By Emilie St. John
Contributing Writer
INGLEWOOD — The City Council unanimously approved a relocation plan for the Inglewood Transit Connector project that will displace 41 small businesses following a public hearing April 11.
The relocation plan is part of the plan to construct a 1.6-mile people mover to connect riders from the K Line to the Inglewood Sports and Entertainment District, which includes the Kia Forum, SoFi Stadium and the Intuit Dome.
“The City Council and I understand that any construction on the Vons site would be disruptive to businesses residents and employees” Inglewood Mayor James Butts said. “To put it succinctly, we heard our constituents, and we made the project better based on their input.”
The Inglewood Transit Connector alignment is primarily located in the public right-of-way and does not require the acquisition of any residential properties in the city. However, there are a limited number of private business properties that must be acquired to accommodate construction and operation of the new transit line; 41 businesses which employ approximately 305 individuals will need to be relocated.
The public hearing, held at 2 p.m., drew three comments from the public about the plan which some believed was being held to approve an addendum to the environmental impact report concerning moving the proposed maintenance and storage facility to another location.
The maintenance and storage facility was initially slated to be near the transit stop at Prairie Avenue and Pincay Drive. Once the transit stop was moved to Prairie and Manchester Boulevard, the plan was to have the facility located at 500 W. Manchester Blvd., with the Vons grocery store.
The plan would have called for the grocery store to be demolished and rebuilt. After the plan drew community complaints, the consultants went back to the proposed builders on the project who assured the city the facility could be moved to the Florence Avenue-Market Street station. The change caused the environmental impact report to be updated.
According to a press release from the mayor’s office, “the mayor and City Council delayed a vote on the plan over the past few weeks in order to make way for an alteration that locates the maintenance and storage facility at the Market Street Station instead of next to the Vons Supermarket, as had initially been conceived. This change was implemented to prevent any potential closure of or disruption to the supermarket and other businesses located in the plaza on Manchester Boulevard.
“The council also voted on an addendum to the environmental impact report that acknowledged that this alteration would not create any additional environmental impact.
Councilwoman Dionne Faulk thanked Lisa Trifiletti, principal with Trifiletti Consulting, who is the lead consultant on the project, for her efforts on the community outreach portion of the process.
Faulk then reiterated that the city is here to support the businesses being impacted by the project.
“First and foremost, we are committed to making sure each business has every resource available, and we will work tirelessly with businesses to see that their needs are met,” Faulk said.
The project will displace businesses in council districts represented by newly elected District 1 Councilwoman Gloria Gray and Councilman Eloy Morales, who represents District 4.
Gray had no opposition to the project and urged the businesses to work with their relocation specialists to find suitable locations to relocate to.
In Morales’ district, at the intersection of Florence Avenue and Market Street, where the maintenance and storage facility will be housed, the entire shopping center will become a parking lot, which will displace many longtime businesses.
“Each and every one of these businesses is part of the city’s culture and community,” Morales said. “Our team will go to great lengths to ensure that the relocation effort is as smooth and straightforward as possible.
It was announced during a March 23 presentation on the transit connector that three teams have been shortlisted to build the project. The Elevate Inglewood Partners team consists of BYD, Tutor Perini and Parsons.
According to the city, relocations are expected to “happen over an 18-to-24-month period” and only businesses occupying the space at the time that the city makes an offer for the property — which could begin later this year — will be eligible for the relocation funds, the approved plan states.
Many business owners at the plaza at the Prairie Avenue and Hardy Street stop have already expressed concern they are being forced out of their current locations before the targeted relocation date established in the plan.
The plan doesn’t call for businesses to be relocated until the city secures the remaining funds towards the construction, which won’t be known until close to the end of the year.
The construction costs were cited at $1.2 billion when the project was first discussed in 2018 and has swelled to nearly $2 billion with the city having secured less than half of that amount through a combination of federal and state grants and local funds from Measure R, a tax on transportation projects.
The city plans to begin making offers on the properties needed for the project by the end of this year and needs to begin construction in 2024 to meet a 2028 deadline to be online in time for the Summer Olympics.
Emilie St. John is a freelance journalist covering the areas of Carson, Compton, Inglewood and Willowbrook. Send tips to her at emiliesaintjohn@gmail.com.
