Real estate industry takes only a wait-and-see stance on Green Line.

The Metro Green Line, scheduled to open this June, has the real estate community taking a cautiously optimistic but largely wait-and-see attitude about how the line will affect rail-vicinity properties when service begins. The light rail line follows the Anderson (105) Freeway for much of its route, extending westward from Norwalk, through El Segundo and to its terminus in Redondo Beach [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED].

Several industry sources agreed that the new rail service should certainly be a factor in determining how the adjacent real estate markets are developed, though no one was sure just how big a factor. Bullish sources said they are hopeful the Green Line would prompt development similar to that triggered by the Metrorail subway system of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Developers built 45 million square feet of new office space - 40 percent of the district's total - within walking distance of Metrorail stations between 1980 and 1990.

But many more-skeptical industry sources pointed out that much of the Green Line "hype" thus far may be little more than that.

"Rail transit is one of these things that's been hyped by so many people for so long now that it's hard to say what will happen," said Don Camph, executive director of the El Segundo Employers Association, a non-profit transportation advocacy coalition of employers and commercial property owners in El Segundo.

He said that, while logic would suggest that the Green Line would have a positive. impact on real estate close to future stations, the new light rail line would probably not affect El Segundo properties in the immediate future.

He said that it would be up to cities along the Green Line's route to promote the development of real estate around subway stops within their city limits. "They (the cities) need to do some reinforcement work of their own," he said.

State takes lead role

While cities through which the Green Line will travel, such as El Segundo and Norwalk, have yet to come up with specific incentives to promote development near subway stops, the State of California has taken a stronger lead on the issue.

Last year, the state government passed the Transit Village Development Act which, among other things, allows local governments to award zoning-density bonuses to companies that develop residential projects on sites within a quarter mile of mass transit rail stations.

Nevertheless, many real estate sources, such as Steve Solomon, senior marketing executive at the West L.A. office of commercial brokerage The Seeley Co., said it would be at least two to three years before the Green Line makes a serious impact on properties adjacent to its stations.

"The Green Line has to be marketed just like anything else," said Solomon, adding that Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority should promote the Green Line through an aggressive campaign of its own.

Solomon said that, while response from local businesses to the coming of the Green Line has not been unusually strong, larger statewide and nationwide companies have been noticeably more enthusiastic. He said a few big-name tenants, such as the California League of Savings Institutions and a "major telephone company that does not want to be named" have both expressed specific interest in leasing office space close to Green Line stations.

Continental at the vanguard

Of all the real estate companies with a presence close to the Green Line route, probably the most aggressive at promoting the new light rail line is El Segundo-based Continental Development Corp., which owns and leases commercial real estate in El Segundo.

"Continental has done a good job of marketing the Green Line's advantages," said Solomon, noting that Continental owns a number of properties near Green Line stations.

Two of Continental's largest holdings near Green Line stops are Continental Park, which is near the future Douglas/Rosecrans station on Douglas Street near its intersection with East Park Place, and Continental City, which is on the comer of Aviation Boulevard and Imperial Highway near the future Aviation/105 (Anderson Freeway) stop.

Continental Park contains a several-block-long office park and the recently opened Summerfield Suites Hotel, one of the few new hotels constructed in L.A. County in recent years, according to Robert Tarnofsky, Continental's director of real estate. He said the Green Line's positive impact on property values in El Segundo dates back several years to the beginning of construction on the line.

Meanwhile, a specific development plan has yet to be created for the Continental City site, though Tarnofsky said some companies have expressed interest in the location. "The Green Line should add to the site's attractiveness because of the mass transportation opportunities it will provide," he said.