Cleanup Progressing at Former GM Plant

Environmental reports required to be submitted to developers of the old General Motors plant on Van Nuys Boulevard should be finished “in the next couple of weeks,” according to a spokeswoman for GM.

The cleanup process, which includes excavating soil, removing asbestos and extracting concrete embedded underground, has been ongoing since GM closed the plant in 1992 and is nearly complete, sources familiar with the project said. Cleanup and demolition of facilities at the site must be finished and environmental reports completed before developers can take over the 68-acre portion of the 100-acre site in Van Nuys.

The Voit Cos. and Selleck Properties, both based in Woodland Hills, reached a deal in February to buy most of the land inside the former auto assembly plant. They intend to transform the property into a retail and light-manufacturing center that will include department stores, a theater complex, restaurants and 520,000 square feet of industrial space. City officials said some kind of police substation or satellite facility also would be located at the site.

The $100-million project is expected to create about 2,000 full-time jobs. Groundbreaking is expected in the fall, with completion targeted for the summer of 1997.

“There is more asbestos at the site than we thought there was,” said Marcia McGee, communications director for GM’s worldwide facilities group. “There is also more underground concrete there than we thought,” she said, noting that the cleanup is progressing daily.

Dan Selleck, of Selleck Properties, said the reports “have taken a little longer than we had hoped,” but added that “we’ll have some announcements in mid-May regarding a more specific site plan and some future tenants.”

Selleck would not comment on the possibility that Los Angeles basketball star Earvin “Magic” Johnson could open a movie theater in the complex.

Meanwhile, an aide to Mayor Richard Riordan said retail and commercial interest in the site has been keen.

“We’ve had discussion with several potential tenants and real estate representatives” regarding the location, said Rocky Delgadillo, a member of the mayor’s business team. “We’re moving in a positive direction.”