Julian Town Square Project

JULIAN, CA - The Julian Community Heritage Foundation was founded in 2017, under a shared community vision for a town square park on the corner of Main St. and Washington St. The “corner lot,” as it had come to be known, had been sitting vacant and neglected for decades. It was a serious blight in our historic district and with a controversial past, as it was.

The history of the corner lot dates back to 1912, when it was established as the Silvers Supply Store. It went through many changes over the years and eventually housed a Chevron Gas station in the early 1970’s.

In the spring of 1977, 20,000 gallons of gasoline spilled into the ground, as a result of a service line failure. The extent of the environmental damage is still unknown and it was later also discovered that Chevron’s fuel tanks leaked benzene into the local water supply. Much of the water supply in the Julian historic district was contaminated for a significant time.

We may never fully know the impact these events caused on human health and environment in the Julian community. It’s a darker chapter of our town’s long history that we’re still coming to grips with, as we move towards a new future out of this tragedy.

Up until the spring of 2022, we’ve still been working with Chevron to eliminate all contaminants off the property and prepare it for the Town Square build out.

Chevron has taken various steps to rectify the situation including donating $10,000 seed money to get the Town Square project started. They have allocated funds and personal to fully cleaning all contaminants from the lot, while supporting the Town Square project in various other ways.

A community group formed in 2017 under the name Julian Community Heritage Foundation (JCHF), with the specific aim of finally bringing the town square project together.  They made some incredible strides towards bringing the project to reality. Since the JCHF's founding in 2018, they raised over $600,000 in just 5 years time through grants, corporate and private donors, crowd-funding and fundraising events. 

On May 21, 2021, with the help of so many people and our donors, the Julian Community Heritage Foundation closed escrow on the corner lot. It took a lot of effort and negotiations to finally close the deal, thank to the hard efforts of Don Bree and the Red Hawk Realty team.

We have had tremendous support from our donors, businesses and organizations that helped us get this far. Our county board of supervisors has also been generous with their support and various contributions. 

With the corner lot secure and under JCHF management, we're ready to proceed with building out the park and raising the necessary funds to make it happen

Since the JCHF closed escrow on the lot, our network of volunteers have been hard at work bringing the Town Square project to reality.

On top of general maintenance and property up-keep, we’ve been fundraising, hosting events, building our network and getting the community involved. 


This entire initiative started as a volunteer effort by an amazing group of Julian neighbors. The concept of a Town Square on the corner lot was first conceptualized by Teak Nichols, a long time Julian resident and owner of Mom’s Pie.

Much of the effort was then spearheaded by Dana Pettersen and Jean Duffy, who founded the JCHF and created the board.

Rami Abdel was one of the first volunteers to join the effort, overseeing the marketing and media strategy. Joan Cirillo was another founding volunteer, serving as secretary. 

Donn Bree and the Red Hawk Realty team were instrumental in brokering the deal and getting us through escrow. They have continued to support the project with various in-kind contributions.

County board of Supervisor Dianne Jacbos was another key supporter during the initial phases. Sherry Horton has been another key advocate & has helped us navigate the ARB requirements. Jay Evarts has been our architect and project consultant.

None of this would have been possible without the support and contributions from many individuals, businesses and organizations that helped us get this far.

The Julian Town Square project will forever stand as one of our communities most important preservation efforts in the heart of our historic district.


Why a Town Square?

A town square is usually found in the heart of a community & is an epicenter for gatherings & community events. It can also be used for open markets, music concerts, theater and the arts. It will be a centrally located gathering place for our community members and visitors to come together and mingle. 

A town square will help enhance & beautify the corner lot in the center of town. It will also help enhance our historical appeal and provide a shaded public space for people to together.

We plan on using the space for farmers market/art & gift fairs,  open air performances - music & theater, Christmas tree lighting, 4th of July Grandstand, as well as for historical and community events. 

With your donations and support,  we look forward to transforming this empty lot into a beautiful community space that will benefit us all.



BE A PART OF JULIAN'S HISTORY IN THE MAKING!

This is your opportunity to forever be part of a community project that will last into the ages. Any person pledging over $300 will have a dedicated brick on our donor wall. We're still coordinating with the ARB and architects to designate the exact location for the donor wall. Etch your name in stone among the great founders and citizens of our proud and historic Julian. 

All donors, no matter what the amount will be recognized on our web-site donor page: https://juliantownsquare.com/index.php/donors

We also have pledge options that include a tree plaque, bench plaque and picnic table plaque. Your pledges will be going towards the lot build out, as well as developments costs for the proposed town square design. Below are all of the available pledge tiers and corresponding accolade:

$1-299 | Name on Web-site Donor Page
$300 | Name on Brick (4x8 - 3 lines)
$600 | Name on Brick (8x8 - 6 lines)
$2,500 | Tree Plaque
$5,000 | Bench Plaque
$10,000 | Picnic Table


The above brick is a sample and final design may be different. 


CELEBRATING 110 YEARS | 1912-2022

1912 | Construction breaks ground for the establishment of Silvers’ Store.
1931 | Numerous store changes through the years: from a supply store to a Chevron station.
1977 | Up to 20,000 gallons of gas spills from a line failure & contaminates the lot. 
1989 | It's discovered that Chevron’s fuel tanks also leaked benzene into the water supply. 
1990 | The Chevron Station was closed & 5 underground storage tanks were removed.
1991 | All tanks removed. Chevron has paid to purify the groundwater for the past 29 years.
2018 | The lot is classified as a “brownfield,” & cleared for development by the County.
2019 | JCHF is founded and proposes the town square project
2021 | JCHF purchases lot
2022 | Town square soft opening


Talk to your friends and family about it. Let them know it's a great opportunity to be part of Julian's rich history and community. Please help us get the word out and support our community vision for a Julian town square.  Any amount helps. Follow our progress: 

Web-site: https://juliantownsquare.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliancommunityheritagefoundation/
Instagram: @julianchf


TOWN SQUARE BUILD OUT COST 

Estimated cost of project build-out: $600,000
Estimated year of completion: 2024



NOTABLE PROJECT SUPPORTERS
 - Julian Chamber of Commerce
 - Julian Architectural Review Board
 - Julian Historical Society
 - Julian Planning Group
 - Julian Backcountry Collaborative
 - San Diego Backcountry Visitors Bureau
 - Creative Flow Media
 - San Diego County Parks Department
 - Health & Human Services, North Coastal & Inland Regions
 - San Diego County Planning & Development Department
 - San Diego County Department of Environmental Health
 - Supervisor Dianne Jacob
 - Julian businesses and community members
 - Red Hawk Realty - Donn Bree
 - Sprague Realty - Sue Solleder
 - Chevron
 - Julian Lodge
 - Kaitlin Pettersen
 - Sherry Horton
 - Jerry and Rosemary Gossman



SOURCES OF FUNDING
 - Chevron
 - Grants - County, State, and Federal
 - Supervisor Jacob – A total of $100k of Neighborhood Reinvestment Program
 - Crowdfunding, fundraisers and pledge drives
 - Community members, businesses and service groups

The building and maintenance of our Town Square will be primarily handled by the JCHF with the support of many community members and organizations, along with private and corporate donations. 


THE JULIAN COMMUNITY HERITAGE FOUNDATION (JCHF)

The Julian Community Heritage Foundation (JCHF) is a non-profit organization, dedicated to preserving the history of the community of Julian and to promote the quality of life of persons of all ages living, working, and visiting this community.

The JCHF was founded in 2017 by Teak Nichols, Jean Duffy Joan Joan Cirillo and Dana Petterson. Kim Simas and Rami Abdel have also been an integral part of the JCHF TEAM. Dana Petterson is currently spear-heading fundraising efforts and project development. 

This has all been a volunteer effort born out of our love and passion for Julian. We all call this place home and feel fortunate to be able to give back to this community in any way we can. Thanks for stopping by and we appreciate your support contact [email redacted] to find out how else you can help. 


Jean Duffy
JCHF President

Dana Pettersen
JCHF Vice President/Fundraising Chair

Joan Cirillo
JCHF Secretary

Teak Nichols
JCHF Board Member

Rami Abdel
PR & Marketing