Bringing business back to Marlton Square
Emily Henry | 7-9-2010 | Comments |
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Smiling faces, couples holding hands, friends chatting on benches surrounded by shopping bags... the vision for the future of the Baldwin-Crenshaw Plaza is clear. The $30 million upgrade is already underway with the renovation of the Magic Johnson Theatre, which will re-open as a "state-of-the-art multiplex," according to Ken Lombard, president of mall owner Capri Urban Investors. Aesthetic improvements, such as lights and flooring, as well as a new dining area, will revitalize the mall. Office and apartment buildings will "help promote a tight-knit community setting" and encourage residents to stay close to home rather than spending their money and time elsewhere.
But across the street, on the northwest side of Marlton Avenue, the picture is very different. Here, a dusty, empty lot is surrounded by abandoned buildings and decaying storefronts. Less than a stone's throw from the mall, Marlton Square has been long forgotten. All signs of life are now distant memories. A little more than twenty years ago, the area was home to hundreds of businesses that formed the center of a community. Redevelopment efforts since have failed out of the gate. The most recent, in the early 2000s, included a financially inviable investor named Chris Hammond and his company Capital Vision Equities.
After initiating the process by building a senior housing complex, which is still unfinished and lies vacant on the corner, Hammond went bankrupt and disappeared from the scene. Today, Marlton Square remains a ghost town.But it could be so much more.
While the city has lost millions of dollars in failed redevelopment contracts, the neighborhood has been blighted by neglect. All the while, Marlton Square's proximity to the mall makes it a prime contender to become, also, the "pride of a community."
Standing proudly on the steps of the Magic Johnson Theatre surrounded by glossy placards showing the mall redevelopment plans, Councilman Bernard Parks spoke briefly about the current situation with Marlton Square.
"Marlton is closer than its ever been in the last 20 years," he said.
Listen to the interview with Bernard Parks:
While hope is stirring for the abandoned area, Lombard explained his personal connection to the site. Once a contender for the redevelopment contact, along with the partnership of Magic Johnson, Lombard was pushed aside in favor of Hammond and his partner Jeff Lee. In the future, Lombard said he hopes that oversight of the project will fall once again into his hands.
"We have a tremendous amount of interest and want to do everything we can to help facilitate that development moving forward," said Lombard.
Listen to the interview with Ken Lombard:
Especially with the renovation of the Baldwin-Crenshaw Plaza around the corner, Marlton Square has the potential to become a community hub once again. But the decades of neglect will not be easy to reverse. Many questions remain as to why it has taken so long to redevelop Marlton Square, as well as the mystery surrounding Hammond's intentions and motives and the city's affiliation with the process.In the mean time, bankruptcy proceedings with Hammond's company are realigning the ownership rights of Marlton Square. Perhaps, before another decade passes, the area will inspire its own vision, instead of remaining a landscape eyesore.
The history of the Marlton Square redevelopment process is being investigated by the South Los Angeles Report and Eddie North-Hager of Leimert Park Beat. For more information on the investigation or to contribute funds or information, see "Redevelopment Hell" on Spot.us.
Tags: baldwin hills baldwin-crenshaw plaza crenshaw mall marlton square redevelopment santa barbara plaza south los angeles