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Arsenic and a new case: Inglewood stadium developers sue over contamination
The 2 firms, owned by billionaire Stan Kroenke, are suing their insurer over a $5M policy that would go toward remediating the under-construction NFL stadium
Among the obstacles developer Stan Kroenke has faced at his under-construction Hollywood Park megacomplex have been cost overruns, delays and pushback from Inglewood residents who say it has made the city unaffordable.
Add environment cleanup — namely arsenic — to that list.
In a lawsuit filed last week, two Kroenke-owned companies — TKG Management and Pincay Re LLC — are demanding Chubb Custom Insurance Company pay out the roughly $5 million limit on its environmental insurance policy, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Chubb owes “no less” than $4.6 million in cleanup costs for contamination issues surrounding the 60-acre area adjacent to the $2.6 billion Inglewood Stadium, according to the suit. The stadium will be home to the Kroenke-owned L.A. Rams, along with the L.A. Chargers. Construction on the stadium — part of the $5 billion mixed-use megadevelopment — is set to be completed in time for the 2020-2021 N.F.L. season.
In suing to collect on the insurance money, the Kroenke companies have also revealed the dangerous levels of arsenic near the stadium, which the City of Inglewood hails as a showcase for their fast-developing community but which residents say have gentrified the once-affordable city.
Around November 2015, TKG and Pincay determined that arsenic concentrations were “dozens of times higher than would be found as background concentrations of arsenic in the surrounding area,” according to the lawsuit filed in L.A. County Superior Court. The Real Deal obtained a copy of the lawsuit.
The Kroenke companies have so far spent $17 million to remediate the arsenic contamination, on what had been a parking lot, according to the suit. The claim alleges that Chubb has not paid its fair share to reimburse the entities. Chubb could not be reached for comment.
The megadevelopment is now five years in the making. In September, SoFi Financial secured the naming rights to the 70,000-seat stadium, which is also slated to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2028 Summer Olympics. The entire complex will also include a 6,000-seat performance center, hotels, office and residential buildings, and parks. [LAT] — Matthew Blake