Chain to Sell Site Sought for School

Heading off a potential real estate battle with the land-hungry Los Angeles Unified School District, a Mexican grocery chain has quietly abandoned plans for a supermarket on a former department store site courted by officials desperate to build new high schools.

Mexico City-based Grupo Gigante has listed the property with a Montebello real estate broker for $7.5 million. The company plans to open a market in October a few blocks away at a former Lucky store, which it purchased for an undisclosed sum, at Van Nuys Boulevard and Woodman Avenue, a company official said Wednesday.

Earlier this year, LAUSD officials aggressively pursued the 12.6-acre site for a high school to relieve overcrowding in the northeast San Fernando Valley, vowing to acquire land by eminent domain if necessary.

The district backed down in April after about 200 community members and politicians strongly objected to a school, which they believe would cause traffic, noise, litter and crime, and favored an economic boost from a much-needed grocery store.

Grupo Gigante started looking for alternative sites because the company is eager to open a store in the heavily Latino area, said Mark Colbo, vice president of Gigante USA. In May, the retailer opened a store in Pico Rivera and is looking for a location in the San Gabriel Valley.

The onetime Gemco department store at Van Nuys Boulevard and Beachy Avenue has been torn down, and much of what remains is weeds, dirt and litter.

Vacant since 1986, the site was acquired by Gigante about a year ago in a purchase and lease agreement. Mayor Richard Riordan’s Los Angeles Business Team brokered negotiations between Gigante and property owners, including Dayton Hudson Corp., which turned over its 62-year sublease on 9.6 acres.

Although the district has not yet conducted an appraisal of the property, Bob Niccum, director of real estate and asset management, said the $7.5-million price “doesn’t sound out of the ballpark, it doesn’t send me running.” County records assess the property at about $3.7 million.

Gigante’s selection of an alternative site was hailed by school officials. “This is a beneficial sign,” said Niccum, who along with two other officials toured the northeast Valley for potential school sites on Tuesday. “This is great news.”

Niccum said it represents one less obstacle for the district in acquiring the property, which has no known health or safety problems and would be easily accessible to 2,700 students to be drawn from Monroe, San Fernando and Van Nuys high schools.

Another benefit, he added, is that it would not require relocating any businesses or residents.

“It’s great news for the neighborhood,” Niccum said. “They get the best of both worlds, a school and a supermarket.”

Since the district held a public meeting in late May, in which officials asked the community for suggestions on where to build a high school, Niccum and his staff said they’ve received support from at least seven Arleta residents who offered to sell their homes to the district for the right price.

More vocal, however, are the residents who don’t want a school on the Gemco site. Robert Rouge, who has lived in the community since 1978, said he prefers more commercial development and less traffic.

Nearby Beachy Avenue Elementary School is “bursting at the seams,” he said. “The traffic there is a problem. . . . I don’t want horns blowing, people yelling at each other.”

Although interested in the Gemco site, school officials said that before they can move ahead, they would need approval from the Los Angeles Board of Education, and would need to evaluate other sites recommended by consultants and the community.