P a r a m o u n t
pulse Beat
February 2016
Serving the Community Since 1990
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Clearwater Crossing Coming This Summer With Delectable Dining Delights On Tuesday, February 2, Paramount City officials broke ground on a project that the community has been anticipating for a long time. Clearwater Crossing, at the corner of Alondra Blvd. and Paramount Blvd., will be a restaurant plaza with both sit-down and “fast casual” options including Applebee’s, The Habit, Waba Grill, and Chipotle. As Mayor Tom Hansen said during the event: “This marks the culmination of a journey that stretches back for decades. Many different City Councils and quite a few City staff members have worked awfully hard to attract national chain restaurants to our town.” The Mayor told how staff members had recently come across a memo from former City Manager Bill Holt relating the news that developers had expressed interest about building a sit-down restaurant very soon … the memo was written in 1984! In welcoming the new businesses to town, Mayor Hansen made it clear that they were joining a family that has served Paramount very well over time. “As we celebrate the arrival of these new dining establishments, in no way do we slight the other restaurants in Paramount,” he said. “There are a lot of wonderful places where you can have a great meal in town. We love those businesses, we patronize them on a regular basis. And we thank them for providing our community with quality service and a wonderful variety of cuisines and flavors. “We are simply expanding that range of choices.” The name of Clearwater Crossing derives from local history. Prior to the existence of Paramount, the community was made up of two small villages, Clearwater and Hynes. Hynes was the southern village, founded in 1898 when a train depot was set up at Jackson near Vermont and named after S. B. Hynes, the manager of the Los Angeles Terminal Railroad. Clearwater, to the north, established in 1886, was named for the artesian wells that flowed
Heavy equipment removes the last remnants of the long standing Rosewood Restaurant to make room for new Clearwater Crossing restaurants Applebee’s, Chipotle, Waba Grill, and the Habit.
Members of the Paramount City Council are joined by developers and investors for groundbreaking ceremony. From left; James Rodriguez (Colliers International), Damasio Alvarez (Applebee’s), James Beus (Chipotle), Peggy Lemons (Councilmember), Daryl Hofmeyer (Vice Mayor), Tom Hansen (Mayor), Gene Daniels (Councilmember), Diane Martinez (Councilmember), Javier Martinez (Waba Grill), Nichole McCarthy (Applebee’s), and Steve Boss (Arroyo Seco Development Group). on a dairy belonging to the wellknown Bixby family located on today’s Somerset Blvd. The boundary line between the two little hamlets was Alondra Blvd., or Center St. as it was known then. Clearwater Crossing stands on that line. An interesting side note to the project – it is the final commercial development in Paramount using funds from the old Redevelopment Agency. The State of California, in a
Paramount Chamber of Commerce
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15357 Paramount Boulevard, Paramount, CA 90723
search for funds during the great recession, eliminated Redevelopment Agencies five years ago. The RDA was an economic development engine that the City created in the early 1970s to provide financing incentives to rebuild blighted, worn out areas like the old downtown. The very first project done was the Paramount Village condominiums between 70th and Harrison near Paramount Blvd. It was followed by the Orange Ave. Industrial Park off Rosecrans.
Redevelopment also led to building Town Centers East and West. It is safe to say that the RDA remade Paramount into the attractive, stable, thriving City that it is today, improving residential, industrial, and commercial properties alike. Clearwater Crossing represents the end of that legacy. The restaurant development will serve as the northern crown of the big changes happening downtown. Town Center West
has undergone a transformation with new outdoor patios, reconfigured business suites, and other enhancements. The City will be redesigning Paramount Blvd. from Jackson to Alondra with new landscaping and signage, widened sidewalks, and other pedestrianfriendly and beautification efforts. All of these projects are scheduled to be complete by mid-summer. It is a very exciting time for Paramount.
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