Historic Make-Over

The southern half of the El Pueblo historic district in downtown Los Angeles has sat mainly empty and decaying for decades, as various restoration plans have collapsed. Tourists walking over from adjacent Olvera Street often wonder why the rare 19th-century buildings are off limits.

Now, a new effort is underway to revive the seven city-owned buildings, known collectively as the Pico-Garnier block. The city is studying a proposal by the Catellus Development Corp., owner of nearby Union Station, to repair the old Pico House hotel, Merced Theater and Garnier Building and others and install restaurants, shops and a bed and breakfast.

Many financial and legal issues must be resolved, including debate over whether Olvera Street businesses on the northern side of the El Pueblo plaza would be harmed or helped. But if it is successful, the proposal would clean up a part of the city’s birthplace that is now considered by many to be a lingering civic disgrace.

“It will be more of a destination point for Angelenos who maybe went to Olvera Street 20 years ago and don’t make a point of going annually,” said Philip W. Bartenetti, chairman of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Monument Authority Commission, which controls the district, including Olvera Street.

Bartenetti said he is optimistic that the City Council will authorize in the next few weeks the formal start of negotiations for Catellus to lease and rehabilitate the block. Pico-Garnier is just north of the Santa Ana Freeway between Main and Los Angeles streets.

Any contract, he added, will require that space be set aside for a museum of local Chinese history and that the Plaza Firehouse museum and the Old Masonic Hall around the corner on Main Street continue to operate. The main empty buildings are: the Pico House, a once elegant Italianate hotel and the city’s first three-story structure, built in 1870 by Pio Pico, the last Mexican governor of California; the 1870 Merced Theater, one of the city’s first theatrical showplaces; and the 1890 Garnier Building, a former center of Chinese commerce.

The developer estimates that restoration costs may total about $11 million and that planning and construction would take about two years. In addition, the city has set aside about $2 million in Proposition G earthquake funds for seismic strengthening and improved wheelchair access.

A previous developer, Old Los Angeles, signed a lease for the block in 1984 but ran into money problems. That agreement was ended last year and the city solicited new proposals. According to city documents, Catellus was the only firm to respond, but the city attorney disqualified Catellus’ bid because it proposed to pay the city a percentage of net revenues instead of the required share of gross revenues.

Nevertheless, the El Pueblo commission last month decided that “it would be in the city’s interest” to negotiate with Catellus, which was the real estate arm of railroad giant Santa Fe Pacific Corp. until it became a separate company in 1990. The firm is one of the largest landowners in the state.

The development company sees restoration of the Pico-Garnier block as an extension of its work at Union Station and its ambitious construction plans for land around the terminal.

“What could be an extraordinarily powerful linkage between Union Station and the Civic Center is now a forlorn and relatively unappetizing area,” Ira Yellin, Catellus senior vice president for Southern California development, said of the Pico-Garnier block. Skeptics, he said, should recall how dilapidated Pasadena’s Old Town and San Diego’s Gas Lamp District were just a few years ago.

Before joining Catellus, Yellin had experience as a private developer in restoring such historic downtown landmarks as the Bradbury Building and the Grand Central Square project. Grand Central, however, has had severe money problems and was saved from foreclosure last year by a bailout from the city Community Redevelopment Agency and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Yellin pledged that any new shops or dining spots would be selected with the advice of Olvera Street merchants to complement their businesses. However, restaurateur Vivien Bonzo, president of the Olvera Street Merchants Assn., said her members hold “a healthy suspicion” that Catellus might bring in national chain stores. Still, they are willing to give the developer a chance partly because there is no alternative.

The issue is sensitive because the city is now seeking significant rent increases from Olvera Street businesses. Those merchants hope that Catellus will be able to contribute more monies to the upkeep of common areas such as the plaza, according to Hilary Norton, chief of staff for Councilman Richard Alatorre, who represents the area and supports the Catellus plan. “We really want to see something get done there and frankly we think it is a good time,” Norton said.