SHEENA De WALL | arts & culture editor
SHANNON LINTON | guest writer

Development continues in Azusa bringing with it concerns and hopes from residents.

HIGHLIGHTING AZUSA COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT

The City of Azusa is undergoing major changes as new development turns soil and some emotions upside down.

Francis Delach, City Manager of Azusa, explained the goal of the development. “We’re trying to create a hometown village atmosphere reminiscent of Azusa in the 50s and 60s,” he said. “We want to bring an improved quality of life for residents.”

As you travel through Azusa, signs of such efforts are not hard to find. Perhaps one of the most well known of these residential development projects is the Rosedale Community, located between APU's East and West Campuses.

The 1,250 homes of the Rosedale community on the site of the former Monrovia Nursery are still in the works, though the current housing slump has affected the speed of this construction process.

“The housing slump will end. Azusa is an up-and-coming little community and things will only get better,” Mayor Joseph Rocha said.

The community also boasts a future K-8 school (Azusa’s first new school campus in more than 30 years), a system of parks, open spaces and trails as well as space for future commercial use including the site of a future Gold Line light transit station.

When completed, Rosedale homes will range in value from $630,000 to $1.3 million and will change the dynamic of the city, according to the Rosedale community webpage. But some have expressed concern over the affordability of these homes for the already existing Azusa community. Others question the target audience of this pricier development.

“The community is primarily targeted at empty-nesters who would like a nice home without the yard, new families, Azusans who want to move up in the ranks, APU colleagues and staff as well as young professionals,” Rocha said.

Landscapes are not only changing in the residential arena of Azusa, but also in the commercial sector. Simply take a look at Citrus Crossing, or what is left of it, that is. Several buildings have been torn down in preparation for a new group of stores including Panda Express, Jamba Juice, and Starbucks. Ross has already undergone a face-lift, now sporting a new modern face. Surrounding residents can also expect a new supermarket, Fresh and Easy, to join the incoming stores.

Travel west on Foothill Blvd. and one can find evidence of recently completed development in a Subway, Starbucks, and Verizon store at the Azusa avenue intersection.

Other signs of development prove less obvious. Take the King Ranch Market for example. Located just one block north of the new Starbucks, it seems as though little about this market has changed in years. It is about to undergo a major change, actually a full removal, with the incoming of a new Target store scheduled to be completed in 2009.

VOICES SURROUNDING DEVELOPMENT

This changing face has not gone unnoticed by the residents of Azusa. Rather, voices of protest and agreement have encircled the developments. Some wholeheartedly oppose the changes, others welcome it with open arms, while still others straddle the fence of the issue, remaining undecided.

Veronica Valenzuela and Vanessa Torres have both grown up in Azusa, and remember the small-town feel of the city.

“Growing up here, it’s been a small community,” Valenzuela said, “and I like it that way.”

Torres explained that the development is not adding to the city. “It’s taking away the true meaning of Azusa, the whole atmosphere of this city,” she said.

City Manager Delach expressed his desire to see the development restore Azusa, rather than alter it. “Through the development we’re not trying to make Azusa into a big city like Pasadena,” he said. “We’re trying to make it into Azusa again.”

But Valenzuela and Torres feel the development is a sign of a deeper issue. “Everything here is becoming more modernized,” Torres said. “It’s beginning to cater to more of an upper class instead of the Hispanic population.”

Others offered a distinctly different perspective on Azusa’s changing face. Long-time resident Jose Gutierrez said he has seen many changes in his 27 years of living in Azusa. He expressed hope for positive impact from the development.

“This town was a beautiful town a lot of years ago,” Gutierrez said. “I hope the changes make it better and beautiful again.”

Henry Diaz of Azusa explained that he thinks his home is located in a bad area of the city. He hopes the development will counter the negative effects of such areas.
“I think [the development] is going to give Azusa a fresh start,” Diaz said.

VOICES SURROUNDING DEVELOPMENT

As some residents expressed, a growing concern many Azusans have about the development is the possibility of a widening gap between the rich and poor in the city. Mayor Rocha assured residents this would not be the case.

“Rosedale and these other new developments are not a separate part of the Azusa community —they are a part of the community as a whole,” Rocha said. “The ‘separation concept’ is one that we want to get away from.”

Rocha said the city has not forgotten the needs of low-income families. He explained that Azusa is trying to take a more holistic approach to development by including a variety of projects.

“For the future of further development in Azusa, I see that we need a shelter for single women and children. We currently have a shelter like this for the men in the city, but not for the women,” Rocha said. “We also need more low-cost housing.”

Though there are two sides to the new development in Azusa, from the new opportunities that it may provide to the possible detriments of gentrification, city officials say that this new chapter in the city’s history will only add to the chapters before it – it is not the end.

“When we look at development we need to look at the whole picture,” Rocha said. “We need to ask ourselves how this will impact the whole community. In the end, we are still one Azusa.”