High-Tech Project Plans Come Down to Earth

A deal is near to develop a high-tech manufacturing campus on one of the last, large industrial properties in the San Fernando Valley, city officials said Tuesday.

But there’s still one hitch confronting the project near Van Nuys Airport: A study must determine that the site, long used for aerospace manufacturing, is free of toxic contamination.

Deputy Mayor Rocky Delgadillo and Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs said they are hopeful that the site survey will clear the property for what already has been dubbed by Wachs as “Son of GM,” a reference to the massive redevelopment of the old General Motors plant nearby.

“We are looking at a very, very large industrial development that will be a big boon to the economy of the San Fernando Valley,” Wachs said. “It’s ready to go as soon as they do this study.”

Though not as large as the General Motors site, the 24-acre Van Nuys property at 16555 Saticoy St. is under consideration for a $25-million development that would provide 500,000 square feet of manufacturing and commercial space.

The plan is to demolish three vacant buildings on the site and build five new structures.

The project is viewed so highly by Mayor Richard Riordan that he is planning to designate it as one of the select sites targeted by the Genesis L.A. program, which seeks to match private financing with job-creating developments in poor areas of the city, sources say.

Wachs said the project would provide up to 1,200 high-paying jobs in the technology sector.

A consultant hired by the property owner, Marquardt Co., has determined that the level of chemicals in soil on the property complies with standards set for industrial development, Delgadillo said.

“This [project] has been a jewel for us,” Delgadillo said. “For a long time we have been looking for a way to bring high-wage industrial jobs to the San Fernando Valley.”

The city Planning Commission recently approved a conditional-use permit for the project, but one condition requires that the city hire a consultant, at the expense of the property owner, to independently determine whether the property is contaminated.

The conditional-use permit was obtained by the Hewson Co., a development firm, but city officials said Tuesday that another development firm, Trammell Crowe, appears to have the edge in talks to buy and develop the property.

Marquardt is proposing to develop nearly half of the company’s 55-acre property, Delgadillo said. Entertainment and technology firms have shown interest in becoming tenants of the new development, he said.

The deputy mayor said the vacancy rate for new, high-quality industrial developments is less than 1% in the Valley, so demand is strong for the project.

At its peak, the sprawling Marquardt plant employed 5,000 people making rocket engines, bombs and tails for the B-1 bomber.

“It’s got to be environmentally safe,” Wachs said of the development. “We don’t want another Belmont or Sunshine Canyon.”

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High-Tech Hopes

A $25-million plan calls for a high-tech manufacturing campus on one of the last, large, industrial properties in the San Fernando Valley, but the project on Marquardt Co. property near Van Nuys Airport still needs an environmental study.