Redondo Beach Power plant sale could make way for redevelopment

Developer Leo Pustilnikovhat could develop the site into mixed-use campus if the city agrees

The AES power plant in Redondo Beach (Credit: Scott Varley/Digital First Media/Torrance Daily Breeze via Getty Images)
The AES power plant in Redondo Beach (Credit: Scott Varley/Digital First Media/Torrance Daily Breeze via Getty Images)

A sale has closed that could determine the future of Redondo Beach’s surfside power plant.

On Monday, power plant operator AES Corp. announced it sold the 51 acres housing the aging power plant to developer Leo Pustilnikov, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Pustilnikov hasn’t revealed specific plans for the site, but Urbanize reports that he could develop a mixed-use campus with both office, retail, and residential space, as well as a hotel. Some existing buildings could be converted into new uses as well.

The city wants the plant shut down as soon as possible and a good chunk of the site used as open space. The Pustilnikov-AES agreement seems to make those two mutually exclusive.

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The sale agreement requires that AES shutter the gas-burning plant for good by 2023. The longer it operates the more money AES will transfer to Pustilnikov for remediation.

For his part, the developer agreed to preserve some of the property as open space based on how long city and state officials allow the plant to operate — 25 acres if the power plant was allowed to operate for three years, 12 acres for two years, and four acres if it’s allowed only another year.

Two years ago Pustilnikov and AES entered into exclusive negotiations for the site. Pustilnikov initially purchased two smaller parcels from AES, which would be rolled into the larger development site.

At least one state agency recommended last year that the plant be allowed to operate for up to two years. [LAT & Urbanize] — Dennis Lynch