Torrance Delays Park Del Amo Building Plans

Torrance City Council members Tuesday postponed decisions on two proposed Park Del Amo residential projects until the development agreement governing the land can be clarified.

The two sites--a 7.45-acre rectangular plot of land on Crenshaw Boulevard south of Plaza Del Amo and a 10.81-acre site on Sepulveda Boulevard across from Hickory Avenue--originally had been designated for commercial use.

But a weak market for office space and a strong demand for homes prompted Watt Industries, Park Del Amo’s residential developer, early this year to recommend dropping further commercial development in exchange for 218 additional condominiums.

Within the past few weeks, however, Torrance Investment Co., Park Del Amo’s commercial developer, has approached city staff about adding a 60,000-square-foot office building on a portion of one of the sites. They believe the building is allowable under the development agreement, even if the condominiums are built.

In putting off a decision, Mayor Katy Geissert chastised Torrance Investment Co. for trying to “do a fast shuffle with some numbers.”

“When we first started hearing about changing these sites from commercial to residential . . . we thought this was a trade-off, that there would be no more commercial,” Geissert said.

“We feel adrift. It has become such a shifting-sands situation.”

The development agreement allowing construction of the 139-acre Park Del Amo was approved in December, 1983, after a long-running battle between developers and environmentalists over preservation of Madrona Marsh, one the last rain-fed marshes in Southern California.

The agreement gave developers the right to build 1,482 residential units and 850,000 square feet of offices in exchange for giving 34.5 acres of marshland to the city.

Only 1,256 condominiums were built on the land designated for residential use, primarily because the units have been larger than originally planned. A Marriott Courtyard hotel and several office buildings have been built on the project’s commercial land.

Watt’s request to add more condominiums initially suggested deleting further commercial projects.

But Torrance Investment Co. spokesman Brian Weber said the existing development agreement still allows an additional 465,000 square feet of commercial space. The company wants to use that right to build the 60,000-square-foot office building with either a two-story parking structure or a subterranean garage.

Geissert reminded him that the development agreement also requires that all parking be at-grade, with no underground garages and no parking structures.

“We can’t start talking trade-offs until we know what we’re trading off,” she said. “This could come back later to haunt us.”

Council members asked staff to present suggested development agreement changes at their Jan. 30 meeting.