Redevelopment planned for 49-acre power plant in Redondo Beach

UPDATED: 11:45 A.M., AUG. 19

A 49-acre power plant in Redondo Beach could turn into a mixed-use waterfront development of offices, a hotel and more than 2,200 homes, if a local developer gets his way.

Next Century Power, a firm owned by developer Leo Pustilnikov, has filed plans to redevelop the AES power plant at 1100 North Harbor Drive, the Torrance Daily Breeze reported. Nearby property owned by the company would expand the project to 51 acres.

Pustilnikov, a partner in SLH Investments of Los Angeles, bought the 74-year-old natural gas plant from AES Corp. in 2018 for undisclosed terms. The plant is slated to close this year, ending power generation at the site since 1907.

Plans call for demolishing the plant and replacing it with One Redondo – a sprawling development including more than 2 million square feet of housing, 510,000 square feet of offices and a 150,000-square-foot hotel surrounding a 22.5-acre park.

Five residential buildings would include 2,290 housing units, according to a project map, of which 458 units would be set aside as affordable for low-income households.

In addition to unspecified space for shops and restaurants, Redondo One would include a 300-room hotel at the southeast corner.

Plans also call for converting an existing boiler into an 80,000 square-foot office and leaving one of the eight smoke stacks as a tribute to the property’s past.

The plant’s powerhouse along Harbor Drive would also remain as a giant 67,000-square-foot event space.

Five garages would include nearly 2 million square feet of parking.

Pustilnikov hopes to fast-track the project through SB 330, a state bill that aims to spur housing development.

Also, he has applied to fast-track another mixed-use development at 1021 North Harbor Drive, the site of the old SeaLab. That project calls for 30 apartments, including six set aside as affordable for low-income households, and 7,000 square feet of commercial space.

He may get major pushback from the city of Redondo Beach and residents, who had hoped to see the power plant site – now zoned for a power plant or park uses – turned into a public park.

Redondo Mayor Bill Brand — who for 17 years has sought to convert the AES plant into a park – once helped kill plans to revitalize the Redondo Beach waterfront.

Pending approvals, the developer aims to begin demolition in 2024 – barring lawsuits or other snags – and complete the project by 2028.

— Dana Bartholomew

Correction: Updated numbers for hotel square footage and number of apartment units.

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