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EL MONTE INFORMATION |
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National developers may breath new life into El Monte's $600 million transit village
By Rebecca Kimitch, Staff Writer
EL MONTE - A team of national developers will take over the stalled effort to turn the barren property surrounding the El Monte bus station into a village of homes and shops, city officials announced this week.
The City Council authorized city staff to enter into an exclusive negotiation agreement with four developers - the Related Companies, Primestor Development, Lee Homes and McCormack Baron Salazar. Together they have a portfolio that ranges from the Time Warner Center in New York City to Plaza del Sol in South El Monte. City manager René Bobadilla called it a "dream team" of developers.
Steven Nakada, the city's advising architect on the project, took it a step further. "This is not just a dream team for any project... It is site-specific to El Monte. They understand the demographics here, the sense of place here, the community and identity of El Monte," Nakada said.
And they understand the city's vision for the site, off the 10 Freeway at Santa Anita Avenue, planners said. "They will bring their expertise to work within a framework that we've developed," said Samuel Lira, the city's real estate advisor.
That framework consists of 125,000 square feet of retail space and 650 condominiums and apartments - a mix of affordable and market rate - in six buildings on the 22-acre property north of Ramona Boulevard and west of Santa Anita.
The idea is to create a mixed-use village of stores, cafes and restaurants on the ground floor of some buildings, and housing above. Pathways, plazas and green spaces would connect the new development with the Valley Mall across the street.
At the heart will be the new, $45-million El Monte transit center being built by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to replace the 35-year-old bus depot on the site. Originally dubbed the transit village, because of its tie to the bus station, officials are now calling the development El Monte Gateway.
Additional phases for the development propose office buildings, a civic center, and parks on areas on and around the site, though they are not contemplated as part of the current developer negotiations. The transit village project has been in the works for years. But it was derailed a year ago when two executives from the previous developer, Transit Village LLC/Titan Development, were arrested in June on felony charges, including fraud, embezzlement and theft. When Titan dropped out of the project, city leaders decided to take greater control.
William Witte, president of Related California, praised the city for improving the development after the setback.
"The city has done an excellent job of re-envisioning its potential in a way that can make sense in this economy," he said.
City officials chose Related and the other developers from among 17 interested companies, among them high-profile names like Lewis Company and Shea Properties.
The winners were selected based on their experience, capital and financial capabilities, and their willingness to work with the community over the long term, Bobadilla said.
"These are companies that won't just build and run away," he said. And they will finance the $400 million-$600 million project largely on their own, except for a $26 million state grant for infrastructure and up to $30 million in city redevelopment bonds for infrastructure.
Related Companies will have master developer duties - preparing the site as a whole, building the necessary infrastructure and coordinating the grant, according to Lira. And the company will develop the market-rate rental apartments.
Primestor will also take a lead in the development and will be responsible for commercial properties on the site. It was selected in part because of its experience working with culturally diverse neighborhoods, including in the San Gabriel Valley, said El Monte redevelopment attorney Dave Gondek.
McCormack Baron Salazar will build the affordable housing units, something it has done in projects around the country. The company worked with Related to build the mixed-income housing project Pueblo del Sol in Boyle Heights.
And Lee Homes, which has built homes and lofts throughout Southern California, including Vista del Sol in East Los Angeles, will develop the market rate condominiums.
While the developer selection is a major step in the process, it will be at least four to five years before residents can expect to rent a new apartment or shop in the development, Lira said.
Once the exclusive negotiating agreement is signed, which is expected in the next few days, the city and the developers will begin working out a disposition and development agreement, including details on whether the city will sell or lease the property to the developers.
"We are going to find an agreement that rewards both the development and the community," Gondek said. The developers may also make adjustments to the city's plan, though city officials do not expect major changes.
City leaders hope to bring a detailed agreement and plan before the community in four months.
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