DOWNEY – A packed room of Downey residents and business owners were given a broad look at Downey’s developmental future during a city affairs meeting last week.

The presentation, given by Community Development Director Aldo Schindler and held at the Chamber of Commerce, covered a range of different properties and projects, from the recently established Downtown Community Benefit District, to Kaiser Permanente, to housing.

“You know, it’s interesting; we get a lot of folks saying ‘I’ve got businesses in the surrounding area but I want to be in Downey,’” said Schindler. “Downey is the elite community in this region…If you want to be in Downey we’ll work with you, and we’ll try and get as creative as possible with anything we have but we do want to uphold the standards that we have in our community.”

The first item of the presentation was the Downtown Community Benefit District.

“We did a bunch of outreach over three years with our property owners in our downtown,” said Schindler. “Downtown has unique services that the rest of the city doesn’t have…The best thing about an assessment district is the government doesn’t get any of the tax. The tax isn’t peeled off by the city, county, by the state, the feds, the school district or any other taxing entity; 100 percent of it goes into this district. Then the Board of Directors of that district starts to decide how to spend that money.”

Schindler also addressed the new Starbucks at Florence Avenue and Paramount Boulevard that recently opened, replacing a previously existing Walgreens.

“People say, ‘Why another Starbucks?’” said Schindler. “We keep buying Starbucks coffee…We hear all the time, ‘Why not an independent?’ We’d love to have them. We talk to them and they get kind of scared away in terms of different types of cost or growth.”

Schindler highlighted the recently announced Randy’s Donuts, which will be built on Firestone Boulevard at Marbel Avenue on a lot formerly occupied by a used car dealership.

There was also an update given for the forthcoming Marriot Springhill Suites hotel, which according to Schindler, will likely start construction by the beginning of the next calendar year.

“it’s probably an 18-month, maybe two-year build out,” said Schindler.

Another major upcoming project is the Avenue Theatre, which is being developed into two restaurants and an event venue, while maintaining its signature façade.

“What’s cool is they’re going to keep the building,” said Schindler. “We had a couple of different proposals on that site and everyone wanted to tear down that building…We’re really excited that they’re going to keep the front façade.”

Schindler also addressed, but offered no new details, of development of the south Rancho Los Amigos property, anticipated construction of a parking structure and medical building at Kaiser Permanente Downey, and the Metro Light Rail.