Bell : Project for Old Armory Site

The Community Redevelopment Agency Monday agreed to prepare an agreement to select Trammell Crow Co. as a leading contender to develop an 8.6-acre lot on Bandini Boulevard near Atlantic Avenue. Agency action on the item is scheduled for June 2.

Trammell Crow Co., based in Dallas, has proposed building a 37,000-square-foot office building and two manufacturing and distribution buildings on the site.

Three firms submitted proposals to the city, which is seeking a development that will generate $100,000 a year in revenue and which can be built within 18 months after a development and disposition agreement is approved.

City Administrator Byron Woosley said that once a memorandum is approved, the city will begin firming up details and drafting documents for development of the property. The city is asking $2.7 million for the property.

The other two companies are Kaiser Development Co., based in Carlsbad, Calif., which proposed restaurants, a hotel or motel and light industrial buildings, and Seville Development & Associates, based in Placentia, which proposed a motel, restaurants and office complex.

Although none of the firms guaranteed $100,000 in annual revenue, Woosley said, Trammell Crow’s proposal was “more in keeping with the city’s objectives.” Martin Slusser, a representative for Trammell Crow, said the company guarantees a minimum of $75,000 in annual income.

The city obtained the property in a swap with the federal government last year. The site was the home of a National Guard armory. The city built a $1.9-million armory at a different site in exchange for the property.