Arcadia : Exchange of Sites OKd

The Redevelopment Agency and the Derby Restaurant have reached an agreement to exchange two parcels of land, which will open up a site for a new restaurant.

Under the agreement, the city will get the Derby parking lot at the northeast corner of Huntington Drive and Third Avenue, and the Derby will get a parcel of city-owned land behind the restaurant for a new parking lot.

The city will pay the Derby $282,000, which includes the difference in value of the two parcels and the cost of building the new parking lot. The city plans to sell the site of the former Derby parking lot and an adjacent parcel of city-owned land to Emkay Developing Co., the developer of the new restaurant, for $448,950.

The new restaurant, Souplantation, wants the site at Huntington Drive and Third Avenue because it is next to a hotel, said Peter Kinnahan, assistant city manager for economic development. Emkay is also planning to develop two other hotels near the site, Kinnahan said.