Turnaround Fixing Polluted Properties
MAIN Booming infill development is pushing private industry and government agencies to overcome toxic challenges and resurrect previously polluted sites. 1
BELMONT The Los Angeles school district’s notorious push to clean up a badly polluted site is a lesson in what not to do. 35
POTENTIAL A look at five polluted sites that hold tremendous promise for being cleaned up and redeveloped into major new projects. 36
MAP A look at where the county’s most polluted sites are
located 37
SUCCESSES A look at five key sites that were severely polluted but have since been cleaned up and put back into productive use. 38
TECHNOLOGIES The processes used to clean up toxic sites have become tremendously sophisticated, and new ones are in the works. 40
CASE STUDY The comeback story of the once-polluted Franciscan Ceramics site. 41
TOLL What public health threats are posed by contaminated sites scattered around L.A.? 43
GOVERNMENT By only taking over when polluting property owners can’t be found, public-sector agencies are not playing as prominent a role in toxic cleanups as they could. 44
PRIVATE SECTOR After pioneering a new industry in the wake of a flood of new laws, environmental consulting firms are finding business has gone somewhat flat. 48
COMMENTARY Despite legislative and regulatory successes in recent years, the process of redeveloping contaminated sites remains a difficult and tenuous proposition. 49
Second Quarter Real Estate
OVERVIEW No one’s predicting a downturn anytime soon, but the L.A. County real estate market’s furious run-up is definitely slowing down. 31
CHART Summary of quarterly activity in all local submarkets. 32
DOWNTOWN Earlier this year, boosters were crowing about the telco insurgence. Now that momentum has started to lag. 51
WESTSIDE Strong demand continued to push rents up and vacancies down during the second quarter 52
HOLLYWOOD The office vacancy rate keeps falling as the area’s comeback shifts into high gear. 53
WILSHIRE Buildings along the Miracle Mile filled up as more Westside media companies moved east. 54
SOUTH BAY Office and industrial space is getting steadily scarcer as the Westside fills up and companies turn south in search of more-affordable digs. 55
SAN GABRIEL VALLEY The industrial sector gets red hot, with the strong economy and a variety of new tenants pushing the vacancy rate even lower. 56
MID-CITIES Even as more new developments pour into the market, buying and leasing activity is starting to slow. 57
TRI-CITIES Long-struggling Glendale experienced a dramatic drop in its vacancy rate while once-hot Burbank and Pasadena suffered setbacks. 59
INLAND EMPIRE The hub of warehousing/distribution facilities is mushrooming, spurred on by affordable rents and other key factors. 60
SAN FERNANDO VALLEY Office leasing activity slowed considerably as cash-strapped Internet companies pulled back or out of the market. 61
NORTH COUNTY The vacancy rate for Santa Clarita office space soared to a level some industry insiders are calling the worst the area has seen. 62
VENTURA COUNTY With help from the strong economy, the office market posted a strong showing. 63
