michael Harrington whose friend owns the tattoo shop next door.

My neighbor came home and told me the that the Cherch building was on fire. So I came down and saw the intersection blocked off and fire engines along Harbor and Commonwealth.Michael Harrington

The building (at 101 South Harbor Boulevard) is being renovated by the new lessee JP23 Smokehouse and BBQ.

The Fullerton Fire Department is conduction an investigation to the cause of the fire

Adjacent businesses suffered minor damage.

We try not to get too political at the Fullertonian, but when politicians take a crack at the very systems and principles on which this publication is founded it is hard (and pointless) to stay neutral. We don’t believe you have to be disconnected to be objective. 

The Stop Online Piracy Act sounds from its label like it will just stop software pirates. But judging a new law by it’s label can be like judging a book by it’s cover, which we hear is something to be avoided. It will render, by law, censorship authority to countless private service providers. It is just one attack against this new open messaging tool we call the internet. Following is our response to the first salvo in a series of battles we call the War Against the Web.

Dear Reps. Royce and Sanchez:

As you may know, Congress will be voting on the Stop Online Piracy Act early next year sponsored by your colleague Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas). While we understand that internet piracy costs the United States economy millions of jobs and billions in revenue, this law does more harm than good, especially to local business owners and residents who use the Internet in perfectly legal ways.

If the language of the bill stands, it would give government entities the power to shut down website they see as infringing on copyrights and force them to shut down. The overview of the bill states that a “intellectual property right holder” could force a shutdown by “a written notification identifying the site to related payment network providers and Internet advertising services requiring such entities to forward the notification and suspend their services to such an identified site unless the site’s owner, operator, or domain name registrant, upon receiving the forwarded notification, provides a counter notification explaining that it is not dedicated to engaging in specified violations.” The vague language of the bill would put small businesses that use the Internet such as The Fullertonian at the cross-hairs of arbitrary unbridled and policing.

The internet is still a young technology, yet already private solutions are being developed to combat the constant threat of online piracy. SOPA is not an innovative solution to this new problem but a knee-jerk throw-back to a system of coercion where service providers become responsible for the content created by their clients.

There have always been people who seek government authority to silence the voices of their opponents. Although many battles have been fought over this issue we have not yet relegated it to the dust bin of history. We need YOU to prevent the institutionalization of prior restraint in a place where it has never existed before: The internet.

We urge you to not support this bill and let us find ways to tackle the problem of internet piracy and rogue sites without sacrificing freedom and innovation.

Signed,
The Fullertonian Editorial Staff

Written by Morgan McLaughlin and Ed Carrasco.

The Fullerton Planning Commission approved a plan Wednesday to build a mixed-use development on Commonwealth that would feature senior housing.

Commissioner Travis Kiger was the lone opponent to the project, who expressed concern about the special treatment given to TRG Pacific Development and the concessions given to the developers to put the project forward for construction.

“This project comes through with some serious exemptions here,” he said. “I’m just concerned that this project has a high number exemptions like they’re playing a different set of rules. Then I look and I realize that this is a redevelopment project, which means it’s basically being partially funded by taxpayer subsidies.”

Kiger also relayed his concerns to residents who live near the development that would have to deal with a developer that doesn’t play by the rules, build a building that’s taller than similar projects before and pay for it through taxes.

His concerns did not bother the other commissioners, who expressed their support that the senior housing project is affordable and would help fill a much needed niche in the community.

TRG Pacific Development, LLC and Commonwealth Development, LLC have submitted a proposal to the Fullerton City Planning Commission for a new 6-story mixed-use development at 345 E. Commonwealth Ave. Residents familiar with the area will recall it as the longtime vacant lot located at the corner of Lemon St. (across from the Stages Theatre business complex). The Major Development Project calls for an underground basement parking garage, approximately 3,250 square feet of ground floor commercial space and 95 affordable apartments for seniors (ages 62 and above).

In more detail, The Alexander Senior Housing Project, allots for common activity areas such as a fitness center, library and club room, 91 parking spaces, 79 one-bedroom and 16 two-bedroom apartment units with 10% available to “very low income” and 90% to “lower income” residents. This income standard equates to between $35,868 and $57,388 annually according to current Area Median Income data in Orange County.

The development companies attempted to preemptively assuage concerns about traffic impact and flow by conducting a Parking and Traffic study outlining that “in general, senior housing generates less traffic than other types of residential development.”
Though the Planning Commission recommended the project be approved by the Redevelopment Agency, it should be noted that two proposals were previously approved for this specific site in years past, both for mixed-use commercial/resident projects, both never having been implemented or built.

This project will reach the height of the current Pinnacle Apartments, and according to the submitted plan documents will be constructed in similar form. The building will have a level for parking, and atop that a level for retail space lining the corner of the streets; followed after by common use areas and apartment units. It’s almost a copy and paste of the visual currently occupying the corner of Lemon St. and Commonwealth Ave.

The Morgan Group based out of Houston, TX, has recently sold the 13 unit Jacaranda Senior Apartments to to an institutional investment manager. The complex is marketed as a upscale apartment community with each unit averaging about 1,000 square feet, and includes the modern amenities that one would expect in upscale apartment.

Repost:
"When we put Jacaranda up for sale, we were just testing the market," said Chairman and CEO Mike Morgan. "We received multiple offers, however, and soon realized that the market was hot for multifamily properties in Southern California. We continue to be interested in California development. In addition to owning and managing over 1,000 units from San Diego to Los Angeles, we have been working on a mixed-use development in downtown Fullerton as part of a public/private partnership."

View full press release here:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-morgan-group-sells-class-a-community-in-california-2011-12-05

Upon further inspection of Fullerton’s outdoor dining fees we have more news to report to you. A further survey of nearby cities (last week we told you that Fullerton has levied a rate that is 30 times higher than Newport Beach’s) we find that we are in the lead in how much money the city is trying to extract from local businesses who offer us those wonderful outside dining areas.

So far we have checked with nine other neighboring cities and found that Fullerton’s fee is matched only by Downtown Disney (it’s like a city).

Many of the cities charge no monthly fee, only a license and a permit. All cities have an approval process. Businesses are not able to set up patios if it blocks rights-of-way or causes safety issues. But the $1,300  permit fee in Orange compares favorably to the thousands of dollars of fees in Fullerton plus $0.90/sq ft.

To find another city that charges comparable rate we had to look as far as Pasadena, and there it is only along the famous section of Colorado Boulevard where the Rosebowl Parade goes and the world famous Norton Simon Museum sits. Norton Simon, remember, to open his museum in Fullerton where his Hunt Foods headquarters was but was unable to satisfy the cities requirements. Let’s not push more culture all the way up to the region’s second best city, Pasadena.

Outdoor dining has become a desirable feature in downtown Fullerton. It serves local residents and attracts patrons from the broader area. It promotes employment here, in Fullerton. But most of all it serves customers, is an enjoyable and social activity, and promotes a sense of community. We as citizens ask who it serves to charge such high fees for a service that is so popular to so many Fullertonians. And next week we will be doing just that. Be sure to check back.

CalOSHA is currently investigating a recent incident at Vista Paints where two men suffered from chemical exposure. Fullerton Fire Department Division Chief, Julie Kunze, stated that paint strippers caused the chemical fumes that killed Roberto Magdariaga, 62, and put another 45 year old man into critical condition according to an article by OC Register. CalOSHA spokesperson, Erika Monterroza, stated that the men were both working in a tank when the incident happened.

Sgt. Andrew Goodrich of Fullerton PD stated that the men were discovered by a co-worker who pulled the men from the tank along with the help of other fellow workers.

According to the CoStar Group, Eugenia Lipets sold her 10-unit apartment building at 508-512 William Ave. in Fullerton, CA to the Kim Family Trust for $2,295,000, or $229,500 per unit.

The 10,600-square-foot multifamily building located Northwest of Bastanchury Rd. and Rose Dr. was constructed in 1991 on four-tenths of an acre in the Fullerton Office Complex submarket of Orange County. Unit amenities include washer/dryer hookups, two- and three-car garages, and patios. Only one unit was reported vacant at time of sale.

Original Link:
http://www.costar.com/News/Article/Williamson-Ave-Apartments-Sell-for-$22M/133566

A cartoon of a meeting of the Nobel Prize Committee meeting in which one member says, “Do we really need to bother with an economics prize this year?” was how the economics PowerPoint presentation began.

It was the latest in a series of lectures have been presented around the county over the last month by staff of CSUF Mihaylo College of Business and Economics. It was organized and presented by NUFF at the Main Library on Saturday.

The speaker was Dr. Morteza Rahmatian. He is the Chair of the Department of Economics at the school which is the largest business school west of the Mississippi, and the fifth largest business school in the US.

The cartoon is a reflection of the apparent inability of our government, and the finest economists it can employ, to put our national economy on the road to recovery. Another slide in the presentation included the nursery rhyme:

The US economy sat on a wall,
The US economy had a great fall,
All the King’s horses and all the King’s men, 
Couldn’t agree on how to put it together again.

The presentation (which can be found online) contains many charts and is mostly readable by the layman. Thankfully they use a fair amount of info-graphics.

One area of concern is Europe. Dr. Rahmatian said, “Pray for Europe. What happens there can affect us here.” He then showed a chart of how much direct and indirect exposure US banks have in Europe and it’s around $640 billion. Further exposure through insurance and other factors to the wider Europe brings the total to 1.8 trillion.

The chart for the long-term unemployment rate, which tracks it back to the 70’s, looks like a skateboard ramp from the X Games. One should keep in mind that each of the charts describe data from the recent past to draw a line that looks like it will continue in a certain direction. But all the known data is past data.

If you believe each line will continue in the same general direction then things don’t look very bright. Most graphs are punctuated by words like “slump”, “long slog”, and “flat-line”. But the group that compiled this report wants to assure us that they see no sign of a double-dip recession.

One bright spot in the report is that these are all the numbers for the national economy. The Orange County economy tends to do slightly better in several areas.

One area that seems puzzling in these reports is the roll of the consumer. We always seem to hear that the consumer is a big part of the economy. That the consumer needs to do more consuming, and yet that the consumer is unemployed, has no equity left in their home, and must de-leverage their debt. This report was one of those reports. We will be finding out more about how the consumer should do this in future articles. For now the Fullertonian suggests you buy local.

More Links

http://business.fullerton.edu/centers/iees/instituteReports.htm

On a cool, clear Saturday 40th district Representative in the US House of Reps, Ed Royce met with voters at the Buena Park City Hall. A variety of views were expressed by attendees. Most seemed to agree with Mr. Royce but several opposed what he was doing in the House and what he was saying at the meeting. Ed Royce’s dad, Stanton council member Ed Royce Sr., watched his son from an aisle seat.
In an hour and a half town-hall style meeting Mr. Royce expressed his intentions on how to get the government out of the way of business, how to liberate economic production, and how to stop corruption in Washington.
He is in favor of the Canadian Keystone project which he says would be “a huge win-win” and supports off-shore oil drilling. The first question was about the failed Solyndra energy company. He said that the “government isn’t equipped to pick winners and losers in markets”. Government involvement creates collusion and these business owners don’t pursue research and development but instead build connections in Washington DC. “Now people have to open their eyes and see that there is a very real consequence of growing government agencies.” Ed Royce supports ending agriculture subsidies, drawing down the military. “We’ve got to draw down this deficit and we’ve got to do it quickly.”
He says he voted against the bank bailouts because it assigned less risk to the big banks. They had a full percentage point lower rate on their loans than the smaller banks. At that point the smaller banks are less likely to get loans, and the large banks start over-leveraging again. This might explain why the smaller bank Fullerton Community Bank was swallowed up by a larger bank.
“There are some corporate loopholes that should be closed”, was another solution. He talked about cutting foreign aid to countries such as Pakistan and cutting oil subsidies. He spoke several times about growing government agencies and government sponsored entities. He said the growth is a “ratchet that only goes one way”. He spoke of his efforts to regulate FNMA before it collapsed. He expressed the sensitivity of the issue of interest rates. “We’re in a pickle because we’re trying to keep the housing situation from getting worse”. On Obama’s Jobs Act he said, “I think it will create a lot of jobs... for trial lawyers!” Regarding OWS he said, “I think a lot of people don’t understand the problem because if they did they would be occupying DC!”