City Hall still has sights set on Sears property
Officials here are eyeing more than a half dozen properties throughout Santa Monica for possible purchase.
What they’ll be used for range from parks to offices for city workers to parking lots to a light rail station. Officials stress that all plans are preliminary and costs associated with possible purchases aren’t being revealed during negotiations. City Council members wouldn’t comment while negotiations are ongoing.
City officials were scheduled to discuss behind closed doors last week the acquisition of five pieces of land — four of which are owned by the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. The other property is at 1601 14th Street, the site of Fisher Lumber. That property, located just north of Memorial Park, could be converted into recreational space and serve as an extension of the park or as open space, said Jeff Mathieu, director of City Hall’s resource management department.
“Anytime there is an opportunity for open space or parks, we identify it as a potential,” he said. “That’s when we bring properties of interest to the City Council’s attention.”
The four pieces of land owned by the school district could be used for a variety of purposes, and most likely would be part of a joint use agreement between City Hall and the district, Mathieu said.
City officials are interested in possibly building a parking garage underneath the football field at Santa Monica High School, located on the corner of Fourth Street and Pico Boulevard. Just to the north, the school district owns the land where the Doubletree Hotel sits and another building where city offices are located. Both pieces of land are operated under a complex joint use agreement, but there could be a possibility to trade properties so city officials could occupy buildings on 16th and 17th streets, where the school district’s headquarters are located.
City Hall is also considering what to do with the parking lot at Santa Monica College’s Madison Campus, located at 11th Street and Santa Monica Boulevard. SMC’s campus is owned by the school district and operates under a joint use agreement. Possibilities there could be a city-operated parking lot or a park, Mathieu said.
However, SMMUSD Superintendent John Deasy said no formal discussions have taken place for any of the properties City Hall is considering.
“We have not been in any kind of conversation for land transactions, but it doesn’t mean we wouldn’t be glad to talk about future transactions,” he said.
Mathieu added that the City Council has directed him to begin pursuing individuals and companies which own properties on Fourth and Fifth streets, between Arizona Avenue and Olympic Boulevard. Mathieu said he’ll inquire about whether or not they are interested in selling. City officials have expressed interest in creating more parking downtown — part of a master plan developed two years ago.
Last week, the City Council also discussed the possibility of buying two pieces of land on the western edge of downtown where a new parking structure would be built. The properties — 101 Santa Monica Blvd. and 129 Santa Monica Blvd. — are currently used as surface parking lots.
Negotiations for the Sears property, 402 Colorado Ave., have been ongoing for months. The 40,000-square-foot piece of land is currently owned by Sears and is used as a retail outlet and car repair shop.
Officials have said the land could be the ideal site for the western end of a proposed light rail line from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica. It also might be used to build more affordable housing or a new parking structure.
Plans for a light rail project from downtown LA to Santa Monica are still in the preliminary stages, but $505 million has been set aside for the first phase of the line, which threads into Culver City and is scheduled to be completed in 2012. No money has been earmarked for the second phase, which would bring the light rail line into Santa Monica.
The property is part of a master plan for the civic center area which is on hold because of the budget crisis. Officials hope to one day make a giant public space downtown, stretching from the Third Street Promenade, past City Hall and the Santa Monica Courthouse, to Main Street.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 15, 2004. Read the original PDF.