Construction on Central Park Village to develop old Brea hospital gains momentum – OCRegister

A $100 million-plus project developing the old Brea hospital property is gaining momentum nearly five years after it was approved.

Central Park Village, a 15-acre, mix-use development at the former site of the Brea Community Hospital has completed a small portion of the townhouses slated for the site and recently began construction on the apartment and medical office buildings.

JH Real Estate Partners project, which will also include a 1-acre privately managed park, parking garage and commercial space, was approved by the City Council in 2012. The hospital was demolished in 2006.

The economic markets ups and downs slowed the progress of the project, Community Development Director David Crabtree said.

I would have certainly thought that it would had been implemented earlier than now, he said. Thats the part that is out of the citys hands.

Central Park Village, a 15-acre mix-use development at the old Brea Community Hospital site has completed a small portion of the townhouses slated for the site and recently began construction on the apartment and medical office building. (Anthony Mendoza, Staff)

Construction continues at the Central Park Village, a 15-acre mix-use development at the Old Brea Community Hospital site. (Anthony Mendoza, Staff)

A portion of the townhouses at the Central Park Village in Brea have been completed. The site is a 15-acre mix-use development at the old Brea Community Hospital site. (Anthony Mendoza, Staff)

Central Park Village, a 15-acre mix-use development at the old Brea Community Hospital site has completed a small portion of the townhouses slated for the site and recently began construction on the apartment and medical office building. (Anthony Mendoza, Staff)

A community area near the townhouses at the Central Park Village in Brea overlooks construction that continues at the site of the old Brea Community Hospital. (Anthony Mendoza, Staff)

Construction continues at the Central Park Village, a 15-acre mix-use development at the Old Brea Community Hospital site. (Anthony Mendoza, Staff)

Central Park Village, a 15-acre mix-use development at the old Brea Community Hospital site has completed a small portion of the townhouses slated for the site and recently began construction on the apartment and medical office building. (Anthony Mendoza, Staff)

Central Park Village, a 15-acre mix-use development at the old Brea Community Hospital site has completed a small portion of the townhouses slated for the site and recently began construction on the apartment and medical office building. (Anthony Mendoza, Staff)

Completed are about 25 of the proposed 100 townhouses, which are now occupied, Crabtree said. The other townhouses are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Construction of the three-story medical office building, the apartment complex and the parking garage the buildings will share has broken ground. Crabtree expects those structures to be completed by the end of 2018.

JH Real Estate Partners officials could not be reached for comment.

Folks are finally seeing stuff happening out there. Things are coming out of the ground, which is always exciting, Crabtree said.Its been a bit unusual since it was entitled in 2012, but its taken this long. People move in and out of town and there was a buzz back in 2012, but that buzz has faded over the years.

The commercial space, which is about 30,000 square feet, is looking for an anchor tenant, Crabtree said. A Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market was once planned, but the European grocer that rapidly grew into the western United States began closing all of its U.S. stores in 2013 and filed for bankruptcy two years later.

Crabtree said the city and developer have met to revisit the plans. Office buildings at the site of where the commercial space is intended will remain in place until a new anchor tenant is planned and construction begins.

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Construction on Central Park Village to develop old Brea hospital gains momentum - OCRegister