A ULI ADVISOry SERVICES TECHNICAL ASSIStanCE PANEL REPOrt THE GOODYEAR TRACT JANUARY 2018 ULI MISSION STATEMENT At the Urban Land Institute, our mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. ABOUT ULI TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANELS In keeping with the Urban Land Institute mission, Technical Assistance Panels are convened to provide pro-bono planning and development assistance to public officials and local stakeholders of communities and nonprofit organizations who have requested assistance in addressing their land use challenges. A group of diverse professionals representing the full spectrum of land use and real estate disciplines typically spend one day visiting and analyzing the built environments, identifying specific planning and development issues, and formulating realistic and actionable recommendations to move initiatives forward in a fashion consistent with the applicant’s goals and objectives. PANEL MEMBERS AND STAFF TAP CLIENT ULI LOS ANGELES PROJECT StaFF Office of Councilmember Curren D. Price, Jr., Gail Goldberg, FAICP Executive Director City of Los Angeles Ninth District Jonathan Nettler, AICP Weingart Foundation Senior Director PANEL CHAIR April Sandifer Andrew Fogg Senior Associate Cox, Castle & Nicholson, LLP Michael Parada Associate PANELISTS Ryan Altoon REPORT EDITOR AndersonPacific James Brasuell Michael Bohn studioneleven PHOTOGRAPHER Richard Bruckner John Dlugolecki ret. County of Los Angeles REPORT DESIGNER Carolyn Hull Stephen Sampson LAEDC Thomas Jansen HR&A Taylor Neiman RCLCO Jack Rosenberg Lee Associates Clifford Selbert Selbert Perkins Steffen Turoff Walker Parking Elizabeth Wendell Architecture Consultant ii THE GOODYEAR TRACT Technical Assistance Panel CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................ 2 ULI’s TechNICAL ASSISTANCE PANELS ..................................................... 5 OBSERVATIONS .......................................................................................... 6 PLANNING AND DESIGN RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................... 11 IMPLEMENTATION .................................................................................... 16 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................ 23 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................. 24 PANEL MEMBER BIOGRAPHIES ................................................................. 25 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Aerial view of Goodyear ASSIGNMENT AND PROCESS The Goodyear Tract is located in Council District 9, also Tract in 1957. The The Goodyear Tract industrial complex is one of the best- known as the “New Ninth,” of the city of Los Angeles, and a Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plant, now home kept secrets in the Los Angeles region. This large industrial large number of city departments, planning documents, and to a US Postal Service district is a uniquely historic and active industrial area and facility, is located in the foreground. (Credit: Kelly- an underappreciated economic engine for the City of Los other layers of bureaucratic interests influence the operation Holiday Collection, Los Angeles and the neighborhoods of South Los Angeles. and investment in the Goodyear Tract. Council District 9 of Angeles Public Library) The Goodyear Tract is one of the oldest and largest tracts the City of Los Angeles sponsored this Technical Assistance of industrial lands in Los Angeles. From the street level or Panel (TAP) by the Urban Land Institute’s Los Angeles viewed on a map, the Goodyear Tract is striking for its historic Chapter (ULI LA), and in so doing continues a legacy of character and its diverse collection of industrial businesses. planning and visioning efforts focused on the Goodyear Tract. The Goodyear Tract comprises 281 parcels over 205 acres, The task placed before the TAP is to create a set of home to over 200 companies and a total of approximately recommendations for the retention, recruitment, and 4,000 employees. Many of the industrial and commercial expansion of key industrial businesses, while improving the properties located in the Goodyear Tract are available at quality of life for those who live and work in and around the prices lower than other manufacturing areas in the Los Goodyear Tract. The vision for the Goodyear Tract should Angeles region. This positions the Goodyear Tract as a key integrate into the current vision for the future of the City of entry point for small businesses, manufacturers, and other Los Angeles and for Council District 9, or the “New Ninth”—a industries and provides a critical job base for residents of Los place for transformation, revitalization, and change, with a Angeles and the nearby neighborhoods of South Los Angeles. strong focus on economic development. 2 THE GOODYEAR TRACT Technical Assistance Panel The Goodyear Tract is already a vibrant and singular part of Branding: What can the City do to improve the identity the Los Angeles urban fabric. The Goodyear Tract has the or brand of the Goodyear Tract site to attract tenants and potential to increase the quality and quantity of employment, owners? What are some ways to establish a unified brand raise quality of life for those who live and work in and around strategy? Should activity hubs be considered (i.e., furniture, the site, and mitigate many local and regional environmental pallet makers, multi-media, studios, etc.)? impacts. Parking: Given the relatively small parcel sizes, what can KEY QUESTIONS the City do to help address the higher parking demand of Los Angeles Council District 9, led by Councilmember Curren commercial uses? What strategies should be considered for D. Price, posed a few key questions to the ULI LA TAP to better parking and more efficient loading areas? consider regarding strategic planning, design, and investment opportunities for the Goodyear Tract. This is an area bounded Financing: What financial mechanisms are available to fund The Goodyear Tract is an underappreciated by Slauson Avenue to the north, Florence Avenue to the improvements (public and private)? With the recent Promise economic engine for the south, Central Avenue to the east, and Avalon Boulevard to Zone designation, how can the City encourage reinvestment City of Los Angeles and the neighborhoods of the west. These key questions also ask the TAP to consider in the Goodyear Tract? South Los Angeles. the connections between the Goodyear Tract, the adjacent to Dntn Downtown Los Angeles Los Angeles residential neighborhoods, and the broader South Los 10 Central LEGEND City Central City North Angeles area. Commercial Area Hill St W a sh Industrial Area Figueroa in Corridor Adams Bl g to 23rd St n Bl LA Trade Technical College USC Specific Grand Av Mercado La Paloma Plan Main St Market Analysis: What uses should be encouraged, based Historic Central Avenue San Pedro St Jazz Corridor DMV Jefferson Bl to Culv City Hooper Av upon market demand, and where should they be located? Watts Towers Expo Park/ Broadway Department of Motor Vehicles Coliseum Martin Luther King Jr Bl Long Beach Av What regulations or incentives are needed to support the USC Specific Plan Gilbert Lindsay 41st St Community Center Ross Snyder Jordan Downs Urban Recreation Center expansion of existing industries, to the extent feasible, while Village Specific Plan Vernon Vernon Av Police Station/Substation Corridor Alameda attracting new businesses? Is adaptive reuse a viable option? Fred Roberts Fire Station Recreation South Center Park Orthopaedic Medical Center Slauson Multipurpose Broadway Central Avenue Constituent South LA Center Main St Wetlands Park Services Center 110 Central Av Land-Use/Infrastructure: How can the Goodyear Tract Augustus F. Hawkins Community Parks Natural Park Slauson Av Metro Light Rail Stations create better connections to the Juanita Tate Marketplace Juanita Tate Marketplace Expo Line Metro Rail South Goodyear and surrounding land uses along the Slauson Corridor, Avalon Los Angeles Tract Blue Line Metro Rail Gage Av Green Line Metro Rail Boulevard, and Gage Avenue? What are ways to provide Huntington USPS Park Other Compton Av Florence Av Pacific Bl linkages to the South Los Angeles Wetlands and schools Planned Pedestrian & in the area? Along the perimeter of the Tract, how can the Bicycle Path Local Streets Major Streets frontages and aesthetics be improved? Based upon market Avalon Bl Florence-Firestone San Pedro St (LA County) demand, what infrastructure and streetscape improvements Freeways Railroad Right-of-Way Manchester Av Firestone Bl should be considered to facilitate business retention and Community Plan Boundary Green Meadows Recreation Center Vermont Av Jordan growth, while enhancing the long-term viability of the district? Figueroa St Downs Urban Village Colden Av Specific Plan Wilmington Av Watts Century Bl Civic Central Av Center Ted Watkins Memorial Park 103rd St South Gate Figure 2-1 MLK Maxine Waters Shopping Occupational Center Community Structure 108th St Center Southeast Los Angeles This is an information map provided for Imperial H reference purposes only. It is not adopted w to y Compton Av as a part of the Community Plan. Nwalk 105 County of Lynwood City of Los Angeles Planning Department • August 2017 to El Segundo Earvin Magic Johnson Los Angeles Regional Park 120th St to Lg Beach 3 MAJOR CONCLUSIONS Along the “Edge Corridors” on Avalon Boulevard, Slauson The TAP organized