SIERRA MADRE — When fire ravaged six businesses in Sierra Madre last December, some saw the disaster as an opportunity to build from the ashes a dream downtown for which the city had hungered for years.
City officials and architect Don Watts envisioned a large plaza stretching along the south side of Sierra Madre Boulevard from Baldwin Avenue to Renaissance Plaza, the area hit by the $721,000 fire.
Under the dream plan, the town's premier corner would have underground parking for 25 cars and 12 new, retail stores to lure the city's 11,250 residents from nearby malls and back to hometown shops.
But those dreams have since collided with the reality of small-town life, said Ron Hutson, the city's Main Street project manager.
"Everything you need, from cooperation to dollars to expertise, is in shorter supply here than in larger communities," Hutson said.
The result is not a totally revamped downtown, but three fairly standard two-story buildings totaling about 9,000 square feet.
Nonetheless, City Manager James McRea believes the new building plans, now being scrutinized by city planners, represent progress for Sierra Madre, which lags far behind other San Gabriel Valley cities in sales tax earning power. The city earns only about $160,000 annually in sales tax revenues--about $16 per capita compared to the valley average of $50, McRea said.
"It's not a solution, it's a beginning," McRea said of the development proposals. "I don't think it will substantially improve the tax base, but it will put in motion Sierra Madre's commitment to retail."
The Dec. 6 fire began when a faulty extension cord ignited paint thinner in the back of one of the shops. The blaze gutted buildings housing the Treasures of Sierra Madre gift shop, Webb & Gordon Realtors, the Spinning Wheel gift shop and the Soft Touch Nail Salon.
Rooftop flames also put the Tequila Sunrise gift shop out of business and damaged Happy's Wine & Spirits.
After the fire, town merchants rallied to aid the fire victims, raising about $6,000 at a sidewalk sale. Another $400 remains in an account kept by Harlequin Gallery, which sold photos and videos of the fire, said Frank Van Dongen at the gallery.
Although most of the fire-damaged businesses struggled to reestablish their shops earlier this year in temporary quarters in town, Hutson and others tried to persuade about six Sierra Madre Boulevard property owners, including some on Baldwin Avenue untouched by fire, to band together to create a major project for the corner.
