L.A. River for Sale...Again?

Taylor Yard for Sale

The community coalition that made El Rio De Los Angeles State Park a reality in 2007 and brought the river revitalization efforts one step closer to fruition is being called into action one more time.

As we reported on an earlier post, a parcel of land that hugs the riverbank is in danger of being - strangely - sold by Union Pacific Railroad and developed by Trammell Crow Company, a Texas-based real estate developer.

I say strangely because it would appear to anyone following the unending story and drama of the river that any consideration to sell those parcels would be out of the question at this point - but it is not. The Trammell Crow Company has been given a six month extension on its option agreement to purchase the land.

Totally bizarre.

The G1 lot, as is the El Rio park and the vacant land at Taylor Yard, is at the back bone of the river revitalization plan, which has been endorsed by the city, the county, the state, and by President Obama America's Great Outdoor Agenda. Are these endorsments and initiatives irrelevant to Union Pacific?

These underdeveloped parcels provide clear opportunities to continue the revitalization process and bring it one more step closer to reality; if the lot gets developed for industrial purposes, the plan will lose a decade of hard work.

While the city of Madrid rejoices on its urbanization efforts after the unveiling of Madrid Rio, a six-mile greenbelt that revitalized the Manzanar river and buried a congested freeway under city tunnels, Los Angeles is still gambling with its future. (And let's not forget the epic restoration of Seoul's Cheonggyecheon River).

The same community organization that made El Rio a reality is now organizing to stop the purchase of the land through a series of petitions. Community residents and organizations have the next six months to voice their needs and opinions.