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Carson Might Literally Build A 'High End' Outlet Mall On Top Of A Garbage Dump
What would future archeologists think about a mall built on top of a garbage dump? (Photo by Rich Greene via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
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Good news for those of you who are just so over driving all the way to Camarillo or Commerce for your premium outlet malls. The giant piece of vacant land in Carson that almost became an NFL stadium (not really) might instead become a large mall, filled with 150 "high end" factory outlet stores. As the Daily Breeze reports, the Carson City Council voted 5-0 in favor of spearheading work with the Macerich Real Estate company, in order to develop an outlet mall literally built on top of a garbage dump.
The 157-acre and 405 freeway adjacent property was at one point known as the Cal-Compact Landfill. The landfill closed during the 1960s, and has since been a bit of a headache for the city of Carson. The fact that the property is practically unusable because of "extensive underground hazardous wastes" was high on the list of reasons why the NFL passed on it as a stadium site. Each month, Carson spends roughly $450,000 to keep the toxins from leaking out, according to Curbed.
The Macerich company, however, believes that the property is ripe for 500,000 square-feet of commercial retail space. The cash strapped city of Carson has little objection, especially given the city expects roughly $4 million in annual sales-tax revenue once (if) the mall opens.
Of course, the mall would only take up roughly 1/5 of the total amount of land available to (supposedly) the land of the old garbage dump. As the Breeze continues, Carson officials hope the mall would prompt other development in the area. Exactly what else would be built, we (and probably they) have no idea.
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Some Garbage Dump Lofts or Rubbish Heap Condominiums would fit right in.
There is no timeline for the mall. And, honestly, if Carson is paying $6 million annually to keep the toxic mess under the property under control it's hard to imagine anything particularly expedient. It's not hard to envision the project stalling a decades-long environmental review process.
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