New Life for a Dead Factory
The closing of the last major auto plant in Southern California in August 1992 marked a major and awful turning point in the region’s economy. At one time, 15,000 Los Angeles-area workers were building half a million automobiles a year at various plants. The closing of the General Motors factory in Van Nuys meant the end of the final 2,600 of those jobs.
As an event, it was important enough to be mentioned in the same breath with a federal jobs program touted by then-President George Bush. It was regarded as a challenge to local leaders to write a new chapter in the economic development of the city.
It deserves the same attention now.
From the start, it was clear that replacing those jobs would be difficult. An immediate proposal to use the site to make buses and rail cars, for example, went nowhere.
This week, however, there was finally a solid proposal that made even the most jaded economic observers take notice. The Voit Cos. and Selleck Properties have a deal to buy 68 acres of the old GM assembly plant, and the firms have plans for a development valued at $75 million to $100 million. It would feature a mix of mid-size manufacturers, retail and department stores, a theater complex and restaurants.
There would be some kind of 24-hour police presence. We say “some kind” because Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon has plans to build a satellite police station on the site that would protect the development and better serve the surrounding community.
The Alarcon proposal has the potential to be a stumbling block because other council members have already expressed concern over the city’s ability to pay for such a station. In addition, other predictable and valid concerns have been expressed about traffic congestion and the like.
But Alarcon is right to be excited about the project. His colleagues on the council should do their best to make sure that it goes forward. They should keep a receptive ear open too for the smaller business projects that deserve but don’t usually get the same sort of attention from the city.
