Rock quarries transformed as city eyes new funding sources. (Spotlight on Irwindale).

FOR 100 years, excavating companies in Irwindale have extracted the mountain boulders that drain down from the San Gabriel River. The city estimates that 50 percent of the materials used for roads in Los Angeles County come from its quarries, and the companies pay taxes on each ton of rock they dig up.

But the mining operations are nearing the limits of how deep they can dig.

Which is why the vast quarries that abut the San Gabriel River (605) Freeway are destined for replacement with restaurants, retail shops and commercial properties.

Irwindale Business Center, being built by trammell Crow Co., provides a glimpse of Irwindale's future. The new project sticks out in the dusty air of Arrow Highway, the truck hauling route that is Irwindale's main thoroughfare.

"Four years ago, this was a dig site" said Trammel Crow Senior Associate David Wu.

Recent efforts to develop the rock pits -- which cover one quarter of the city's 9.5 square miles -- have yielded the Business Center development, as well as the Irwindale Speedway racetrack. Up next is Nu-Way landfill, which will be full in the next two to five years. Eventually, all of the remaining pits will be transformed, too.

"The amount of tax revenue from light industrial and retail uses will bring in far greater revenue than the taxes for mining uses," said City Manager Steve Blancarte.

The Business Center's first phase, comprising 1.2 million square feet of office buildings, opened in November 2001. Cable provider Charter Communications, which moved from Alhambra and is the largest tenant, was attracted to the 17-acre site for the space and the cheap price, said Frank Maldonado, the company's group director of operations.

The next phase, comprising 817,000 square feet and due to open this summer, is about half leased. Mountain Gear, a clothing supplier, has leased a 300,000 square foot building.

Mining revenues

Irwindale has had a prosperous history with the quarries, which provide about 20 percent of its tax base, but for years city officials have been trying to plan for the inevitable day when there is no more left to mine.

More than a decade ago, the city attempted to build a stadium for the Los Angeles Raiders, but voters failed to pass a bond measure to finance the project. Raiders owner Al Davis moved the team to Oakland, taking with him a $10 million advance paid by the city. The city sued for repayment, and the case is still in court.

More recently, Irwindale increased its extraction tax to 60 cents per ton from 5 cents, straining relations with the miners.

"All the operators have an issue with the extraction tax," said Dave Hummel, Southwest region president of Hanson Aggregates West Inc., which owns 500 acres of rock quarry just west of the 605 Freeway.

The tax increase took effect in 1999, after a review by the state Department of Conservation's Office of Mine Reclamation found that the unfilled pits did not meet the state agency's standards and that they needed additional funding. Previous fill-ins were found to be inadequate, in terms of process and funding.

Revenues from the increase are being put aside to bring the mines up to standards.

The review also called for new environmental safeguards that would prepare the sites for later commercial use.

Each of the nine remaining quarries is on a different schedule to be filled and developed, with some as far as 50 or 60 years from completion. The city and the companies have entered negotiations over remaining extraction activities and the sites' future development.

Besides office and warehouse space, the city also is seeking development of more stores and restaurants. "We sold off five acres of the section up on Arrow Highway because the city wants to put restaurants and retail stores there," Wu said. The site is between Azusa Canyon Road and Irwindale Avenue.

Despite these difficulties, developers are eager to work with the city.

"Strategically, it's a good location. The city has a master plan' so when they're ready, we'll be ready to go," said Phil Lambardo, a principal of Trammell Crow.