Trustees approve Master Plan; Chevron to become private housing
-- October 21, 2008
Correction Appended.
The USC board of trustees has approved the University Park Campus Master Plan, an ambitious, long-term roadmap for revamping the University Park Campus and the area surrounding it. The plan, which aims to accommodate the physical growth of the USC campus, will create new university-owned housing for students to house more of the school's growing student body. It is also designed to be more affordable than the housing USC currently offers.
The trustees' approval at a June meeting lets the master plan board members shift their focus to the public approval process, said Curt Williams, USC vice president for campus development and facilities management and co-chair of the Master Plan Team.
This fall, the plan will undergo a year-long environmental review, resulting in the drafting of an Environmental Impact Report, said Cesar Armendariz, master plan communication director.
Construction on the master plan is not expected to begin until the end of 2010, at the earliest. Following the development of the Environmental Impact Report, master plan officials will "work with the city to develop and approve the entitlements that will actually allow the university to implement the plan," Williams said.
Upon receiving the city's approval, the city permit process and public hearings will begin.
The master plan committee hopes to have all necessary permits by the end of 2010. "Everything is on track, and although many things can happen, we foresee no holdups at this point," Armendariz said.
The Exposition Light Rail Line
Major construction activities began in 2007 on the rail line that will connect Downtown Los Angeles to Culver City, but the project is seeing some hang-ups. Ongoing struggles over which stations will be above ground and which will be below ground continue to be a key topic of discussion. The South Los Angeles area, in particular, has seen outcries from community members, several of whom want the train underground because of its proximity to seven neighborhood schools.
"Everyone's for the idea of a train," said Max Slavkin, a senior majoring in political science and an Area 3 representative on the North Area Neighborhood Council. "It's how it's built that's the issue of contention."
The rail line will be approximately 8.6 miles in length and will run parallel to the heavily congested I-10 freeway, allowing riders to travel from Downtown Los Angeles to Culver City in under 30 minutes.
There will be 11 station stops, including ones at Venice Boulevard and Robertson Boulevard, La Brea Avenue and Exposition Boulevard and La Cienega Boulevard and Exposition, which should help USC students and others travel to local spots they would otherwise need a car to reach.
The Neighborhood Council
Mike Urena, the former council president and a Management Information Systems manager in the USC Marshall School of Business, resigned Aug. 6.
Yolanda Jones, former council vice president and the department coordinator for the Management and Organization department at the Marshall School of Business, will serve as the acting president until the neighborhood council determines how to proceed.
Gateway Good for Community?
University Gateway, an apartment complex on the corner of Figueroa Street and Jefferson Boulevard, broke ground in July. The complex will accommodate approximately 1,600 students and is expected to open in 2010. Armendariz said that while the Gateway is not part of the master plan, it still helps the university with its goal of providing housing for all undergraduates. Armendariz also said he believes community members will be pleased with the new housing developments because it "addresses all of their concerns" when it comes to traffic, noise disruption and more.
"[With the creation of more housing] on major corridors like Figueroa and Jefferson that is closer to the university, the students are moved further away from the community members' family homes [to a more student-concentrated area by the university]," Armendariz said.
Goodbye Chevron, Hello Icon
The new Icon Plaza, an Icon Plaza at USC, LLC housing development, will stand in place of the Chevron station on Figueroa Street. The development will be similar in style to Conquest's Tuscany right next door, except that tenants would have to pay extra to receive parking spots. Councilman Ed Reyes is looking into developing the parking lot at the corner of Hoover Street and Adams Boulevard. Currently, the lot's driveway is locked to cars at all hours - a tempting locale for the homeless. One source said the open lot may be turned into a skate park.
Correction: August 20, 2008
An article on Wednesday about the new Icon Plaza that will stand in place of the Chevron station on Figueroa Street incorrectly referred to it as a Frank Paul Mary Realty housing development. It is a Icon Plaza at USC, LLC housing development.
