$65-Million Mall Project in Torrance Is Approved

The Torrance City Council in a 5-2 vote Tuesday approved a $65-million shopping center and light industrial complex at Crenshaw and Lomita boulevards after the developers scaled down their plans to meet council concerns about bulk and potential traffic congestion at the site.

“We have worked on traffic movement and density,” said Norman La Caze, one of the developers.

But Councilwoman Dee Hardison, who joined Mayor Katy Geissert in opposing the project, said the developers had made only minor revisions.

The original plans called for a 360,500-square-foot shopping center called Torrance Crossroads and a 283,500-square-foot light industrial park on the west side of Crenshaw Boulevard between Lomita Boulevard and Skypark Drive.

The city Planning Commission had voted 6 to 1 on Feb. 6 to turn down the project, criticizing its size and potential traffic problems.

The revised plans approved Tuesday reduce the size of the shopping center by 4,000 square feet and add 22 spaces to the central parking lot to provide a total of 1,882 spaces.

Torrance Crossroads will be Mediterranean in style, with single-story buildings, textured stucco and tile roofs. The 44.7-acre site is to be divided into 25 lots, according to Planning Department staff reports.

One major tenant will be a 140,000-square-foot Home Depot store. It will be the second South Bay outlet for the home improvement chain, said Jim Lloyd, regional director of real estate for Home Depot Inc. of Atlanta.

Other tenants will include a supermarket, a drugstore and a fast-food restaurant with drive-through service.

La Caze said his company, La Caze Development of Torrance, and the city had addressed the issues of density, parking and circulation at length. In response to circulation concerns, La Caze said an additional driveway off Skypark Drive would be installed to relieve potential congestion created by the peak-hour use at the home improvement center.

But Geissert and Hardison were not convinced.

Hardison said the proposed 4,000-square-foot reduction at the shopping center was not sufficient to meet her demands. “There were no significant modifications (of the plan), only minor revisions,” she said.

“This is a major project requiring a land-use change from heavy manufacturing,” said Geissert. “It will be an upscale shopping center, but will also be a very heavy traffic generator.

The project required a General Plan amendment and a zoning change, both of which were also approved on 5-2 council votes.

The General Plan was amended to change the site from light industrial to retail commercial and light industrial uses and the zoning was changed from heavy manufacturing to planned development.

Several measures were recommended by staff to reconcile the project’s identified traffic impacts.

Planning Director David Ferren said the developer would be required to work with other employers to establish a citywide shuttle service plan.

“Instead of cutting individual deals with the AQMD, the developer will be asked to coordinate his efforts with the rest of the city,” Ferren said.

Councilman Dan Walker, who was impressed with the quality of the project, said the council should not be overly concerned with “minor details.”

After a half hour of deliberations, the council approved the project, and the General Plan amendment and zoning change.

Construction is scheduled to begin in June and the shopping center should be completed sometime in February or March of next year, La Caze said.

The project is the second major development approved by the City Council within the last month after being rejected by the Planning Commission.

The council on March 5 approved a $35-million proposal to build condominiums and retail space in the heart of Old Downtown Torrance after the commission rejected the plan Feb. 6 on a 6-0 vote. In both cases, the developers appealed the Planning Commission decision to the council.