Norwalk : Motel-Restaurant Plan OKd

An Artesia company’s plans to build a 200-room motel and three restaurants on Firestone Boulevard near the 605 Freeway have won the blessing of the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency.

The project, proposed by Seven Fortune Enterprise Inc., would be built on the former site of Peat Manufacturing, a metal foundry that closed several years ago. The agency’s unanimous endorsement of Fortune’s concept clears the way for the firm to complete its purchase of the tract and pursue a variety of required local approvals. The proposal also needs an amendment to the general plan, changing the area’s designation from light industrial to commercial.

Despite the planned construction of a 181-room Sheraton hotel on another local redevelopment tract, city officials say consulting studies indicate a strong local demand for a businessman’s motel of the sort Fortune is proposing. By offering more modestly priced rooms than the Sheraton, it is believed the Firestone Boulevard motel would cater to a different clientele.