New Tenant for Knob Hill Property Still Uncertain

Residents are still waiting to see who will be the new tenant at 320 Knob Hill Avenue, home to the city-run Knob Hill Community Center.

The Redondo Beach Unified School District (RBUSD) owns the property and wants a higher rent than the city is willing to pay. The city pays $302,000 to lease office space for its Parks and Recreation Department at the property, much less than the $500,000 per year the school district is asking.

So the school district has set a Sept. 28 deadline for bids from private businesses wishing to lease space as the city prepares to move out. Despite some interest, no one has yet met the board's asking price.

Residents such as Kelly Martin are eagerly awaiting a resolution to the impending vacancy. Martin and neighbors have formed the Knob Hill Community Group out of concern for the future of the property. The group's message: Keep city offices at Knob Hill.

Though the site has not served as a public school since the 1981 closing of Patterson Elementary School, Martin and neighbors believe it is important for the city and RBUSD to maintain this relationship, believing the site will one day be needed for a new elementary school. They worry that any deal reached between the school district and a private company would be much more difficult to terminate in the event the spot is needed for educational purposes.

"I moved to Avenue A in 2001 and there were two children on my block," Martin said. "Now in 2010, there are 14. We will need this school."

With both the city and school district struggling to balance their respective budgets, District 3 Councilman Pat Aust appeared resigned to the inevitability of the move. "We don't have the money to pay them what they think the property's worth," he said. "We're under the same constraints as they are."

The city subleases space in the building to the Carden Dominion private school to help shoulder the costs. The city wanted and has a month-to-month lease with RBUSD for the property. Superintendent of Schools Steven Keller said the city has informed the school district that it will not occupy the building past June 2011. 

RBUSD, seeking to raise revenue, passed a resolution to increase the rent to $1.1 million. When the City Council balked, RBUSD lowered its figure to $750,000. The council responded recently by voting to move the city offices to a yet to be built site on a patch of land in Aviation Park. The city plans to set up modular buildings at the Aviation site as a short term solution, and would move into these while construction begins on more sustainable offices at the property.

District 1 Councilman Steve Aspel has begun working with the nonprofit American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) -- with whom he has a 25-year relationship -- to relocate its administrative offices to Knob Hill. Although talks are in the initial phase, Aspel feels confident AYSO has the necessary means and the Knob Hill property has the needed space to make the match compatible.

"They'd have a nice office building, plenty of room for one or two small soccer fields. That's the nicest choice to go there," said Aspel, who represents the district where the Knob Hill Community Center is located.

The highest bid so far has come from El Segundo-based Paragon Commercial Group, whose bid of $405,000 was rejected by the RBUSD. Paragon had proposed building a Whole Foods at the site.

However, the proposition of a commercial enterprise leasing the site may be dubious because the land is not zoned for such a use. Aust cited state law that requires both City Council approval and voter approval before a "major change in allowable land use" could become effective. 

As the September deadline looms, Martin and her Knob Hill Community Group worry that when the city "moves out, we're going to find no one there, and no income."

Keller said that if the RBUSD does not find a tenant by the September deadline, the school board would vote on whether to set another deadline for bids. Keller was adamant that the school board wants the property to remain "something the community would be proud of." 

Aspel says he understands RBUSD's position. "The school board is just doing their job. They're looking to maximize their benefits."

At least one thing's certain: "The city is for sure moving," Aspel said.