Commercial Key Developments
 Los Jardines Shopping Center
Completed in April 2004, the Los Jardines Shopping Center is the City's newest retail attraction. This redevelopment project replaced a blighted, underused commercial block with a vibrant, village-like, lusciously landscaped shopping center that provides a pedestrian-friendly environment for the community. Located near the busy intersection of Eastern and Florence Avenues, and within a block of Interstate-710, the Los Jardines Shopping Center comprises five new buildings totaling 72,574 square feet of commercial and retail space. Overall, the site totals 261,581 square feet. The shopping center has attracted nationally recognized merchants to serve the city's growing but largely underserved Hispanic community.
Tenants include Famsa – an emerging Latino-oriented department store, Bank of the West, Starbucks, Hollywood Video, Cold Stone Creamery, Red Brick Pizza and Quizno's Subs, among other businesses. Los Jardines is located within the city's bustling Central City Redevelopment Project Area, adjacent to the popular Bicycle Casino, the Marketplace shopping center, and a proposed retail and entertainment complex tentatively titled the Bell Gardens Village Square .
Residential Key Developments
 Vista Del Rio Housing Development
Vista del Rio is a new planned community with 102 state of the art single-family homes. The units are arranged around a loop road with access from Greenwood Avenue and include a security gate at the entrance. The homes range in size from 1,400 to 1,625 square feet, consist of 3 to 4 bedrooms and have 2-car garages.
The construction of the homes began in September 2000 and all homes were completed by July 2003. Families are now enjoying homeownership, with jobs and amenities nearby.
Las Casas De Bell Gardens
The Las Casas De Bell Gardens was part of the City's Redevelopment efforts to increase the affordable housing stock in the City. These homes were located at various infill lots throughout the City and were completed in 2002. Each dwelling unit is two-stories high and is provided with an attached two (2) car garage. UDI Development Co. Inc., designed three (3) different floor plan layouts with units ranging in size from 1,470 to 1,537 square feet. The architectural features on the exteriors of the buildings include stucco walls, wood siding on the front elevations of the house, French style windows and composition asphalt shingles roofing material.
Clara Vista Housing Development
The Clara Vista housing development provides thirteen (13) new single-family residences on two sites in the City of Bell Gardens . The larger site is located at 7711 Ira Avenue and consists of ten of the thirteen new homes. The approximately 48,137 square foot site was subdivided into ten (10) single-family residential lots ranging in area from 3,156 square feet to 6,709 square feet. The site of the three remaining lots is located at 6865 Colmar Avenue . This site has a total land area of 12,240 square feet and resulted in the subdivision of three (3) single-family lots with areas of 2,978, 4,005, and 5,246 square feet, respectively.
Each two-story home provides a minimum of three bedrooms, two bathrooms and an attached two-car garage. Special amenities include interior laundry hookups in all units, fireplaces in some units, and an optional fourth bedroom or den in the largest floor plan. The residences were designed with three different architectural themes to distinguish the exterior of each home: 1) Spanish, 2) French, and 3) American Country. Construction of the project was completed in January 2005.
Habitat For Humanity Housing Project
The City teamed up with this nationally recognized non-profit housing developer to construct four very low-income housing units on a vacant parcel of land at 6717 Hannon Street , which the City owned. The units were constructed with in-kind donations and volunteer services. Buyers were selected from the community and were required to donate 500 hours of sweat equity toward the construction of their home as part of their down payment.
Upcoming Projects
Village Square Shopping Center
The Village Square Project will consist of the construction of a 79,800 square foot community retail center anchored by two major retail stores. The center will also contain a national chain sit-down restaurant, and additional service retail tenants. The site encompasses approximately 6.68 acres and is located at the southeast corner of Eastern Avenue and Florence Avenue near the 710 Freeway. All business and residential tenants that were located at the site have been relocated in accordance with state relocation guidelines. The existing improvements on the site have been demolished.
 Senior Center Housing – 72 Units + Community Center
The City of Bell Gardens Senior Housing and Community Center project consists of the construction of seventy-two (72) one- and two-bedroom units and a 5,150 square foot community center. The project site is located at 6722 - 6730 Clara Street in the industrial district, near the eastern boundaries of the City. The site is located in the Redevelopment Project Area 1. The property is bounded on the north by Scout Avenue , Clara Street and industrially zoned and developed properties, on the west by Scout Avenue and industrially zoned and developed properties, on the east by the Westminster Court Senior Housing Development and the Human Services Association and on the south by industrially zoned and developed properties. The site encompasses approximately 66,429 square feet (1.51 gross acres).
The project design maximizes the number of units while providing an ample amount of landscaping and open space. In order to achieve this design concept, the architectural design of the project includes a main entrance with a stamped colored concrete turn-around area and porte-cochere, a colored concrete courtyard, a park with a pond, a wood trellis patio, balconies, tile roofs, stucco walls, accent tiles, wrought-iron guardrails, and decorative moldings and arches. A proposed access road will also serve to provide a connection between existing adjacent senior and community service developments and the new senior housing project.
The implementation of the proposed project will result in a comprehensive senior campus in which seniors from both developments (the existing Westminster Court development and this proposed, new development) can enjoy the amenities of the new community center and grounds. An additional convenience for Bell Gardens senior residents is the City-provided taxi service. Construction of the project is anticipated to commence in early Spring, 2005.
 Ford Park Sports Complex
Bell Gardens' Ford Park is undergoing extensive redevelopment and will soon be home to a multimillion-dollar sports complex. The Ford Park Sports Complex will feature the following improvements:
1. Restroom Building ;
2. Ball Fields (2 Fields to include backstop, dugout infield/outfield fencing, foul poles, score board, concrete bleachers, turf irrigation and infield mix);
3. Soccer Fields (4 Fields including 2 Synthetic Turf and 2 Natural Turf);
4. Sports Field Lighting;
5. General Park and Pedestrian Lighting;
6. Hardscape (includes block wall, concrete flatwork, seatwalls);
7. Landscaping (includes turf, trees, shrubs, palm trees, soil preparation and fine grade, weed abatement and irrigation);
8. Site Furnishings (includes picnic tables, benches, trash receptacles, drinking fountain and shade canopies at soccer fields that will be permanently fixed to the ground);
9. Permanent Fencing;
10. General Site Work, Demolition, Temporary Fencing, Equipment Rental, Grading and Storm Drain; and
11. New Portable Service Maintenance Building and Fencing
Map of Redevelopment Project Areas
Project Area 1
As the first of Bell Garden's redevelopment plans undertaken in December of 1972, Project Area #1 incorporates a 320 acre tract designated for commercial, office, recreational and residential use and is approximately 21% of the land area in the city. Project Area #1 is generally located on the southern and eastern ends of the city's area. Since inception, Project Area #1 has made improvements in the project area requiring land assembly for industrial development.
The Commission has supported the Los Angeles River Master Plan to receive 1992 Proposition A Funding from L.A. County Open Space District to develop a park (green space) in the Jaboneria/ Shull Neighborhood. The support of this project will lead to the development of a bike path that will link the Los Angeles River to Ford Park via the proposed Jaboneria/ Shull Park. The Nehemiah West Housing Development Project now known as "Viñas La Campana" was completed in April 1995. The Commission's project, of which the entire 126 condominiums/townhomes have been sold, is continuously referred to by the city, state, federal government and housing officials as the model for future housing development efforts in low/moderate income communities. Other potential assistance will be in the form of financing for public improvements that serve Project Area No. 1.
Central City Project Area
The Central City Redevelopment Project Area's redevelopment plans were undertaken in June of 1979. It incorporates a 140 acre tract designated for commercial, office, recreational and residential use and encompasses approximately 9% of the area in the city. The boundaries of Central City are one block east of Eastern Avenue to the east, Clara Street to the south, Gage Avenue to the north, and the Long Beach freeway to the west boundary.
The Central City Redevelopment Project Area has been oriented toward the improvement of commercial activity in the downtown area and to assist in the development of housing. To that end, the Commission has developed the Marketplace Shopping Center, the Quality Inn Hotel (now known as the Best Western Hotel by the Casino), Toys R Us, The Bicycle Club Card Casino, and the construction of 19 single family market price homes in the northern part of the project area, known as the Sunlane Housing Project (located at Loveland/Specht).
To contact the Redevelopment Division:
City of Bell Gardens
7100 South Garfield Avenue
Bell Gardens, CA 90201
Tel: (562) 806-7700
Fax: (562) 806-7720 |
