R.E.D. (real estate diversion) Alert
Willowick golf course and greens is the oldest public golf course in Orange County. It opened in 1930. The course is owned by the city of Garden Grove, yet is located within the borders of the city of Santa Ana. Garden Grove purchased Willowick in 1964 and for the first time turned a profit in 1975 after reorganizing the course and adding a driving range.
During a study last year, Willowick’s future was discussed by the GG city council. According to public records, Willowick nets GG approximately $600,000 a year in revenues. At the time of the discussions, GG was considering changing the use of the land to a theme park. Fast forward to June, 2008.
According to a recent L.A. Times article, Santa Ana’s Mayor Miguel Pulido is in talks with the Chivas USA soccer team, to determine if the old Willowick golf course could be converted into soccer fields and a youth soccer program. (Editor’s Note: See the picture above – for the uninformed, Chivas means goats in Spanish).
Per the Times article: The Carson-based team’s co-owner, Antonio Cue, said the proposed youth soccer facility could include as many as seven soccer fields and a 2,000 to 3,000-seat stadium at Willowick, now a 102-acre golf course on the city’s western border with Garden Grove. But a detailed proposal is months away.
Cue did not rule out that the site could eventually be a permanent home for the professional team. “We’re only talking right now about the youth, we haven’t thought about moving the team,” Cue said. “We’re open to possibilities, but not in the short term.”
~~Snip~~ Edgar Vazquez, president of InterAmerica, one of Santa Ana’s largest adult soccer leagues, said he didn’t think Chivas USA had reached the level of renown to carry out such an ambitious soccer center just yet.
“Their popularity is not going to come overnight,” he said, also questioning the motives of the team. “Our community is not going to receive anything back from this. They’re just trying to make money.”
But the proposal is complicated by the fact that the golf course is owned by neighboring Garden Grove. That city is already negotiating with Santa Ana and Hard Rock International to develop a music-themed amusement park on a portion site.
Willowick Golf Course has long been on the radar of politicians and entrepreneurs, who’ve envisioned grandiose, yet quick-to-evaporate projects, including a National Football League stadium and a Latin American-themed amusement park called Las Americas.
~~Snip~~
Meanwhile, Million $$$$ Homes (17 custom homes) built nearby, called Willowick Greens, are now selling below $900,000 and are located in one of Santa Ana’s seediest parts of town. These homes range over 3,000 square feet each and the speculated target group would be multigenerational asian families. The surrounding areas have been described by some as being one of the worst areas of the city.
According to a recent OJ article, Mayor Pulido’s state of the City speech included some designs on the Willowick Golf Course. Hey, wait a second….. doesn’t Garden Grove own it?
Just what is up with Willowick?
Shake the trees and the money falls out.
This should be a good source of campaign money for Santa Ana and Garden Grove politicians for years.
Elections are coming this November. More than likely this is pandering for the Hispanic vote.
The Mayor’s supporters know this.
This is why there has not been a deafning backlash from this group.
Northgate Gozales has not been able to get approval for expansion for their downtown market.
Lobbyist against the expansion argue to the city that an expansion for this market would attract more Mexicans to the area.
Can you imaging the backlash from this group if this development is for real. The development is for soccer fields aimed at Hispanic children.
This development is politics for Hispanic votes come this November’s Mayoral election.
The presentation at the breakfast implies that Chivas USA will finace the development. The LA Times stated that Chivas USA popularity is so low that they can’t market their team merchandise. How will they finance the project?
After the elections if the Mayor is successful the idea will die off leaving the Hispanic community and Chivas USA hanging and violated.
There is a city ordinace now that prohibits a group of 5 or more to use a soccer ball without a permit. Is it logical for children to get a permit everytime they decide to play soccer. The city lawmakers placed this and now want the public and Hispanics to believe they are interested in facilitating their recreation.
I don’t beleive there is this type of ordinance to play tennis, baseball or volleyball. It was pointed out though at the breakfast that soccer is very popular in the Hispanic community -UHMMMMM.
It looks to me that the highest value use of the property is real estate but to build there Santa Ana will have to change its zoning. Therefore Santa Ana is Garden Grove’s partner in that property and has been since Garden Grove bailed out Santa Ana when they bought it years ago. Garden Grove held it as an investment through good times and really, really bad times. What happened that would make them want to change that now?
The Golf Course is operating in the black; they can ride out this downturn, wait for the market to come back and sell it for a bundle – anytime they want. Now it would be a complicated deal with a developer and two cities partnering on the profits but 900k homes on the entire site nets you a chunk of change and pays everybodys paycheck for a while.
Now if the Garden Grove Council is looking at creating youth sports opportunities the Soccer Fields along with a place for volleyball,
handball, badminton, and tennis to play could be a higher use than keeping it a golf course given the divident the community could recieve in reduced crime and delinquency. The question is will the city spend the money needed to make such a facility safe and effective?
The endorsement and benevolence of a local soccer franchise is wonderful and needs to be appreciated for what it is. They should not be expected to contribute to a city project and sale of city property to a private Franchise needs to be closely examined and based on the city’s priorities not on good will between mentors of our youth.
Garden Grove and Santa Ana likely welcome any assistance anyone is willing to give to help out the youth of the cities and both have fair amounts of their budget’s going for youth programs. Still it was a high profile move on Pullido’s part. If he can get the people speculating on getting a team and have his name associated with it he picks up favorable rating points and name recognition all at once and some from people who arent even aware of other issues in the cities.
This is all probably smoke and mirrors. Pullido had a good idea with this one.
Something is really wrong here. It’s in the Santa Ana River channel, so how can this be developed? I can’t imagine how much eng. would have to go into a project like this based on it being in a real flood zone. Seems to me the golf course is perfect right where it is. When it floods it’s not too big a deal it’s just grass and sand. If they build some sort of structures in there they would almost have to be boats or have very extensive drainage. Which frankly I can’t see as much runoff as comes past my place (Harbor & McFadden) when it rains.
Besides the reasons above, what happened to our linier park that was being developed for the SA river? How would all this Chivas stuff fit in?
Carl,
The Chivas thing does not fit in. That is the point. It is smoke and mirrors as # 3 pointed out.
It makes no sense other than the politics aimed at getting the Hispanic vote then later dropping the idea for various made up reasons in order to divert blame and responsibility from the mayor and the rest involved.
I don’t know how many of those Willowick Greens homes have been sold, but I’d sure be upset if I bought one and had a busy soccer organization move in right next door, when, in fact, I had bought to be close to the quiet golf course. Sort of like a pseudo Coto de Casa experience done on the cheap.
I know some people who like to golf Willowick and they have never felt that the area was really dangerous. Yet, I had read several sources that claim that the Willowick area is surrounded by hookers and other crimes. Anyone have any experience there?
Is it soccer season yet? We won’t know the extent of the potential issues until the rabid fans start showing up in droves.
SMS
If you look at the housing and redevelopment plans for that area there are supposed to 16 homes built not 17 who does the 17th one belong too? Is it a little bit of extra in the pot after it is sold? Have some of you people ever heard of propaganda? What ever happened to the 560,000 Lou Corea took for the Santa Ana River Park Project to build a park with collaspable dams on either side to create a water park. That money came out of the funds to send inner city kids to camps to give them that experience, it was a big article in the register did everyone forget about that? So, what happened about that money and project?
Ms Martinez,
I missed the story. When did it happen?
Nothing really suprises me when it comes to converting money earmarked for something for the community winding up in the hands of someone “in charge
Soccer fields for kids provide how much tax revenue? Mayor Pulido is hiding behind the ” for the kids” arguement, so that when the community unities to fight a stadium or theme park he can say that they all hate kids
Red,
It happened around the time, that people were upset about the 16 million dollars a mile for the Bristol street transportation corridor action was going on.
I live in this area, and it’s a conspiracy to create blighted crime infested areas. They do not want to stop and create a wholesome area in this neighborhood that would defeat the purpose of land grabbing all over again, land trusts, 0 tolerance laws, gang injunctions, elderly abuse, child abuse, welfare, probation, mental health, emergency housing, and you sign your life and property away, foster care, family reunification, juvenile delinquency, court fees, time off of work for courts. The kids in this area don’t have a chance in the world, I am more afraid of my kids being arrested because he or she has blue on her clothing, or more than 2 talking together in this neighborhood than I am of a shooting. Once the system hooks them they will never be free again.
These kids live in a cracked District, GGUSD and the City of Santa Ana. This is where the only ones that get community grants funds are the Economic Development and empowerment people. Those grants were to help low income people to empower the neighborhoods not investors to bring up the economics of a neighborhood. Instead of building
gyms in the neighborhoods, the police get to work out at work. Instead of spending a little bit of money for parks in recreation they invest in more police, more jails, more lawyers, more judges. These kids can’t even play at a park because the fields are under lock and key so they don’t mess up the soccer fields.
Danny at the Golf Course lets the kids drive golf Balls at the driving range if they do their homework. I doubt very much that the kids in this neighborhood would get a chance to kick a ball in the Chivas Soccer Field. If you look under hcd.gov
housing element, you will see that Pulido, Ream, Sunset homes, An-ni the planner for the Willowick Greens Project Homes, was a under the table thing. It is not listed in the last 5 year planning period. It is an out-right conversion of property and they should be prosecuted to the fullest, they know what they were doing.
Ms. Martinez,
Thank you for taking time to comment further. This city needs watchin’, that’s for sure!
Another troubling story came out a while ago about whether a piece of land that was designated for low income/disabled should become a community park. It is outrageous that there has to be a choice between two needed uses. I believe it is also going to be illegal to deny ADA designated property to be used for anything else besides its intended use.
I admire your community activism. Thank you for taking the time to share your views on this topic.
~RV~
Red Vixen
Let me try and see if I can put this in the proper perspective on my views of the subject, I may be wrong but I don’t think so.
We have the Charter City of Santa Ana, that does not have to abide by the State Constitution, We are a private corporation. We are a designated empowerment zone. We have Tax Credits up the a– for Businesses willing hire low income people and give them Jobs. We have a limitless supply of grants for small business, Santa Nita is in a 100 year flood zone, We have planted a 100 trees next to a river which gave us the funds for an economic development bank (through the U.S. Conservancy Program Grants) called the People’s Business Bank.
You have the Neighborhood Improvement Agency which handles the Grants for Community Development Low income loans. Which by the way no one gets because, the other Joint ventures and private businesses get those. They have the state programs that let teachers and police buy homes in economically distressed neighborhoods they get the o down for these homes. The development of these homes should have never happened. This was an infill project or as they told the neighborhood in 3/2004 it was a rehabilitation project that was going to be rehabbing the Victory Outreach property, that provided 17 apartments for families that were being reunified or residential rehab facility. It was bought with HUD monies and the City, Sunset Homes, Neighborhood Improvement, gave them a deal they couldn’t refuse, Go to the Clerk’s Office and you see that they the trade off was a Million Dollar Home in Newport Beach. The Owner of the Property on Jackson Street was a Maclovio Espinosa, that had a Tax Lien on the Property for 4,999.00, but every year someone always paid so it wouldn’t go over 5,000 that way it wouldn’t be sold at a tax lien sale.
The California Housing and Finance Agency are the trustors and filed a ucc lien on the Property. in 2005, Now if they lent this guy the money to build these homes shouldn’t he have put construction people from the neighborhood to build these homes and offer at least 20% opportunity for low income people to buy a home here? The 5 year planning period should have taken into account that this was in a very very low income and very very high density area, according to the community development the planners should have taken into consideration these elements and abided by the Goverment Code by not allowing the Planners to approve this project because it would be taking away from the very people it was meant to protect and improve these areas This is called Gentrification.
Ms. Martinez,
You certainly have more ideas about Santa Ana’s status and practices than I do. Maybe others can confirm your post.
Here is the map of the proposed soccer fields:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/chivas/la-me-chivas061408-g,0,7334437.graphic
Ms. Mrtinez
Have you ever considered running for city or school district office. I like your spunk.
Any one can go to county of orange home page, look up grantee/grantor search and put in the names and dates start/end you can only search one year at a time. I usually start the year with 01/02/year, because of leap year and new years is a holiday. The following are the results.
03-05-2004 2004-00180065 GUTHRIE THOMAS ESPINOSA MACLOVIO LIS PENDENS GRANTEE
12-17-2004 2004-01120891 GUTHRIE THOMAS ESPINOZA MACLOVIO RELEASE GRANTOR
12-17-2004 2004-01120892 GUTHRIE THOMAS ESPINOSA MACLOVIO WITHDRAWAL GRANTOR
03-02-2005 2005-00155246 GUTHRIE THOMAS S CA HOUSING FIN AGENCY TRUST DEED GRANTOR
03-02-2005 2005-00155246 GUTHRIE THOMAS S CA HOUSING FIN AGENCY ASSIGNMENT RNT GRANTOR
03-02-2005 2005-00155246 GUTHRIE THOMAS S CA HOUSING FIN AGENCY UCC – F S GRANTOR
03-02-2005 2005-00155247 GUTHRIE THOMAS S CA HOUSING FIN AGENCY BFC ASSIGNMENT RNT GRANTOR
03-02-2005 2005-00155247 GUTHRIE THOMAS S CA HOUSING FIN AGENCY BFC TRUST DEED GRANTOR
03-02-2005 2005-00155247 GUTHRIE THOMAS S CA HOUSING FIN AGENCY BFC UCC – F S GRANTOR
03-05-2004 2004-00180065 SUNSET HOMES GUTHRIE THOMAS LIS PENDENS GRANTOR
03-19-2004 2004-00226005 SUNSET HOMES RELEASE GRANTOR & GRANTEE
07-14-2004 2004-00638098 SUNSET HOMES PARAGON SCHMID BLDG PROD RELEASE GRANTEE
07-29-2004 2004-00689758 SUNSET HOMES MECHANIC LIEN GRANTOR & GRANTEE
04-30-2004 2004-00374797 VICTORY OUTREACH LA PUENTE INC NEWPORT BCH CY NT DELQNT ASSMT GRANTOR
07-30-2004 2004-00696085 VICTORY OUTREACH S
07-30-2004 2004-00696086 VICTORY OUTREACH S
02-27-2004 2004-00152165 PARAGON SCHMID BLDG PROD ESPINOZA MACLOVIO MECHANIC LIEN GRANTEE
If any thing happens to me you know who did it? lol
Oh! I forgot to say you can do this from the privacy of your home, if that still exsist. On line if you want to see the contract you have to go to the clerk’s Office and check out the deals on the contract. Go to the assessor’s office and get the plot maps.
Thank you all.
WWPLD?
What would Paul Lucas do?
Are you reading this Paul? You’re running (read: wasting your time) for a Council seat. What’s your stance on this issue?
SMS
These are the goverment codes they are violating:
65580. The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(a) The availability of housing is of vital statewide importance,
and the early attainment of decent housing and a suitable living
environment for every Californian, including farmworkers, is a
priority of the highest order.
(b) The early attainment of this goal requires the cooperative
participation of government and the private sector in an effort to
expand housing opportunities and accommodate the housing needs of
Californians of all economic levels.
(c) The provision of housing affordable to low- and
moderate-income households requires the cooperation of all levels of
government.
(d) Local and state governments have a responsibility to use the
powers vested in them to facilitate the improvement and development
of housing to make adequate provision for the housing needs of all
economic segments of the community.
(e) The Legislature recognizes that in carrying out this
responsibility, each local government also has the responsibility to
consider economic, environmental, and fiscal factors and community
goals set forth in the general plan and to cooperate with other local
governments and the state in addressing regional housing needs.
GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65580-65589.8 : 157904 bytes.
2. GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65915-65918 : 35188 bytes.
3. GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65850-65863.13 : 110233 bytes.
4. GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 8180-8194 : 28945 bytes.
5. GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 7070-7089 : 65582 bytes.
6. GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 16366.1-16367.8 : 32687 bytes.
7. GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 8160-8169.6 : 50236 bytes.
8. GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 11000-11019.9 : 106559 bytes.
9. GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 7105-7118 : 26651 bytes.
10. GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65088-65089.10 : 35214 bytes.
CITY OF SANTA ANA, etc., Plaintiff and Appellant,
v.
CITY OF GARDEN GROVE, etc., et al., Defendants and Respondents.
100 Cal.App.3d 521
Civ. 20843.
Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 2, California.
I will now leave this debate up to you out there, I would like to see the Santa Anita Neighborhood Association become more critical and knowledgeable about Que Pasa en Santa Nita. I wish I had the resources to bring an action against this conversion. But that is what the city counts on, What can those poor saps do about it except pack their bags and go live under the bridge.
Lady I don’t know if you are right or wrong, but my guess is you are right. Whatever you do don’t go away. Too many sheep and not enough leaders.