OPPORTUNITY

In 1961, NASA began manufacturing components for the Saturn and Apollo spacecraft missions on the North American Aviation campus in Downey, CA. After its closure, IRG purchased and led redevelopment and remediation at the site, converting it into one of the largest movie production facilities in California (2003 – 2012), and producing blockbusters such as Iron Man, Indiana Jones and Spiderman. Over time, with advances in technology, this large studio space was no longer needed. The site not only grew to have issues with marketability, but also had extensive environmental concerns. This included VOC spills from on site manufacturing in the NASA era, which led to leakage into an underlying aquifer, as well as some migration from neighboring sites that once supported the facility. A new plan was developed to address both concerns. Demolition of Downey Studios began in January 2012 in preparation for a new, class A, mixed-use retail, restaurant, entertainment and office space.

OUTCOME

In 2016 construction was completed at The Promenade at Downey, revealing a 450,000 square feet of entertainment and shopping destination featuring a pedestrian-oriented design, outdoor seating, Wi-Fi, fireplaces, and playgrounds, with access to a wide array of shops and restaurants, a state-of-the-art movie theater, and a health club. As developer and adaptive reuse expert, IRG also renovated the 1940’s office buildings on the property designed by Gordon Kaufmann.Throughout their ownership of the property, IRG executed millions of dollars in extensive remediation including 14 years of bio remediation and injections to reduce high VOC levels in the groundwater; removal of more than 1 million square feet of asbestos; and removal of various other toxic substances from the site.