THE VILLAGE CENTER at Beach and Garden Grove Boulevards in Stanton and Garden Grove is proposed for a facelift at the April 19 meeting of the Planning Commission (Frontier Real Estate).

The Village Center, a retail mall along Beach Boulevard that straddles the Stanton and Garden Grove city limits, may soon be awakening from a decade of slumber.

On Thursday (April 19) the Garden Grove Planning Commission will consider a proposal to revive the nearly vacant site as a mixed-use project with housing in the northern portion and retail and commercial uses in the south. The Village Center, which dates back to 1980, has 4.1 acres on the Garden Grove side (north of Garden Grove Boulevard, on the west of Beach Boulevard) out of the total of 21.87 acres.

Under the proposal for the entire site, the northern 11.89-acre portion (all within Stanton) will be devoted to residential development. The remaining part – 10.18 acres – will include 6.08 acres on the Stanton side.

Changes planned for the center include renovation of facades and interiors of the remaining retail and commercial spaces and the addition of two new pad buildings.

The Stanton Planning Commission has already approved the site plan, variance and tentative parcel map.

At its peak, the center hosted an Edwards movie complex, a Ralphs supermarket and a Sav-On drug store as well as Red Robin, Acapulco, Sizzler, Mimi’s and Wendy’s restaurants.

Also on Thursday night, planners will take up:

• a request for a conditional use permit to allow a new liquor license, live entertainment and more at the Pho Hoa An Restaurant, 14291 Euclid St. (at Forbes Avenue);
• the installation of 25 small wireless communications devices disguised as streetlights at various locations in the city. The existing streetlights would be replaced by the new street light-wireless combination. Verizon is making the request.