The recent proposal to move the existing Community Center on Palm Avenue to the vacant 4th Dimension building on Myrtle Avenue appears to have succumbed without the necessity of a vote by the City Council. Over 100 people filled the Community Room of the Monrovia Library on the evening of January 7 to hear details of the proposal from City Manager Oliver Chi.
City staff had spent many hours analyzing the merits of the move, and in the end it became apparent even to staff that the economics were not there to make it a smart move for the City. Virtually all of those present at the meeting were in agreement with that conclusion, especially after viewing the artist rendering of the replacement 54-unit condo project that would be built on the site of the existing Community Center.
Preservationists were especially pleased that the part of the proposal to move a landmarked home next to the project was taken off the table even before the meeting began. To date no landmarked home has been touched in the twenty years the city has been identifying structures worth preserving.
Moving forward the City will now examine its options for dealing with the deferred maintenance on the existing Community Center.