LOOKING AHEAD Cover Story CONT. FROM PAGE 21
Camino Real, where Ortega Highway is now. Tat would have required moving Ortega to cut between the Mission Promenade shop- ping plaza and the Swallows Inn, to line up with Verdugo Street. Parts of the plan went forward; public op-
position stalled others. But the need to inject energy into the downtown again pushed the City Council to act, and $500,000 was spent to create a new plan in 2010. Te new Historic Town Center Master
Plan calls for connections between Camino Capistrano and Del Obispo Street, as well as allowing new development downtown, where the city’s Redevelopment Agency owns acres of land collected for other purposes but now used mostly for parking lots. “What each of California’s best town cen-
ters have in common— and what is currently in short supply in San Juan Capistrano’s town center— is a coherent pattern of relatively continuous, simple buildings along the main street fronts, forming comfortable spaces for pedestrians,” the plan says. “Tis Plan defines a simple town pattern for San Juan Capistrano’s Town Center, within which the remaining historic buildings and distin- guished new buildings are intended to work together to make a place that is both new and
Photo: Danielle Johnson
old, marrying San Juan Capistrano’s history and its future.” One key element: Gretchen Stroscher
Tomson, owner of Stroscher G3 LLC, has gained approval for the 124-room Plaza de Las Banderas hotel at Ortega Highway and El Camino Real. Te hotel would be 74,973 square feet, and the project also includes 6,509 square feet of retail space and a 5,747-square-foot restaurant. Te name—Plaza of the Flags—is for the
owner’s plans to fly flags from each of the countries that have governed Capistrano—a nod to the city’s past. Tomson, whose father was born on the property, also plans a public plaza on the corner facing Cedar Creek Inn. She envisions a vendor there selling fresh orange juice, because that’s what she drank as a child growing up on the property. City consultants say the plan does more than build on Capistrano’s downtown. It builds the city’s budget, too. “Overall the build out of the Town Center Master Plan is projected to generate a surplus of public revenues to the city. Te commercial develop- ment, particularly the hotel rooms, are the primary generator of these public revenues. Assuming the build out of the entire plan, the city is projected to have a $542,000 annual operating surplus,” the plan says. Te master plan has detractors, but it also
has strong supporters, in the business com- munity and in City Hall. “Te people and the leaders at City Hall
Tom Hribar. Photo: Danielle Johnson
Capistrano Valley Realty/Remax, 28 years in Capistrano Keep your nose clean. You’ve
got to get back to basics, have some integrity and treat people the way you want to be treated. While you won’t always win, you win 90 percent of the time.
—Tom Hribar, Owner
have recognized the importance of economic development. Tere has been a lot of effort put into making San Juan a more business friendly environment and that is definitely starting to pay off,” the Chamber’s Boden- hamer says. “Revitalizing our downtown is a key strategic goal of the chamber. Tere’s no more effective tool for ensuring economic success in San Juan Capistrano than a beauti- ful, vibrant and thriving downtown core.” Councilwoman Laura Freese, a small business owner who served on the Chamber
22 San Juan Capistrano Business Directory & Visitor Guide
Zuri Pet Salon, 1 year in Capistrano
Customer service is probably
No. 1 in being successful. You have to be flexible and meet each individual’s needs. You should also offer something unique and high- class, but in this economy, you have to keep it affordable, too.
—Jen Harris, Owner
of Commerce Board of Directors before her election, is a champion of the plan. “San Juan is blessed have the framework of an utterly charming downtown, which needs some definite revitalization. Plus San Juan Capistrano is blessed to have some very freeway-friendly land on the further edges of town. Both areas, the downtown and the outlying areas, are perfect for certain types of businesses,” Freese says. “In the next 50 years,
A consultant’s plan for what Del Obispo Street could look like. Rendering: Courtesy
if the leaders of San Juan Capistrano continue to be visionaries, we could see some more much-needed businesses popping up on the far edges of town, including possibly a Target store, high-end grocery stores and possibly the relocation of some of the fast food restaurants. In the downtown area, with the 2010 Master Plan as a guide, we could become a mecca of historical charm as well as a place where small, quality businesses call home.”
A Restaurant With a Past:
The Ramos House Cafe
Te Ramos House Café has often been CONT. ON PAGE 24
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