By Cathy Spearnak | SDUN reporter

Pedro Anaya Jr. and a group of residents of Greater Golden Hill have a dream that is beginning to take shape on 25th Street in the evolving community.

With $1.9 million in funding, the Greater Golden Hill Community Development Corp. is embarking on a mission to revitalize six blocks in the community’s main corridor along 25th Street, said Anaya Jr., executive director of the Greater Golden Hill CDC.

Two blocks of the “25th Street Renaissance,” as it is called, should be complete by June 2012, with the vision of community members, the City of San Diego, and designers RMM Design Group transforming residents’ ideas into a beautiful boulevard.

“I think it’s a project that’s taken a long time in coming and I think it will be a renovation in this community,” said Anaya Jr., who is working with the city and RMM Design to transform residents’ ideas into a new and exciting street. “It will give our community what other communities have.”

Some of the ideas for the street renaissance include making the corridor more pedestrian friendly by narrowing the fairly wide street, and adding more landscaping and sitting areas.

“How do you make it easier to cross this wide street?” he asked. “That’s a question we’ll have to answer.”

Anaya Jr. said there needs to be more harmony between pedestrians, traffic, and bicycles. The street also should lead nicely into Balboa Park at the end of 25th Street, known to the community as Golden Hill Park.

“The street should be a nice little artery into Balboa Park,” he said.

Anaya Jr. and the Greater Golden Hill CDC are currently seeking more funds to complete the additional four blocks of the project.

Another important part of the plan is to merge the many types of businesses and residential properties on the street. For example, on 25th between B and C streets there are three restaurants, an auto repair shop, residential spaces, and an income tax service. Anaya Jr. said people involved in the planning of the 25th Street Renaissance project would like to see these different uses blend together.

The long-dormant 25th Street Renaissance Project comes after years of stakeholder meetings in which residents and business owners requested improvements to address pedestrian safety and traffic congestion while adding green space.

Anaya Jr. said the City of San Diego has committed to a “very aggressive timeline” for the project. After years of lapsed deadlines, the goal, consultants say, is to break ground early next year with funding from the state Department of Transportation, CalTrans.

With its handful of eateries and other small businesses, the six-block stretch of 25th Street north of State Route 94 could see an influx of foot traffic with simple and effective roadway changes, Anaya Jr. said.

“We definitely feel that this will increase pedestrian flow,” he said. “And in time we hope it is an investment that will revive this corridor and make it the go-to area for Golden Hill. We feel by doing this we will only make it stronger.”

The two-block redevelopment on 25th Street is just the beginning of re-creating other areas in Golden Hill. Anaya likened it to Little Italy 20 years ago, and watching the area take “baby steps” to become the neighborhood that it is today.

The next meeting for input into the 25th Street Renaissance is at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 20 at the Golden Hill Recreation Center 2600 Golf Course Drive.