REVITALIZATION PROGRESS DREAMS OF DOWNTOWN MAKEOVER TAKING SHAPE.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

LANCASTER - A year after the initial ideas for a new northern downtown began to form, the first steps are being taken to transform the area.

In what will likely be the first major element of the revitalization plan, a 76-unit senior apartment complex with a Mediterranean-style motif will be built at Kettering Street and Elm Avenue.

An existing 40-unit complex adjacent to the site will be refurbished and its facade changed so it will blend together with the new project.

Construction is expected to begin this fall and will take about six months to complete.

``It's going to be gorgeous,'' said Steve Eglash, the general partner of Urban Renewal LLC, the developers of the project. ``We're proud to be part of the downtown revitalization.''

In a project referred to as the ``transit village,'' city officials are starting a major redevelopment effort of the area generally bounded by Avenue I, the Metrolink railroad tracks, Kettering Street and Fern Avenue.

The city wants to assist schools and public service providers expand their operations and refurbish a historic neighborhood that was established in the 1940s.

The idea was spurred by expansion desires by area entities such as Sacred Heart Church and Desert Christian School, plus the city's desire to build upon the revitalization of Lancaster Boulevard that occurred in the 1990s, said Brian Ludicke, Lancaster's director of community development.

``We're going to try to build and improve on what we already have,'' Ludicke said.

Transit village is a term that refers to redevelopment projects centered around a transportation element, in this case the Metrolink station on Sierra Highway.

The official boundaries for Lancaster's transit village takes in areas within a quarter mile of the train station, but for now the city is focusing on the area west of Sierra Highway and between Lancaster Boulevard and Avenue I.

Since approving the general concept of the transit village and the official boundaries in December, the city has acquired and demolished a handful of homes where the senior apartment project will be located.

The city also negotiated a deal in which the Solid Rock Bible Church, also located on the senior apartment site, will be able to relocate to bigger accommodations by moving into the vacant, former Fire Station 33 on Cedar Avenue south of Lancaster Boulevard.

The centerpiece of the transit village plan is a proposed municipal park coupled with expanded campuses of Desert Christian School and Sacred Heart Catholic Church, which also operates a school.

Details of the park are subject to change as the plan develops, but a concept map shows the park covering about 10 to 12 acres and having two baseball fields, two soccer fields and four basketball courts.

The idea is to have a joint-use agreement that would allow both schools to use the park during the day and make it available to the general public in off-hours and on weekends.

The city spent $1.6 million to acquire a 54-unit apartment complex that sits on a portion of the park/school campus site.

The plan also would try to preserve the residential area south of Avenue I between Elm Avenue and Beech Avenue. The area is one of the city's oldest residential areas, dating back to the 1940s.

Ideas include landscaping improvements, rehabilitation of alleyways, and installing colonial-style light fixtures similar to those on Lancaster Boulevard, Ludicke said.

The Avenue I corridor improvements are a bit vague at this point in the planning process. In general, the idea would be to improve the appearance of the avenue, especially along the southern portion, which contains an aging commercial strip.

The plan also envisions assisting social services providers located on or near Sierra Highway. The corridor would include the Salvation Army church, St. Vincent De Paul charity office, the Mental Health Association and the Grace Resources Center food bank.

The city would be able to assist with land acquisition or help social service providers secure funding for expansion plans.

The redevelopment work will take years to complete. City officials expect it will be three to five years before significant changes occur. However, they are hopeful some changes will be noticeable in the next two years.