Cornfield of Dreams

The 50 acres bordering the Los Angeles River east of Dodger Stadium and Chinatown hardly seem a field of dreams. Vacant for decades, the old railroad yard has become an encampment for the homeless and an informal hazardous-waste dumping ground. Now developers and some residents of nearby Chinatown are pondering two very different futures for this dusty, oblong lot. City officials owe local residents more serious discussion of the alternatives before allowing construction to begin.

The so-called Cornfield parcel--grapes and corn were cultivated on the site before the Civil War--is one of several dreary plots for which Mayor Richard Riordan has won a federal empowerment zone designation, rewarding developers and employers with hefty tax breaks. A year and a half ago, Majestic Realty, a major player in the Staples Center project, found these and other inducements appealing enough to make an offer on the site, which is still owned by the Union Pacific Railroad, and to draft plans for the industrial park the mayor wants located there. Majestic, which now holds the property in escrow, envisions as tenants food processors and garment firms, among others. The project is expected to add 1,000 new jobs to the area, and it has bureaucratic momentum.

The Cornfield has long been zoned for light industrial use, and the mayor, keenly interested in the industrial park project, helped steer federal funds to Majestic for construction and toxic cleanup on the site.

But long before Majestic committed cash to the proposal, an eclectic band of local residents, planners and environmentalists say they started talking about a different vision for the Cornfield. Now organized as the Chinatown Yards Alliance, the group has a plan that merits more debate than it has had so far. The residents’ thoughts respond less to the prospect of tax inducements than to amenities that the densely populated immigrant neighborhood sorely needs. No. 1 would be a middle school. Children are bused away when they reach 6th grade because there is no middle school in Chinatown. Nor is there much in the way of modern, affordable housing, open space or athletic fields. Under the mayor’s plan, eight acres are earmarked for parkland or other community uses, but sandwiching it at the edge of warehouses and industrial buildings is not likely to yield attractive or adequate facilities.

Riordan’s office says that the industrial park idea emerged from community workshops in recent years, Majestic also has held a number of public meetings to present its site plans as more or less a done deal. Jobs are certainly a priority for this gritty neighborhood, and in this, Majestic’s proposal has appeal. But Chinatown Alliance members recall many community forums, going back to 1989, at which a broad range of uses was discussed and far more imaginative plans were endorsed.

The Cornfield sits within Councilman Mike Hernandez’s district. He has not responded to growing calls for thorough debate on alternatives to the industrial park. Cornfield redevelopment is supposed to serve community needs, and the community deserves a chance to be heard.