The proposal evolved
One downtown address. A broader idea of what it could do.
In 2022, Desert Brothers Craft and JCM Clover returned to 701 W. Whittier Boulevard with a new proposal: bring Jimmy's to the ground floor and add 8+ affordable homes above.
The shift grew from the City's housing planning for the property. After Montebello identified the site as part of its strategy for meeting future housing needs, the team revised the earlier hospitality concept to reflect that direction. The result paired an active neighborhood restaurant with housing in the heart of downtown.
This page documents a proposed concept. The images are illustrative visualizations of the idea, not photographs of completed construction or representations of an approved design.
Why the plan changed
Respond to the future the City planned for the site.
Our original Jimmy's proposal focused on rehabilitating the existing building as a family restaurant, pub, and social destination. The second response kept that street-level purpose while adding housing above it.
The proposal was intended to align redevelopment with Montebello's sixth-cycle housing goals and Regional Housing Needs Allocation. Instead of treating housing and downtown commerce as competing priorities, it explored how both could strengthen the same address.
Mixed use, one clear purpose
Make 701 W. Whittier work harder for downtown.
Activate the ground floor
Jimmy's would create an open, family-friendly restaurant and gathering place with visible activity, generous glazing, and a stronger connection to Whittier Boulevard.
Add homes downtown
The concept proposed 8+ affordable studio and two-bedroom homes, putting residents close to local businesses, services, and the everyday life of the boulevard.
Open the street edge
A more transparent facade and a walkable, parklet-like frontage would replace the closed, distressed edge described in the proposal.
Plan for access
The team also raised the possibility of a parking structure as part of later development discussions, without presenting it as a settled component.
Jimmy's at street level
A welcoming front door for the entire development.
The restaurant remains the public heart of the concept: a place designed to draw people in, extend activity onto the sidewalk, and give downtown another reason to stay awhile.
Large storefront openings, shaded outdoor dining, durable craft materials, and a flexible mix of tables, booths, and bar seating illustrate how the ground floor could feel connected to both the neighborhood and the homes above.
Ground-floor goals
- Family-friendly restaurant and retail use
- Natural light and a more transparent facade
- Indoor-outdoor dining and parklet character
- Separate, legible access for residents
- More foot traffic for the downtown corridor
Homes above
Practical housing in a walkable downtown setting.
The residential portion was conceived as 8+ affordable homes in a mix of studio and two-bedroom configurations. The intention was straightforward: add useful housing where residents could live close to downtown businesses and services while contributing to activity throughout the day.
The accompanying visualizations explore efficient, light-filled homes and modest shared outdoor space. Final unit count, massing, floor plans, materials, and amenities would have depended on design development, entitlements, building codes, and available financing.
Preliminary project investment
A feasibility estimate for understanding the scale of the idea.
Our current planning model places the all-in project investment between approximately $7.88 million and $14.20 million, with a base-case estimate of approximately $10.80 million.
The base case combines rehabilitation of the approximately 4,099-square-foot ground floor, construction of two residential floors, restaurant equipment, structural and vertical-circulation allowances, site work, contingency, professional and entitlement costs, and financing and carrying costs.
This is an early feasibility estimate—not a contractor bid, appraisal, financing commitment, or approved development budget. It will change as the building is surveyed, the design is developed, code and structural requirements are confirmed, and contractor pricing is obtained.
$7.13M
Base hard-cost estimate for restaurant renovation, residential construction, structural work, site improvements, and restaurant equipment.
$2.42M
Base allowance for contingency and soft costs, including planning, design, engineering, permits, and related development work.
$1.24M
Base allowance for financing and carrying costs plus the $480,000 assessed land-value assumption.
The $480,000 figure is the County assessed land value stated in the June 2022 letter of intent, not a documented purchase price. Structured parking, hazardous-material remediation, major off-site utility work, operating reserves, developer profit, subsidy compliance, and unusual prevailing-wage impacts are excluded from this estimate.
Community value
Housing, hospitality, and downtown momentum.
The proposal framed redevelopment as more than a building project. It aimed to modernize a distressed site, add a distinct destination, support sales-tax activity, increase foot traffic, and become an early example of the City's downtown core design direction.
By layering housing over an active ground floor, the project explored a more durable pattern for downtown: customers and neighbors during the day, residents and local activity beyond business hours, and a property serving more than one community need.
The 2022 response
A documented proposal, with the next steps still ahead.
James McCusker of JCM Clover Inc. and Nathan McCusker of Desert Brothers Craft submitted the mixed-use letter of intent on June 29, 2022. N.S. Designs was identified as designer; engineering and interior design remained to be determined.
The letter cited a County assessed land value of $480,000. Project cost and schedule were still to be determined, and the response contemplated state affordable-housing support associated with the Surplus Land Act. Those figures describe the historical proposal and should not be read as current pricing, an award, or an approved development agreement.
The lasting idea
