In December 2017, the Cities of Garden Grove and Santa Ana held a Joint Study Session to discuss the potential reuse of the Willowick Golf Course (“Property”). Both City Councils directed staff to undertake further due diligence in the areas of visioning and economic analysis of the Property.  Subsequently in April 2018, the City of Garden Grove approved an Agreement with the City of Santa Ana that provided for both Cities to further implement the exploration of the property redevelopment by retaining independent consultants to help create a vision of future development and to work with the community to determine both the community needs and conduct a general market assessment. In August 2018, the selection of the Visioning and Economic consultants was completed through a request for proposals process. 

To date, a summary of the visioning and economic analysis is provided below. 

SWA (Visioning Consultant)

SWA facilitated four (4) Envision Willowick Community Workshops in 2018 (August 30 , September 27 , October 2 and 25) to solicit community input and feedback. Initial feedback gathered from community workshops envisioned several desired community benefits that included, among other items: affordable housing, open space, community gathering space, cultural arts facilities, neighborhood retail and connectivity to transit.   Further community engagement in Workshops 3 and 4 resulted in visualizing three (3) Vision Concepts including:

1.    Willowick Stadium 

This approach explored the potential of a large entertainment use such as a stadium and sports complex with a mixed-use district of residential, townhomes, a sports park with possible transit-oriented development around the OC Streetcar Stop.

2.    Willowick District

This vision concept considered the potential of a large corporate or institutional tenant along with cultural and community gathering space, mixed-use residential core around the OC Streetcar stop, and open space along the river.

3.    Willowick Tech 

The third vision concept highlights agriculture and innovation with a central urban farm, disbursement of small open spaces, low density residential, and creative office space. 

The final Visioning Document is intended to be used as a guide and resource only.  Further details of the visioning and economic analysis from the community meetings are available on the City’s website at https://ggcity.org/econdev/envision-willowick.  

HATCH (Economic Analysis Consultant)

In coordination with Garden Grove, Santa Ana and SWA, HATCH completed an economic analysis that establishes the economic framework for the valuation of the Property based on current market conditions. Hatch has prepared a report that includes an evaluation of the market conditions and evaluated market demand for several land uses that determined what current land economic development scenarios are most viable for the Property.  An overview of the market conditions will be presented at the Joint Study Session on January 29, 2019. 

Request for Qualifications and Proposals Process (RFQ/P)

The Garden Grove and Santa Ana staff are jointly collaborating on the preparation of an RFQ/P.  Logistics associated with preparation of the RFQ/P, creation of an online bid template and process, obtaining a Phase 1 Report, and a Preliminary Title Report are currently underway. Marketing and outreach will extend into the International Council of Shopping Centers ReCON Convention in May 2019.  A tentative schedule to release the RFQ/P would be April 2019.

To be determined upon selection of a Master Developer.

It is recommended that the City Council:

• Approve the development and issuance of an RFQ/P to solicit a Master Developer for reuse of the Willowick Golf Course.

By:  Greg Blodgett, Senior Project Manager