What's New in Lancaster, CA.

The revitalization of Lancaster Boulevard is a way of returning downtown Lancaster to its roots: a vibrant business district of entrepreneurs willing to invest their energy, money and labor to make things happen.

City officials have a vision of a pedestrian-friendly destination spot filled with shops, restaurants and entertainment venues. To that end, city officials have approved a preliminary concept design calling for replacing two Lancaster Boulevard traffic lanes with a tree-lined pedestrian mall called a "ramblas" - named for a similar street in Barcelona, Spain - aimed at reducing traffic speeds and increasing pedestrian safety and visibility.

The Redevelopment Agency budgeted $9.5 million for the project, of which $500,000 has been allocated for construction, design and engineering fees.

The city can't do everything on its own, however: It needs to attract entrepreneurs willing to take a risk, and they are responding.

Just opened on the boulevard is the Brooklyn Deli, offering New York-style deli fare with an option for patio dining. Joining the Brooklyn Deli, the popular Lemon Leaf Cafe and other eateries will be another new restaurant called Bex - short for "be extraordinary" - in a building with a promenade and bandstand.

Another new restaurant, Giannini's, is relocating from Elizabeth Lake, where it was known as the Greenside Grill.

Scott Ehrlich, a partner in North Downtown Renual Ltd., is involved in more than $100 million worth of development projects in the downtown area.

He is a partner with InSite Development, the Encino-based company that built the Arbor Lofts on the boulevard and several apartment buildings for seniors: the three-story, 116-unit Arbor Gardens on Kettering Street and Elm Avenue; Arbor Grove apartments on 10th Street West; and Arbor Court, the former Essex House hotel, also on 10th Street West near the Antelope Valley Senior Center.

InSite also built a complex that includes 100 apartment units and offices for the Mental Health Association on Sierra Highway.

"I'm so excited about the downtown; it's ours to blow," Ehrlich told Valley Press reporter Julie Drake. "That is a funny statement, but it's there; people want it. The business is there if we get the right crowd, the right people; it's already there, it's going to happen."

InSite Development's five-story Arbor Lofts building is another sign the boulevard's transformation is already under way: It has 21 two-story artists lofts, each about 1,600 square feet in size. The first five artists have just moved in.

The lofts are adjacent to the old Wells Fargo bank building at Lancaster Boulevard and Elm Avenue that eventually will be remodeled to provide a new home for the Lancaster Museum/Art Gallery.

Antelope Valley Board of Trade Executive Director Josh Mann, who is also president of the BLVD Association, the new name for the Lancaster Old Town Site business association, is enthusiastic about the plan.

"We're truly going to see a dramatic change in a very short period that I think it going to set an entirely new course for downtown Lancaster," Mann said.

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press
Sunday, September 20, 2009.