SOUTH GATE : Soil Contamination Stalls Plan for Mall
Plans to build a 14- to 16-screen cinema complex and retail space near the city’s main shopping center have hit a snag.
Officials have discovered that the land on which the $25-million to $30-million project is to be built is contaminated with lead, pushing back the project by at least a year.
Ruben Lopez, the city’s deputy director of redevelopment, said officials hope to begin cleanup this summer. He added that negotiations to acquire the 21-acre parcel from Arco and World Oil Corp. have halted until the land is rehabilitated. If all goes well, construction could begin in the fall of 1996 and be completed by early 1997.
The proposed project will expand South Gate’s Towne Center shopping mall by 250,000 square feet. The expansion would provide the city $500,000 in additional tax revenues.
An environmental impact report commissioned by the city in January discovered soil contamination that would be considered a public health hazard. Three World Oil storage tanks--one of which must be emptied--sit on the property. Both World Oil and Arco are responsible for cleaning up the property.
The city’s redevelopment agency recently entered into negotiations with Southland Consulting Corp. to build a 45,000-square-foot multiscreen theater. Another 10,000 square feet would accommodate retail shops.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
