HAWTHORNE : Homes on Max Factor Site Given Go-Ahead
The rezoning of the 12-acre former Max Factor site at El Segundo Boulevard and Van Ness Avenue has opened the way for the construction of 108 homes.
The City Council changed the zone from industrial to residential use last week, giving Manhattan Beach developer Bob Comstock a tentative go-ahead for a proposed gated community near the city’s Holly Park neighborhood. The 200,000-square-foot Max Factor building would be demolished.
In the 3-1 vote, Mayor Larry Guidi abstained and Councilman Steven Andersen voted against the measure.
The proposed development, called The Greens, will include eight styles of homes that Comstock estimates will sell for $160,000 to $200,000 each.
Nearly a third of the one- and two-story houses will border the Chester Washington county golf course to the north and east of the site. Comstock said he hopes to start selling the houses by January and begin construction in the spring.
The council is scheduled to decide next week whether half of the homes will be made available through the city’s affordable housing program.
Under the program, the city’s redevelopment agency provides low- and moderate-income families with money to help make a down payment. Families do not have to make payments on that loan until after the primary mortgage is paid off or the house is sold, said Bud Cormier, director of the redevelopment agency.
If the measure is approved by the council, Cormier said, the agency will set aside up to $250,000 of the agency’s $650,000 budget for this project. No other city money will be used in building or selling the homes, he said.
Although the city stands to gain tax revenue if homes are built on the site, critics of the plan say additional housing will create new problems for the city.
“I have some major concerns about the project,” Guidi said. It could strain city services, including police patrols and local schools, he said.
Real estate agent Guy Hocker said the development also could hurt the local housing market.
“We already have loads of low to moderate housing (in the city) going for very low prices,” Hocker said.
