Rite Aide plans to apply for permits to build a store on its long vacant site at the corner of Sepulveda and Manhattan Beach Boulevards, according to an email sent to the city by a representative.
The company went through this process once before, when it won approval to build a 13,000 sq. ft. store in 2008. However, after those plans stalled, the permits expired.
The announcement comes as the city has stepped up its efforts to force the company to do something with the deteriorating property, including sending a letter demanding it fix certain issues that violate a nuisance law by the end of June.
In response to recent grumblings about the site, the company said it would ask its real estate committee if it could proceed with building a new store. On June 16, the committee approved obtaining new building permits, according to an email from the company to the city. The permits it got when it originally planned to build a store have since expired.
“We will be in touch soon with the city to begin this process,” wrote Tracy Verastegui, the vice president of real estate in the western and central divisions.
Calls to Verastegui were not returned.
The city sent a letter to the company on May 25 asking it to correct a variety of issues that violate the city’s nuisance law, most of which have to do with the fencing and the empty two-story building on 11th Street that used to contain a liquor store and gym. Mayor Wayne Powell lobbied to have the city’s nuisance law updated in order to address the site.
If Rite Aid doesn’t do as the city asks, the city could get a warrant to enter the property and fix the nuisance itself.
According to the letter, officials from the city’s community development and building divisions and the fire department visited the site on April 28 and observed “signs of animal infestation,” a “strong moldy, musty smell in the liquor store,” “dry rot in the overhang rafters on the Sepulveda Blvd. side,” “dilapidated stairs on 11th Street,” “graffiti,” “signs of trespassing” and fencing that was “faded and unsightly” and “a safety hazard.”
The remedies listed include boarding up broken windows, fixing the roof and upgrading the fencing.
A memo attached to the letter said that Rite Aid told the city it had begun addressing the issues soon after the May 5 council meeting, when the council asked staff to send the nuisance letter.
As of June 19, the fencing remained in the same condition and a broken window on the second floor was visible. Earlier that week, a shopping cart filled with clothes and other items was parked next to the building.
In 2008, Rite Aid got approval from the city to build on the site, which the company is renting from two landowners under a 50-year lease. At Rite Aid’s request, one of the property owners demolished a gas station that previously sat on the spot to make way for the store. The other owner, whose parcel includes the two-story building, evicted all the tenants. Under the terms of the lease, Rite Aid is responsible for any buildings on the property. ER
