Part of the LAWA redevelopment site seen from the end of Rayford Drive, looking south toward LAX
New office stock could be on its way to a blighted area north of Los Angeles International Airport.
The Los Angeles World Airports, which owns LAX, is reaching out for redevelopment ideas for 93 acres of undeveloped land, the first step in its long-planned 340-acre LAX Northside Plan.
LAWA divided the site, located on the north side of Westchester Parkway between the neighborhoods of Playa del Rey and Westchester, into two separate parcels. LAWA will be seeking requests for proposals, according to Curbed.
The first parcel is zoned for office and recreational uses, with up to 10,000 square feet of new floor area. The City of Los Angeles is separately planning a underground stormwater treatment facility there, but the land above is still viable for development.
The second parcel is sandwiched between the parkway and a small single-family residential neighborhood. That’s also zoned for office with up to 765,000 square feet of new floor area.
LAWA said the sprawling area would allow for a “campus-like office and research and development facilities, community and civic uses, open space and recreational uses for the community, and a secured landscaped buffer zone.”
Meanwhile, the 340-acre LAX Northside Plan is headed by master planner Rios Clementi Hale Studios. As of the latest update in 2016, LAWA is allowing for a maximum of 2.32 million square feet of office space. The idea is to connect Westchester and Playa del Rey with pedestrian pathways through a mix of commercial uses and green space, according to Curbed.
That’s not the only area around LAX that’s going to change. Last month, airport leaders voted to seize the remaining 37 parcels in the Manchester Square neighborhood through eminent domain, pending City Council approval. That land east of the airport will be used as a transportation hub. [Curbed] — Dennis Lynch