Downtown Covina shops pack up as city brings in development

Store owners are vacating a block of downtown retail spaces and making preparations to relocate as the city makes way for a mixed-use condominium and retail development.

[Al an Barb]

What about the eyesore at San Bernardino Rd. and Citrus Ave?

[JoeB]

The vacant auto dealerships look terrible in the downtown Covina area. They are the constant reminder of the recession. Maybe somebody could grow plants for a nursery on those giant paved areas. Possibly even turning them into a small park could work.

I think building new housing at this time is a HUGE mistake because there are MILLIONS of homes in foreclosure and unable to sell. The demand for housing will not pick up for a decade at least. In the meantime, Covina will have this giant boondoggle that will make the city look foolish at budget time.

Additionally, Covina is NOT Santa Barbara nor Disneyland, and to think that people will live in downtown Covina because of the similarities is a big joke. Who wants to live in a condo on a main street in a hot, smoggy, lower-income city center? Good luck with that one.

[Christian M]

Building more vacant homes is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. How much money is the Planning Commission secretly making from this deal? In this economy nobody with a rational mind would think of taking out the communitys best businesses, such as the hidden gem restaurant "OFF CITRUS", and replacing it with condo's nobody will ever be able to afford. There is obviously a currupt deal going on behind closed doors here.