Student Auto Shop Wins Approval

An automotive service center where South Bay high school students will learn to repair cars is headed for the campus of the South Coast Regional Occupational Center.

The Torrance City Council this week unanimously approved the construction and operation of the center on the western portion of the 10-acre campus at 2300 Crenshaw Blvd. SCROC, founded in 1967, provides vocational training to South Bay high school students and adults in a variety of fields.

The service center will be owned and operated by Scott Robinson Honda on land leased from SCROC. Income from the lease agreement will be used to purchase and upgrade training equipment and material, said Elizabeth Nash, the educational center’s superintendent.

The council had to rezone the property from heavy manufacturing use to commercial use before approving the project, which will include a 17,670-square-foot one-story building, 20 service bays, parking for 84 cars and some rooftop parking.

“Not only is this proposal unique, it’s exactly what SCROC needs and exactly what we had hoped would take place,” Councilman Bill Applegate said.

Mayor Katy Geissert agreed. “I wouldn’t ordinarily vote for a body shop on a major street,” she said. “But I see this not as just an auto body shop. I see it as an extension of a vocational institution.”