Schools to Sell Lot by Airport

The El Segundo Unified School District will sell a 20,000-square-foot undeveloped lot across from Los Angeles International Airport to provide money for overdue maintenance work on school buildings, according to Supt. Richard Bertain.

The school board, which has placed a $1-million minimum price on the land, is required to make it available to other public agencies before advertising for bids. That process will take until the end of April, Bertain said.

The property, at 616 W. Imperial Ave., is zoned for multiple residential use. It was acquired by the school district in a trade with the city of El Segundo for school property at Mariposa Avenue and Main Street.

Bertain said the district has between $1- and $2-million worth of critical maintenance work to do, including repair of roofs, heating and air-conditioning equipment and paving of playgrounds and parking lots.

In addition to calling for sale of the Imperial lot, the board has declared its intent to sell or lease the former Imperial Street Elementary School site at 540 E. Imperial Ave. Bertain said the tenant, Hughes Aircraft Radar Systems Group, is leaving in July. He said the property had a $2.5-million value when it was last appraised 10 years ago.

Bertain said district finances have been “on the margin for eight to 10 years” and the board “is looking to turn some of these (property) assets into some money.”