An El Segundo-based developer has proposed building a Gelson’s Market on the vacant lot on Sepulveda Boulevard between Sixth and Eighth streets.
But at least some in the community don’t want it.
Paragon Commercial Group bought the property, which used to house an auto shop and dealership, last November. It plans to use an existing building at the back of the site to create a 27,500-square-foot market with a small seating area. It also wants to demolish the former show room at the corner of Eighth Street and add a 7,000-square-foot building on Sixth Street that could be a bank or some other non-food retail business.
Partner Jim Dillavou, a Manhattan Beach resident, said his company thought the community would benefit from the store.
“We looked at a lot of uses and thought the best-fitting neighborhood use was Gelson’s,” he said.
Paragon had received “overwhelming support from the community,” he added.
But some of the residents who live near the site have begun a campaign of opposition to the project. On Monday, signs saying “Stop Gelson’s” dotted the yard of nearly every other house in the block on Larsson Street directly behind the lot. A Facebook page devoted to the issue, “Manhattan Beach Neighbors,” has gathered 164 “likes.”
Eileen Neill, who has lived behind the property for 18 years, said the group hasn’t ruled out a lawsuit.
“We recognize it’s a commercial property,” said Neill. “We’re not saying, ‘Put in a park.’ But we want something that’s not disruptive to the neighborhood and that doesn’t pose safety and traffic threats.”
The car shops didn’t bother her or her husband because they were usually quiet and traffic was light, she said.
The group posted a police report that showed that five deaths have occurred at the intersection of Sepulveda and Sixth Street in the past five years.
“These numbers are staggering, unacceptable and occurred when this site was home to a low volume business,” said a note attached to the Facebook post. “Please think about the consequences of the Gelson’s project.”
Dillavou said that as a Manhattan Beach resident and father of young children, he was sympathetic to the neighbors’ concerns.
“I am very sensitive because I was in the same situation,” he said. He worried about his children’s safety when Baja Sharkeez moved near his house off of Highland Avenue.
A website, gelsonsmb.com, was started to solicit feedback from residents, he said.
Easy Reader received at least one letter to the editor in support of the project.
“We believe a properly constructed Gelson’s would be a lifestyle plus for residents in the area, as well as a meaningful source of revenue for the city that would reduce expatriation of boutique grocery tax revenues to Whole Foods in El Segundo,” wrote Mike Simpson on behalf of his family.
Paragon is conducting the studies of traffic, parking and other issues required by the city. Once they are completed, the proposal will go before the city’s planning commission. A date has not yet been set.
Dillavou said Gelson’s plans to open in the fall of 2016. ER
