Smarter ways to save Kona Lanes

What a mistake our city leaders will be making if they allow the

removal of the Mesa Verde Center, one of Southern California’s

original entertainment centers.

It is, or I should say was, the retail mix that is now duplicated

on a much larger scale by companies such as the Mills Company (Block

of Orange, Ontario Mills) and the Irvine Co. with their Irvine

Spectrum project. The Mesa Verde Center can be renovated and kept as

a jewel for families to enjoy for another couple of generations.

It’s so easy, if we weren’t always looking for the easy and most

profitable way out.

On Kona Lanes, why not give them a long-term lease so that they

can afford to replace old equipment and renovate the building? Or

lease it to another bowling operator if the present one doesn’t have

the financial statement necessary?

What a loss this will be to our community.

Have you ever gone there for karaoke? What fun.

Why can we not have our own little Stuckey Bowl like on NBC’s

“Ed”?

On the Ice Chalet, have they ever tried to get Vans or a similar

sponsor to do a skate park here? Have they ever really tried to

replace the skating rink with another operator? Where do the ice

hockey teams and ice skaters go? Where do the families go to ice

skate now?

Hey, skate park activists, what about a joint venture with the

city, Vans and the developer?

Regarding the movie theater, I know for a fact that there is a

theater chain interested in leasing this property. Why can’t we have

our neighborhood theater back? Edwards took advantage of their

Chapter 11 situation and walked away from a lot of locations. I

believe this was one of them.

They don’t all have to be stadium-seated theaters.

I feel sorry for the new homeowners that were sold nice homes next

to these uses. How could any of them think a Kohl’s will be better

for their property values and quality of life than an upgraded

entertainment center?

Has anyone ever driven east on Adams in the morning? It’s like a

parking lot with traffic crawling to Harbor Boulevard.

Kohl’s opens early so we’d be adding to that morning traffic. Even

the Home Ranch project was approved with very little traffic

improvements. Imagine what it will be like when all of those

Huntington Beach office workers are headed to their offices in Home

Ranch.

Without Gisler Avenue and 19th Street bridges, Adams just gets

worse and worse. The Segerstroms will tell you this would be “less

impactful as compared to what plans on the books would allow for.”

Let’s see, where have we heard that before? Their Home Ranch

arguments maybe?

The facts are that the Segerstroms have done a lot of great things

for Costa Mesa and most of us like their projects a lot.

I do not like the fact that we will lose three great family

entertainment destinations and replace it with one big box,

traffic-generating retailer.

Why didn’t they put Kohl’s in their Home Ranch project, where it

belongs? How about keeping just one of your properties a little less

developed and a little more neighbor friendly?

Let’s save Kona Lanes.

TIM CROMWELL

Costa Mesa