Redondo Beach Braces for Massive "Builder's Remedy" Project
- Sarah Hofmann
- Nov 8, 2022
- 8 min read
While Santa Monica has been contemplating the impact of a proposed 4,000 units that may be thrust upon it by as many as 15 “Builder’s Remedy” projects, nearby Redondo Beach – another coastal city that is similarly wary of development – may receive more than half that number of units in the form of a single project.
On August 10, the Department of Housing and Community Development declared the city’s Housing Element out of compliance relative to its Sixth Cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment numbers. That determination created the opportunity for developer Leo Pustilnikov to file plans for a 2,290-unit project on a parcel he has long owned and leapfrog over longstanding city objections.
For decades, the 49-acre parcel, which is one of the most attractive pieces of beachfront real estate in Redondo Beach — or anywhere else in California — has been occupied by the AES power plant.
The plant will continue operations into 2023, though it has been slated for decommission for some time, in part due to its once-through cooling system which cycles ocean water in and out of the plant, stressing the local ecosystem.
Pustilnikov, acting through an LLC, purchased the property in 2018, and in August submitted a preliminary proposal for One Redondo, a large mixed-use development that includes a hotel, retail and office spaces, 22.5 acres of green space, and, most notably, 2,290 housing units. Importantly, 458 of which are low-income, meeting the Builder’s Remedy 20% affordability requirement. This followed a proposal he submitted in July for a smaller redevelopment project across the street.
