Awarding Improving the College Area

                Tons of changes have happened in the College Area. New businesses have opened up, old ones have improved service and some have even gone through complete renovations. Now, the College Area Business Improvement District, along with its head company, the College Area Economic Development Corporation, want you to vote on which businesses deserve the 2010 CAEDC Annual Award.

                Voting has been broken up into 5 different categories: Best Storefront, Best New Business, Business of the Year, Best Community School and the R.J. Benoit Award, which will go to the College Area BID Board Member who has shown exceptional  performance in their job.

                Eight locations, spread along College Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard, have been chosen for the Best Storefront award. All of the nominees have had work done during the year to improve the look of their business or property. To help voters make educated decisions on which business best deserves the award, the BID has posted pictures showing each nominee before and after their remodeling. Among the companies changing their image in the College Area are the Aztec Center at 6360 El Cajon Blvd. and Bowman's Garage at 4622 College Ave.

[Image: College Area BID]

                The College Area businesses that provided the best service to customers and impacted the business community the most are possible candidates for Business of the Year. Local hangouts like Effin's Bar & Grill and Cutter's Point Coffee House on El Cajon Boulevard are a couple of recognizable names in the category. The nominees aren't limited to restaurants, however. Entertainment venues like the Moxie Theater and hotels like the Best Western Lamplighter Inn are also in the running.

                Voters can go to the BID's website to cast their vote or go directly here to choose their nominees.

Local Survey Says People Want More Restaurants

An online survey conducted by the College Area Business Improvement District (BID) revealed that College Area residents would like to see more sit-down restaurants and grocery stores built in their neighborhood.

[Image: College Area BID Survey]

In addition to asking locals what kinds of restaurants and businesses they would like to see come to the College Area, the BID also asked people to tell them about what kinds of entertainment venues they would like in the area. Restaurants topped the list of types of entertainment venues people wanted, but close behind were movie theaters and parks. For the latter, people said they felt that they are not satisfied with the current conditions of the current parks and that they feel comfortable brining their kids to their local parks.

The results of the survey will be distributed to different brokers in the area. For the final question of the survey, the BID asked if the participants would be willing to help them. Of the 154 people who answered the question, 39% said they would like to be a part of the effort to bring in new businesses to the College Area.

The BID's Executive Director, Jennifer Finnegan, says they are using the survey results to help approach businesses in order to get them to move or open up new locations in the College Area. The people who volunteered will be used as a database the BID can reach out to when looking for people to serve on committees or to help when trying to contact new businesses.

More information and the results from the survey are available on the College Area BID's website.

Community Opposes Residential Expansion

A building project in El Cerrito is facing opposition from members of the community. Members of the El Cerrito Community Council (ECCC) agreed unanimously to send a letter to the College Area Community Planning Board (CACPB) voicing their disapproval of the El Cerrito Enclave Project.

The project would call for the demolition of a single property at 5402 Gilbert Drive, a 0.62 acre lot, to make way for four two-story houses. The ECCC's blog has more details on the project.

The ECCC believes that the lot and the surrounding area will not be able to support the project construction and the increased traffic afterwards. A woman at the council meeting expressed her criticism towards the plan and recommended everyone in attendance visit the proposed site to see how small it really is.

Among other complaints the council included in their letter were concerns over a the effects of fill dirt on a retaining wall along Arroyo Ridge and the lot's proximity to a nearby fault. 

In order to build on the proposed land, construction crews would need to bring in fill dirt to level out the sloping lot. The council worries that the added dirt combined with compaction will place "undue stress" on the retaining wall below.

The La Nacion fault runs along the 54th St. and Collwood Blvd, which is only a few blocks from the lot. The ECCC recommends that a geologic survey be taken to determine if the site is even safe for the construction of the four buildings.

A copy of the council's letter to the CACPB is available online.

The ECCC is willing to hear comments from the community on the project and have included the addresses to their email and the CACPB:

El Cerrito Community Council: ECCC@cox.net

College Area Community Planning Board: cacc@collegeneighborhoods.com

Takin' Care of Businesses

Along College Avenue, just next to the San Diego Police Museum sits a small, inconspicuous one-story building. Yet despite its unassuming façade, here is where the College Area business district’s heart beats: The College Area Business Improvement District office.

The Business Improvement District (BID) is a non-profit organization that charges an assessment fee to participating local businesses in exchange for multiple benefits, like promotions and farmers’ markets meant to bring attention to businesses in the area.

Not only does the BID actively promote its businesses, it also provides graffiti clean-up and other maintenance services, like street light installation and repair, to improve the College Area.

For the College Area BID Executive Director Jennifer Finnegan, it’s not just about letting people know that these stores and restaurants exist. As she put it, “It’s about creating an identity for the area.” 

Currently, the BID is hard at work on preparations for their annual Boo! Parade and Carnival. The event is an opportunity to showcase restaurants in a festive setting that is free to the public. Finnegan says a lot of planning goes into the festivities. In fact, work on this year’s Boo! Parade started shortly after the end of last year’s. The attendance numbers from the previous year’s parade are used to determine the best use of advertising and allocation of funds to run the event.

In addition to crunching numbers, much of the time spent organizing the event is spent getting approval from the city. When asked why they would jump through so many hoops and deal with so much red tape, Finnegan said simply, “It’s fun.”