An important decision will be made this coming Monday night (March 25, 2024) about one of Alhambra’s most significant historic buildings. Your input will be vital!
Voice your support for the preservation of the historic Alhambra Health Center (located at 612 West Shorb Street, Alhambra, CA 91803) at the upcoming Monday, March 25, 2024 Alhambra City Council meeting. Here are the specifics:
Date: Monday, March 25, 2024
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Alhambra City Hall, 101 South 1st Street, Alhambra, CA 91801 or online
Item 2: Alhambra Community Center Design Update
The City Council meeting agenda may be found here. The packet for Item 2 begins on Page 12 of the agenda. Renderings for the various proposed designs may be found below.
Please plan on attending either in person or via Zoom.
What Will Alhambra City Council Consider on March 25?
City Council will consider design options for completing the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) project description for a new community center to be built on the site of the former Alhambra Health Center at 612 W. Shorb Street, Alhambra. City and consultant staff will present four options, two new building designs, which both call for the demolition of the current Alhambra Health Center, and two reuse designs, which call for the preservation of all or a portion of the two-story structure. The proposed new designs are named Scheme I “Around the CampFire” and Scheme II “Overlooks”. The proposed adaptive reuse designs are named Alternative I “Flowscapes”; and Alternative II “Connecting Gems”.
We are pleased that the two proposed reuse design alternatives (Flowscapes and Connecting Gems) support the preservation of the two-story north facing portion of the original Alhambra Health Center.
Alhambra Historical Society and Alhambra Preservation Group representatives have reviewed the proposed design proposals. We support reuse design Alternative II “Connecting Gems” and have sent a joint letter to the City Council encouraging them to vote for and adopt Alternative II. The joint letter may be viewed here.
Design Alternative II is a good compromise for the community center project. It is concurrently equitable in cost compared to the previously presented two new building designs and preserves and adaptively reuses the most historically significant portion of the Alhambra Health Center. Additionally, the layout includes a great room, spaces for community programming and provides additional parking spaces, furnishing much-needed parking relief for the surrounding Mayfair tract community.
How Can You Help?
We encourage you to attend the March 25 City Council Meeting and voice your support for design Alternative II “Connecting Gems” for the Alhambra Community Center.
You may attend the City Council meeting either in person or via Zoom.
In Person: If you are attending the March 25 Alhambra City Council meeting at City Hall in person, fill out a blue speaker card for Item 2 and submit it to the City Clerk prior to the start of the meeting.
Via Zoom: If you are attending the March 25 Alhambra City Council meeting via Zoom, use the “Raise Hand” feature during the public comments for Item 2. The “Raise Hand” feature may be found under Reactions on the Zoom app interface. The Zoom link may be found in the March 25 agenda.
Your attendance and vocal support of design Alternative II is imperative and will demonstrate a groundswell of support to preserve the Alhambra Health Center for adaptive reuse. It will also communicate to Alhambra leaders the importance of protecting and preserving this historic resource, which is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
Do you have suggested speaking points?
Yes. Suggested speaking points can be found below. Please feel free to revise, but remember to keep your comments to five minutes and speak respectfully.
If you have any questions, please email alhambrahistsoc@att.net. We hope to see you at the Alhambra City Council meeting on March 25!
Thank you for your ongoing support!
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SUGGESTED SPEAKING POINTS
MARCH 25 ALHAMBRA CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Good evening Mayor Maza, Alhambra City Council Members and City staff:
My name is __________________________ and I am a resident of Alhambra.
I am here to voice my support for reuse Alternative II “Connecting Gems” for the proposed Alhambra Community Center, which would preserve the most historically and architecturally significant portion of the Alhambra Health Center and adaptively reuse it as a community center.
Design Alternative II signifies a win-win-win for the community. It preserves the most architecturally significant portion of the Alhambra Health Center which eligible for the National Register of HIstoric Places, is financially feasible and gives Alhambra the community center it needs.
The Alhambra Health Center has been a part of the Alhambra community since 1930. Like many Alhambrans, I look forward to seeing this historic resource given new life and purpose as a vibrant community center. Its listing on the California Register of Historical Resources and eligibility for National Register of Historic Places status merits its preservation and adaptive reuse.
By voting for design Alternative II you will be honoring your unanimous 2021 decision to preserve as much of the original Alhambra Health Center as possible in the design of the community center. A vote for design Alternative II will also be consistent with your strategic planning goal of developing a comprehensive historic preservation program and prioritizing the protection and preservation of Alhambra’s historical, architectural and cultural resources.
I respectfully request that you adopt design Alternative II “Connecting Gems” for the proposed Alhambra Community Center project. Thank you for listening and your consideration.
The year is 1966. Mini-skirts are all the rage, international protests to the Vietnam War are beginning and Batman, a TV-series starring Adam West, debuts. And in a small Los Angeles suburb, at the invitation of Norma Yocum who is the city’s first woman mayor, a group of 21 long-time residents and civic leaders meet for the first time with the purpose of forming an organization that would be known as the Alhambra Historical Society.
The Prose of Preservation 