Residents, Thrive Santa Ana urge council to enable purchase of La Colmena community site

Speakers representing Thrive Santa Ana asked the City Council on Jan. 20 to direct staff to prepare a purchase‑and‑sale agreement and an economic subsidy report so the nonprofit can use awarded state funds to acquire La Colmena, a community land trust project located at the former Walnut and Daisy site.

Luis Sarmiento, speaking for Thrive, said the project opened in April as La Colmena and now hosts an all‑women coffee shop, a textile store and an urban farming co‑op. “We have state funding to make an offer to the city,” he said, adding the project had obtained an extension from the state. Sarmiento told council the award totals about $852,000 but the most recent appraisal is slightly higher than that amount, and the requested economic subsidy report would address the shortfall.

Additional community speakers described programming and neighborhood uses. Ricardo Muniz highlighted monthly markets (Monarch Mercado), youth activities and partnerships with local groups, saying the site provides affordable event space and regular community gatherings. Cynthia Perez and Patricia Vasquez testified that La Colmena serves as a safe, accessible “third place” for families, mutual‑aid pantries and LGBTQ groups, and urged the council to make the asset permanent for the neighborhood.

Anna Charco, a Thrive board member who spoke by Zoom, said La Colmena has become a recognized model across Orange County and argued the purchase would yield fiscal and community benefits. She said the project has created “at least 5 permanent full‑time jobs, more than 10 temporary jobs, and over 30 construction jobs,” and that Thrive anticipates additional part‑time positions as programming expands. Charco asked council to direct staff to return the purchase‑and‑sale documents and the economic subsidy report for council consideration at a subsequent meeting.

Council did not take final action on the request during the meeting; public commenters and organizers urged a staff direction to return draft agreements and the subsidy analysis given the state funding timeline. The city attorney previously reported closed‑session actions separately (see related article). The council will decide whether to instruct staff to prepare documents that would enable Thrive Santa Ana to submit a formal purchase offer.

The next procedural step would be council direction to staff; speakers asked that such direction appear on a future agenda so the city could complete required reports and consider accepting the grant funds and any needed subsidy to cover the appraisal gap.