Feb. 22 public auction still on for AES site
by Garth Meyer
A public auction remains set for Feb. 22 in Pomona for the 51-acre AES power plant site under notice of foreclosure in Redondo Beach.
But co-owner Leo Pustilnikov said Monday, “The auction will be pushed back one way or another.”
A group of 12 investors led by Pustilnikov bought the site from AES three years ago.
Last November, AES announced foreclosure proceedings because the group was $36 million behind in payments. The auction date was announced in January.
“Our perspective remains the same,” said an AES spokesperson Wednesday. “We are continuing with the auction as planned.”
“This is all coming together very quickly,” said Redondo Beach City Councilman Todd Loewenstein, who represents District Two, which includes the AES site. “We’re still waiting to hear from the state waterboard on what they’re going to do with extensions (of the power plant’s operation). Beyond that, we’re not privy to discussions between Leo and AES… The city definitely has an interest in that land and what goes there.”
Pustilnikov said last fall that the dispute with AES was just a “true-up over accounting” related to state extensions for the power plant. He noted it would be resolved in a “couple of weeks.”
The AES spokesperson has said the matter is about back payments only.
Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand could not be reached for comment on the situation. City Manager Mike Witzansky declined to say if the city planned to put together a bid through some conglomeration of grants.
“The city needs to show up, to see if by chance, we have a chance,” said City Councilwoman Laura Emdee.
“The closure of the AES power plant and sale of the surrounding land brings a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reclaim a precious part of our coast,” said State Senator Ben Allen (24th District) who chairs the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. “As I have worked on this challenge with other leaders for years, my goal all along has been for this site to be preserved as wetlands and park space entrusted to the City of Redondo Beach.”
Senator Allen’s office said he could not speak on behalf of any state agency’s potential plans, if any, for participating in the public auction.
Requests for comment from the California Coastal Commission and the Nature Conservancy (California) were unanswered as of Wednesday. ER