LA PUENTE


Redevelopment Efforts:

The La Puente Redevelopment agency has initiated three projects. The Puente Plaza project calls for a 70,670-square-foot three-story mixed-use development featuring 8,800 square feet of commercial real estate space and 48 condominiums. The Village at La Puente will have 110,000 square feet of commercial and retail space along with 150 condominium units. The third project calls for a one-acre expansion of Ed Butts Ford, the city’s only new car dealership, for the development of a new truck sales division.

SAN GABRIEL



New Center:

Longs Drugs opens this week in the newly constructed Longs Shopping Center northeast of Las Tunas Drive and San Gabriel Boulevard in San Gabriel. The 15,000-square-foot store will be accompanied by approximately 10,000 square feet of retail shops and restaurants including Wells Fargo Bank and Quizno’s Subs.

SAN MARINO



Bank Arrives:

A 6,000-square-foot site at 900 Huntington Drive previously occupied by Blockbuster Video has been subdivided into two units. The first unit will be occupied by IndyMac Bank, which is scheduled to move there in August. The second unit is vacant.

GLENDALE



Dealership Remodeled:

Acura of Glendale recently opened its newly remodeled showroom at 505 S. Brand Blvd. The dealership recently moved from Pasadena.

NORTH HOLLYWOOD



Residence Opened:

The NoHo Lofts, a multi-family complex comprised of 68 single and two-story units, opened July 20 at 5354 Denny Ave. Studio City-based real estate company DT Group developed the site, previously occupied by Adolph’s Meat Tenderizer Co.

CALABASAS



Escrow Settlement:

Online banking provider Digital Insight Corp. has settled the escrow arbitration claims and related legal proceedings involving the former stockholders of Magnet Communications following Digital Insight’s purchase of Magnet in 2003. Under terms of the agreement, the company recovered 119,834 of its common shares that have been held in escrow since the Magnet acquisition closed in November 2003. The balance of the escrow will be distributed to the former Magnet stockholders.

CHATSWORTH



CEO Resigns:

Capstone Turbine said that chief executive John Tucker has submitted his resignation, citing personal reasons. Mark Gilbreth, the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the micro-turbine energy systems maker, will serve as president and CEO until a replacement is found, the company said. Tucker also agreed to serve in a consulting capacity until July 31of next year to assist with the transition.

HOLLYWOOD



Consultant Hired:

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has retained Gallagher & Associates to assist with the planning and development of its proposed museum of the moving picture. Land acquisition for the museum is under way in Hollywood, next to the Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study. Academy officials hope to begin construction in early 2009.

VERNON



Record Earnings:

Overhill Farms reported third quarter net income of $ 1.7 million, compared with $1.1 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenue for the custom-frozen-food maker was up 4 percent to $43.9 million. Profits from the company’s airline food division fueled the solid quarter along with increased retail sector sales, fed mainly by demand from Jenny Craig.

PICO RIVERA



Grocery Expansion:

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is adding a grocery section to its location at 8500 Washington Blvd. in the Pico Rivera Town Center. The expansion will add about 55,000 square feet, raising the store’s total area to approximately 199,000 square feet. The project is scheduled to be completed in October or November.

WHITTIER



Site Acquired:

NewMark Merrill Cos. has bought a single tenant shopping center that is leased to Big Lots. The site is northwest of Whittier Boulevard and Painter Avenue and consists of a 35,000-square-foot Big Lots on 167,000 square feet of land.

SAN DIMAS



Project planned:

The City Council has approved plans for San Dimas Grove Station, a 5.3-acre mixed-use project east of San Dimas Avenue in downtown San Dimas. The project, proposed by William Fox Homes, consists of 110 units of residential condominiums, 4,500 square feet of live/work commercial/office space, and a 9,600-square-foot commercial/office building.

THOUSAND OAKS



Store Moves:

Edible Arrangements has signed a five-year lease for 2,170-square-feet in Janss Marketplace, a 455,000-square-foot shopping center on the northwest corner of Moorpark Road and Hillcrest Drive.

SANTA CLARITA



Development Ideas:

The City of Santa Clarita has scheduled a workshop on Aug. 2 to allow residents and business owners to offer ideas on the development of the North Newhall Specific Plan, a 213-acre project north of downtown Newhall along San Fernando Road. The plan is estimated to cost $850,000.

GARDENA



Target Expands:

Target Corp. is adding 20,000 square feet to its 116,000-square-foot store at 2169 W. Redondo Beach Blvd. in Gardena. The expansion, the largest in the company’s history, will add Food Avenue and a Starbucks to the store. Construction is scheduled to be completed in November.

Profit Increases:

Rotonics Manufacturing Inc. reported annual net income of $2 million, compared with $1.8 million for the same period last year. Sales for the plastic products manufacturer rose 6 percent to $48 million. The company pointed to its refuse container, tank and material handling markets as offsets for raising raw material costs and rising natural gas prices.

TORRANCE



Mall Remodeling:

The Mills Corp., which has recently taken over the Del Amo Fashion Center, has begun a $300 million renovation of the center. The initial stage will be the addition of the open-air lifestyle wing in September. Stores in the new wing will include a 38,000-square-foot Crate & Barrel, Urban Outfitters, and Left Bank.

LONG BEACH



C-17 Funding:

The C-17 cargo jet program in Long Beach got a boost when the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $542 million in funding for three additional planes as part of a 2007 supplemental budget package. Earlier this month, Boeing Co., told the government it needed solid orders for future cargo jets by August or it would shut down the Long Beach plant, which employs 12,000 workers. The bill still needs to go to the full Senate, and then on to a conference committee with the House before final votes by both chambers.

Truck Traffic:

After a year of double-digit success, operators of an “off-peak” truck program at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are now focusing on increased security and easing the red tape on processing exports at the marine complex. Officials with PierPass Inc.’s off-peak truck reduction program celebrated its first year of operation last week, saying it has been able to divert about 2.5 million truck trips from daytime traffic.