KIDS EMPIRE indoor playground.
To our readers: To get an update on development of business in Garden Grove, we sat down with City Manager Lisa Kim; Economic Development Director/Assistant City Manager Ursula Luna-Reynosa; and Community Development Director Niki Wetzel. This is the second part of that discussion. The conversations have been edited for length.
[Tribune] Mixed uses in a single building don’t seem to be very successful. In the case of some mixed-use buildings with residential above and commercial on the first floor, those ground floor units are usually vacant. We’ve seen that in Anaheim, Huntington Beach and at the Garden Brook Senior Village on Garden Grove Boulevard. What’s going on?
[Ursula] For that kind of building, it needs to be designed very well. In some circumstances, the developer plans as if the commercial spaces are going to be vacant. You have to have the right retail. In real estate it’s always location, location, location. I don’t think that a coffee shop is the right use, but some sort of medical support use, an urgent care, or a primary care doctor would work there.
[Tribune] What are some of the new commercial developments coming to Garden Grove?
[Lisa and Ursula] Niki’s team has received a pre-application for a development. This is just the beginning of what will be a test of what will a viable site. It’s called Kid’s Empire. It’s real next-generation retail. It’s a big kids’ indoor play gym with food and entertainment. It would be a great addition to the westside [Tribune side-note]: There are Kids’ Empire locations across the U.S., with the nearest being in Anaheim and Fullerton.
The role of AI (artificial intelligence) in planning and development.
[Ursula and Lisa] We’re all into the use of AI. We’re not real estate brokers or developers. We’re here to facilitate. [Tribune side-note] What followed was a discussion of tools such as Placer.ai, which can track foot traffic across retail, restaurants, etc. to help spur growth and SizeUp, which provides data to help small business customers with market research and other insights to help them grow. The latter is available to the public at https://ggcity.org/sbi-small-business-intelligence .
NOTE TO READERS: In the e-newspaper edition of The Tribune for March 19, 2025, a cutline (caption) incorrectly refers to “Kid’s Kingdom.”
