THE VILLAGE CENTER at Beach and Garden Grove Boulevards in Stanton and Garden Grove is planned for a major do-over. (Frontier Real Estate).

By Jim Tortolano

A milestone in the revival of the long-dormant Village Center on Beach Boulevard was reached on Tuesday night when the Stanton City Council gave its approval to a development agreement between the city and Brookfield Homes to build 208 condo units on the northern potion of the site.

The council voted 4-0 – with Councilman Brian Donahue absent – to support the agreement to proceed with the home-building phase of the project. The 21.87-acre site straddles the cities of Stanton and Garden Grove, with the southern border being Garden Grove Boulevard.

Under the plan 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 original Village Center was once a flourishing commercial area, anchored by several restaurants and major retailers, along with an Edwards theater complex. It began to decline in the mid-Nineties with the loss of anchors such as a supermarket, a drug store and the movie complex.

The commercial portion will be constructed first – including demolition of existing buildings – and residential in the second phase. The proposed development agreement calls for financial assistance from the developer toward improving public facilities in Stanton.