LITTLE SAIGON sign on Brookhurst Street in Garden Grove (Shutterstock).

By Jim Tortolano
Orange County Tribune

A first step toward tying several “Little Saigons” across West and Central Orange County into one powerhouse of tourism and ethnic pride may be taken at Tuesday’s meeting of the Garden Grove City Council.

The council will be asked to approve a memorandum of understanding among the cities of Garden Grove, Fountain Valley and Santa Ana to “support economic revitalization, job creation and cultural preservation of Vietnamese-American communities within their jurisdictions.”

Additionally, the council will be asked to award a contract to New City America, Inc worth $205,000 to investigate – and perhaps help to form – a business improvement district. Also, $95,000 would go to Clarity of Place to provide a “destination opportunity assessment” for Little Saigon
Garden Grove will be the lead city on this project.

Westminster, which has the highest concentration of Vietnamese in America, is not part of the projected district at present; it’s involved in its own efforts to improve and promote its Little Saigon – and is located primarily along Bolsa between Brookhurst and Magnolia streets – known as the largest in Orange County.

Money for the project won’t come from the general funds of the cities but from about $550,000 in grant funding from the State of California.

The city council will meet at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Meeting Center, 11300 Stanford Ave.