MINORITY COMMERCE : Businessman Proposes Cultural Center on Garden Grove Parcel

A prominent member of Orange County’s Korean-American business community has proposed that the Garden Grove City Council set aside several blocks of mostly undeveloped property for an international cultural center and a shopping mall.

Ho Young Chung, a former president of the county’s Korean American Assn., Korean American Chamber of Commerce and Minority Business Council, said he will present a detailed plan in August after conferring with the city’s business leaders and with foreign corporations interested in investing in the area.

Chung said the city-owned property in downtown Garden Grove is between 13 acres and 17 acres in size. It is bounded by Garden Grove Boulevard on the north and Euclid Street on the east. Last year, the city signed an agreement with Price Club to establish a store on the property, but the deal fell through when the warehouse retailer, hurt by the recession, froze its expansion plans. Price Club’s option to execute the agreement expired earlier this year, said Garden Grove Mayor W.E. (Walt) Donovan.

Chung’s plan is to have foreign and the U.S. governments build pavilions in the cultural center to showcase their products and traditions. Local and foreign investors would be invited to build the shopping mall next to the center. The stores would be retailers of American and foreign products, he said.

He said that the proposed multimillion-dollar development would be timely, considering that Disneyland is expanding its facility in Anaheim.

“Disneyland is next door to our city, and we want to jump on the bandwagon to take advantage of . . . future tourists in the area,” said Chung, who is also a member of the county’s Human Relations Commission in Santa Ana.

More important, he said, the center could serve as a magnet for cultural events in the city, which is considered one of the more diverse in Orange County. He also expressed hope that the center and the mall, besides drawing foreign investment, would increase racial harmony in the area.

According to the 1990 census, 55% of the city’s 46,000 residents are Anglo, 24% Latino, 20% Asian and 1% black.

“All we’re asking is for the Garden Grove city government to lay the groundwork and create a positive business climate for international investors,” Chung said.

While the proposal is innovative, the city’s mayor cautioned, finding investors to finance such a venture could be tough, especially during a recession.

“It’s nice to know that we’re going to build another South Coast Plaza, but you need financing,” Mayor Donovan said Tuesday. “The city can’t do it alone.”

He also said the city needs more information about the proposal before it can give its full support.

The Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce, after a presentation and discussion with Chung that lasted nearly an hour, is also weighing the project’s feasibility, said Shari L. Lane, the group’s president.

“Garden Grove is feeling the impact of the recession, and I think prudent business people have to look to the future to stimulate their business through their own community,” she said.