A planned office and retail development next to the Los Angeles Chargers’ new headquarters is instead going to become a wet and wild hotspot for surfers.
An affiliate of billionaire Vinny Smith’s Toba Capital spent $54 million for a 9-acre portion of the former Raytheon Technologies Campus at 100 North Nash Street in El Segundo, CoStar reported. The company is expected to build a surf park with state-of-the-art artificial wave technology for those looking to hang 10.
Toba Capital acquired the parcel from California landlord Continental Corporation. Continental bought the 30-acre office campus from Raytheon in 2021 with plans to redevelop it into a 600,000-square-foot mixed-use complex called Impact at Nash, with office, retail and media production portions.
Continental and Mar Ventures redeveloped a 14-acre portion of the site into the Chargers’ $260 million training center and headquarters, which opened last year. As demand for offices and residences lost steam, Continental decided to sell off the property.
Though he made his fortune selling his tech company to Dell Computer, Smith is no stranger to creating surf parks. Smith is an avid surfer and spent $80 million to convert the former Knotts Soak City water park in Palm Springs into the Palm Springs Surf Club, which opened last year. The 21-acre complex has a wave pool large enough for 25 surfers at once and features a lazy river and restaurants.
The goal is to do the same in Los Angeles and possibly in other cities across the United States.
About 20 surf parks worldwide are in operation, with four in the U.S. and several others debuting in the next two years. Kelly Slater Wave Company, founded by the world record-holding surfer Kelly Slater, operates a complex at Surf Ranch in Kings County, California, and provides its wave technology to Surf Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
In San Diego County, developer N4FL is planning to start construction next year on Ocean Kamp, a sprawling resort complex with a 3.5-acre wave pool, 700 housing units, a 300-room hotel and commercial spaces on a 92-acre former drive-in theater site in Oceanside, the outlet said.
Meanwhile, In Newport Beach, a proposal for a 7-acre wave pool is moving forward, though residents have voiced opposition to the plan, which would partially involve the replacement of a portion of the public Newport Beach Golf Course.
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