Economic Development Manager Aaron Schulze has 17 years with the city and is currently working on creating a vision for development in the West Katella Area to create a complimentary district to OC Vibe on the Orange side of the Santa Ana River.  

- - - -

Aaron Schulze

Aaron Schulze, Economic Development Manager for the City of Orange, is at the forefront of transforming the city’s economic landscape.  With 17 years’ experience working in various facets of city government, Schulze brings a wealth of knowledge to his role.  His responsibilities span a range, from business attraction and retention to workforce development and infrastructure planning.

“The most exciting thing we are working on right now is creating a vision for development in what we call the West Katella Area, which is the Stadium Promenade and the properties around that,” Schulze explains.  “This initiative is driven by the nearby OC Vibe development in Anaheim, presenting a unique opportunity for Orange to create a complementary district.”

There is another development next to OC Vibe called OC River Walk where they’re looking at damming up part of the river to keep water in it year-round where people could kayak.  There’s a website: OCRiverWalk.com with renderings, including proposing a pedestrian bridge from OC Vibe to the Stadium Promenade property.

Schulze is also focused on revitalizing other areas of Orange, such as the Mall of Orange, Sears and Best Buy, as well as Hoffman Radiator in Old Towne.  “Sears has a 90-year lease signed in 1964 that goes until 2054, so we’re working with the property owner on what can go in there,” he says.

Schulze and his team also look at what residents would consider desirable.

“Costco is what I like to call the white whale of economic development in Orange.  We’ve been trying for 30 years to get a Costco, and we’re still working on it,” says Schulze.  “A big wish list item for a lot of Old Towne residents is to have a nice market.”

With a business degree from California State University, Fullerton, Schulze worked in the cities of Santa Ana, Huntington Beach and Garden Grove before coming to Orange.

“The best city government is one that people don’t have to think about, where everything just works,” says Schulze.

Schulze is also working on tourism promotion and hotel development to bring people to Orange as a way of helping local businesses, hotels, restaurants, shops and the city itself.

“Aaron contacted me about the visions he has for bringing more interest to the city, and I said, wow, I want to be part of that,” says Mark Hilbert, Founder of the Hilbert Museum. “He does a great job of coordinating different interest groups to galvanize a direction to advance the city of Orange.”

Adds Schulze, “I really enjoy working for the city because there is just something so satisfying about working on something and seeing it improve the lives of people.” 

Aaron Schulze, Economic Development Manager
714-744-2202  /  www.CityOfOrange.org