by Mark McDermott
The City of Manhattan Beach has purchased the former U.S. Bank site, located in the middle of downtown adjacent to Von’s, for $13 million. The purchase was approved by the Council at its April 1 meeting and sale closed April 15.
City Manager Talyn Mirzakhanian told the council the site’s location, both near the Civic Center and in the heart of town, made both a good investment and a potentially new public-serving facility.
“The site holds tremendous civic value with numerous possibilities for community benefit,” she said. “At approximately 16,570 square feet across three parcels, this acquisition presents a rare opportunity to shape an important segment of our downtown area. By purchasing this property, the city will retain complete control over what gets developed on the site. This means we can ensure any future use aligns with our community’s character and needs.”
Mirzakhanian’s comments came in the midst of a council meeting that included the passage of amendments to the City’s code that were required by the state in part to encourage more Density Bonus housing projects, and a lot of angry resident testimony about the new state-imposed Residential Overlay District areas, particularly residents of Oak Avenue who were protesting a 7-story multi-family development slated for Sepulveda, adjacent to their bock. The city manager noted that the U.S. Bank parcels, which total a little over a third of an acre located at 400 Manhattan Beach Boulevard, would have qualified for a residential project.
“We heard a lot today about density bonus projects,” she said. “Residential is a use that’s allowed in the commercial [zoning] downtown, so there was potentially an opportunity there for a density bonus project.”
Mayor Amy Howorth amplified that point.
“Wow, we just prevented a five, six, or seven story apartment building from going in,” she said.
Mirzakanian said that the City will conduct an extensive community engagement process to gather input on potential uses for the site, including parking and other uses.
“This is also a sound financial investment,” she said. “Similar properties in the area have appreciated nearly 13 times their original purchase price over approximately 30 years. Beyond the appreciation potential, the site offers opportunities for revenue generation that could benefit our city for generations to come, depending on what those uses are.”
Councilperson Steve Charelian, the City’s former finance director, lauded the acquisition but also urged that the resident input process for its future use be extensive.
“I’m thrilled that we are purchasing this property,” he said. “It’s a generational property. It gives us full control, gives value to the community and our return on investment is just going to be spot on, especially if it’s going to generate some revenue. And [we] have plenty of opportunities to talk about this with the community. I do want to make that voice loud — that we are going to open this up, and put out the notification way in advance of the meetings to make sure that we hear the voices of the community of what they would like to see here.”
Resident Jim Burton, who lives near the site, said a parking lot would be a misuse of the property.
“It is a legacy property downtown,” he said. “I’ve been there for 35 years. My biggest thing is what are we going to do with it? A parking lot would be the worst thing you can do to those residents.”
The purchase was made using part of the existing, unreserved $32 million balance in the City’s General Fund. At a future meeting, the council will consider the issuance of general obligation bonds to repay the General Fund.
Mayor Pro Tem David Lesser said he originally opposed the acquisition simply because the City is already backlogged on Capital Improvement Projects and he didn’t want to spend the money. But he became convinced when he considered what might happen to the property if the City did not buy it.
“To the extent all of us are committed to preserving our small town character, we have lost control of much of the entitlement of our property in our city,” he said. “As was mentioned in passing by the city manager, a much larger multi-tenant residential bonus density project could be built on this lot. How would that impact the character of our downtown? We cannot purchase all of the properties in our downtown, there’s no way we can afford to. But this one we can, and we can involve the public in the decision making as to how it’s used.”
Howorth recalled that one of former councilperson Steve Napolitano’s biggest regrets was that the City didn’t purchase the site of the former Good Stuff restaurant downtown when it had the chance.
“And he would always say, ‘Man, if you have an opportunity, you’ve got to do this,’” she said. “We can’t let this go. It is a legacy purchase, and so I will be supporting it. But I wanted to give Steve some credit for empowering us, and I think he had his eye on this property, too. So he may not be here on the dais tonight, but his leadership has definitely gotten us here, along with [former councilperson] Richard Montgomery, who will definitely text me if I don’t mention him.”
The council voted unanimously to purchase the property. ER
