Huntington Park Council Votes to Acquire Food Store Property

Claiming that a corner food market is not compatible with surrounding development, the City Council last week approved a resolution, 4-1, establishing the city’s intent to acquire the property at 6054 Pacific Blvd.

The resolution is the first step in condemnation proceedings, but city officials said the agency will try to negotiate with the owner for purchase of the property.

The council, acting as the Redevelopment Agency, also approved an operating memorandum to sell the property to developer Randolph/Huntington Partners Ltd. to expand the Alexander Plaza project by incorporating the corner property, where the City Foods Market now sits. The market has been operating in the city since 1928.

The plaza project, at Pacific Boulevard and Randolph Street, would consist of a 90,000-square-foot shopping center with one or two main clients and several retail stores.

Richard Laskin, an attorney representing property owner Frank Jones and tenant Milton Thaler, said in an interview that they will probably challenge eminent domain proceedings.

Jones and Thaler maintain that they believed that if they made improvements, the property would not be condemned. They said they spent between $90,000 and $100,000 in 1982 upgrading the property, including installing a decorative metal grill. However, a city staff report said the city notified the owners in a 1982 report that the city may at some future date acquire the property for a commercial center.