ARTIST’S RENDERING of the stadium concept for the Willowick site. Garden Grove and Santa Ana city councils will meet in joint session on Tuesday to consider seeking a master developer for the 101.5-acre site. Stadium is in pink in lower left corner.
A major step toward repurposing of the Willowick Golf Course site into a major development may occur on Tuesday at a joint meeting of the Garden Grove and Santa Ana city councils.
The two panels will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the Community Meeting Center, 11300 Stanford Ave. in Garden Grove.
Before them for consideration is developing and issuing a request for qualifications/proposal to solicit a master developer for the 101.5-acre site. The land is owned by the City of Garden Grove, but located within the city limits of Santa Ana.
Three major concepts for Willowick have emerged from community workshops and economic analysis. They are:
- Willowick Stadium: A stadium and sports complex with a mixed use district of residences and a sports park with possible transit-oriented development around a proposed stop on the OC Streetcar line which will run along the northern edge of the site, dividing Garden Grove from Santa Ana;
- Willowick District: A large corporate or institutional tenant along with cultural and community gathering space, a mixed-use residential core around the OC Streetcar stop, and open space along the Santa Ana River.
- Willowick Tech: The emphasis here would be a mix of agriculture and innovation with a central urban farm, small open spaces, low-density residential and creative office spaces.
The complete Visioning Document is available for viewing at the City of Garden Grove’s website. Go to https://ggcity.org/econdev/envision-willowick.
Willowick is located north of 5th Street and south of the P.E. right-of-way that forms the border between the two cities. The Santa Ana River runs along the eastern edge of the site.