COMPTON : Golf Facility Proposed for Vacant School Lot

City officials have proposed converting an empty lot next to Dominguez High School into a golf driving range.

Proponents say the move would generate cash for the financially strapped Compton Unified School District. The proposal was presented at a school district meeting of Compton parents and community leaders recently .

Frank Sotelo, a project manager for the city Parks and Recreation Department, said the city would build the driving range for an estimated $543,000. In return for leasing the land, the school district would get a percentage of the revenues. Although terms have not yet been negotiated, Sotelo said, the driving range could generate tens of thousands of dollars each year for the district.

The driving range would be built on a 7.6-acre lot north of the school. A nine-hole city golf course is nearby.

The proposal is being reviewed by a committee of 11 Compton parents and community leaders that was established to look at ways to develop vacant school properties to generate money for refurbishing schools, said Margie Garrett, a teacher and co-chairwoman of the committee.

The group will eventually make a recommendation to the state administrator overseeing Compton schools.

In addition to the land at Dominguez, the committee is looking at proposals to develop three other sites: a 21-acre parcel at Central Avenue and Greenleaf Boulevard, a former elementary school at 1420 N. McKinley Ave., and a former office at 118th Street and Compton Boulevard.