SANTA ANA : Art Colony Project to Get $4 Million

The City Council, acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, has voted to spend just over $4 million to purchase and renovate the historic Grand Central Building.

The building, at 202 N. Broadway, would be a centerpiece of a nine-block Artists Village, which the city hopes will revitalize downtown.

Officials, however, cannot say how much extra sales tax revenue the city will receive by restoring the building, which already contains a handful of businesses.

According to the agreement approved Monday, Cal State Fullerton will rent the building for $1 a year for 10 years, and will operate classrooms, an art gallery, and a restaurant out of the 45,000-square-foot building.

Up to 45 students and faculty members from the university’s art department also will live in the building, which was built in 1923.

Renovations are expected to be completed by July, 1997.

The Artists Village will be bounded by Birch, Bush, 1st and 4th streets.

The purchase price of the building is $1.34 million, and the city would spend another $2.5 million to restore it. The city also would spend up to $257,000 over four years to subsidize Grand Central Building operations.