Redevelopment Project Would Double Size of Retail Center

South Gate hopes to break ground soon on a redevelopment project that would more than double the size of the city’s largest retail center.

Among the proposed tenants for the 21-acre development northeast of Garfield Avenue and Firestone Boulevard is a 24-screen theater complex. Designs call for an outdoor food court next to the theater, with an architectural theme drawing heavily from ancient Mayan and Aztec structures.

Redevelopment project director Eugene Moy said the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency will purchase most of the property for about $4 per square foot, as soon as the landowner completes an environmental cleanup of the former petroleum storage site.

The land will then be sold to the developer for about $2 per square foot, he said. The project’s $25-million price tag includes new landscaping and lighting improvements along adjacent streets.