At Slater Avenue and San Mateo Street, across from Fountain Valley City Hall and the police department, the cones stay out all night. The city scheduled one lane in each direction on Slater between Brookhurst Street and Ward Street to close starting Monday, November 9. The closure runs around the clock, and the city has set a tentative finish of end of day Tuesday, November 24.
If you drive that stretch every day, you have probably filed this under routine roadwork. It isn't. The closure is for the Slater Mixed-Use Development Project. After more than a year of mostly underground work, crews are now building the curb line, sidewalk ramps and crosswalk that will connect the project to the street.
What the Crews Are Building at San Mateo
The city's November 5 notice says the project at 10201 Slater Avenue has been under construction since fall 2025. The offsite utility connections along Slater are nearly done, and the project is moving into its next phase. In this phase, crews restore and install concrete curbs, gutters and ADA-compliant ramps. They are also building a decorative concrete crosswalk at Slater and San Mateo.
So far, most of the work on this site has happened behind fencing or under the pavement. Curbs, ramps and a decorative crosswalk are the parts people will walk on. The city's notice warns of heavy delays both eastbound and westbound between Brookhurst and Ward and recommends alternate routes. Changeable message boards are posted along the corridor.
The crosswalk ties two blocks together. City Hall and the police department are on one side of Slater. On the other side is the lot where, for close to four decades, the main draw was a pub.
Four Decades of Silky Sullivan's, Then a Slow Handoff
Silky Sullivan's Restaurant & Irish Pub ran on Slater for the better part of 40 years. In April 2022, the Daily Pilot reported that the City Council had approved entitlements for a mixed-use project on the site. The project required tearing down Silky Sullivan's and two nearby office buildings.
The Orange County Register covered the same meeting. It reported that locals called the bar the "town center," and that the pub's general manager told the council:
"You can knock us down to dust, but you can't keep us down. We're going to go somewhere else … And we'll take our people with us."
The pub's own website now reads "Relocating 2026."
The project on the old lot is called Slater Ave Apartments. According to the Register's June 2025 report, Texas-based JPI and its Chicago partner, Heitman, are building it as a five-story wraparound complex on 3.34 acres at Slater and San Mateo. The two addresses you'll see for it refer to the same site. The city's notices use 10201 Slater, and the developer uses 10231 Slater.
| Detail | 2022 approval coverage | Current project |
|---|---|---|
| Homes | 270 | 272 |
| Restaurant space | 5,000 sq. ft. | 7,300 sq. ft. |
| Retail space | Not specified | 1,600 sq. ft. |
| Stories | Five | Five |
The restaurant space is the change that matters most to people who never plan to live there. In 2022, the Register described a 5,000-square-foot restaurant replacing Silky Sullivan's. The current plan has 7,300 square feet of restaurant space facing the street, plus 1,600 square feet of retail. That's roughly 46% more dining room than the version the council heard about four years ago. The rest of the building adds 15,000 square feet of amenity space for residents, including two pools, co-working lounges and wellness areas. Of the 272 homes, 33 are set aside as low-income affordable units, about 12% of the total.
In 2025, JPI said construction would take up to two years, with the apartments opening in 2027. It also said an interest list would open about 90 to 120 days before move-ins begin. The developer currently lists the project as under construction. The crosswalk going in this month will lead pedestrians from the City Hall side of Slater directly to that street-front dining space.
Slater Gets Hit Twice This Season
The November closure is only one of two projects on Slater right now. On October 26, the city started a separate rehabilitation and resurfacing project on four streets. One of them is Slater from Starfish Avenue to Ward Street, which takes in the whole Brookhurst-to-Ward block that's down to one lane this month.
| Street | Segment | Schedule |
|---|---|---|
| Slater Avenue | Starfish Avenue to Ward Street | Oct. 26, 2026 to end of spring 2027 |
| Ellis Avenue | Brookhurst Street to Ward Street | Oct. 26, 2026 to end of spring 2027 |
| Ward Street | Apache River Avenue to Ellis Avenue | Oct. 26, 2026 to end of spring 2027 |
| Newhope Street | Edinger Avenue to Heil Avenue | Oct. 26, 2026 to end of spring 2027 |
| Talbert Avenue | East city limit to Ward Street | Anticipated start winter 2026/27 |
The repaving crews work different hours from the Slater Mixed-Use crews. Resurfacing runs 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except legal holidays. Several lanes may be closed at once, but at least one stays open at all times. Besides new pavement, the work replaces damaged curb and gutter, pedestrian ramps and sidewalk panels. The city expects to finish by the end of spring 2027, depending on weather and unforeseen conditions.
So Slater between Brookhurst and Ward runs on two schedules this month. The development's single-lane closure is in place day and night through November 24. The repaving work, which can come and go on weekdays, continues for months after that.
Talbert is next. Public Works secured $2.64 million in federal grant funding to resurface Talbert from the eastern city limit to Ward, programmed for the federal fiscal year that began October 1, 2026. The city expects construction to start in winter 2026/27, with the same weekday hours. Because the money is federal, the project has to clear documentation and milestone approvals along the way, and the city notes those approvals could shift the schedule. For questions about any of the resurfacing work, the Public Works Department's number is (714) 593-4433.
If Your Errand Is at City Hall This Season
City Hall sits right on the closed block, and it has its own construction underway. The lobby restroom remodel is the first phase of the City Hall Facilities Master Plan, and it runs from October 5 through the end of December 2026. While the lobby restrooms are closed, an ADA-accessible portable restroom trailer is set up in the front parking lot near the EV charging stall. It's open during City Hall operating hours and official city night meetings.
Key dates for the Slater corridor this season:
- Through Tuesday, Nov. 24: 24-hour single-lane closures on Slater between Brookhurst and Ward continue, with a tentative finish at end of day.
- Thursday, Nov. 26: Thanksgiving is a legal holiday, so the city's resurfacing crews are off.
- Tuesday, Dec. 1: Registration closes for the city's third Holiday House Decorating Contest.
- Week of Dec. 7: Contest judging, with top-three awards in Most Creative Theme, Holiday High"LIGHT," Showstopper, Winter Wonderland and Judges Choice.
- End of December: The City Hall lobby restroom remodel is scheduled to wrap up.
- Winter 2026/27: Talbert Avenue resurfacing is anticipated to begin.
- End of spring 2027: Expected completion of resurfacing on Slater, Ellis, Ward and Newhope.
You can register for the decorating contest through the city's contest page. If your house is entered and sits along Slater, Ellis, Ward or Newhope, judges and visitors will be driving past the repaving work too. Weekday daylight drives will run into the 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. crews, and evening drives won't.
The city's Slater Mixed-Use project page is where updates on the San Mateo corner will be posted as the street-front work continues.
A new 272-home building, a 7,300-square-foot restaurant space and a rebuilt crosswalk across from City Hall will change how that part of Slater looks and gets used. If you own a home nearby and want to know where your property stands as the corridor changes, the Lily Campbell Team tracks these projects block by block and can give you a current, data-backed number. Get My Home Value.
