Medical Office Conversion Plan Rejected by Torrance

Fearing a potential expansion of medical offices across the street from Torrance Memorial Hospital Medical Center, the Torrance City Council denied a request to convert an 18,000-square-foot industrial building to medical offices.

“It could set a precedent for the area,” said Mayor Katy Geissert, contending that the city needs to control traffic problems along that stretch of Lomita Boulevard.

The 5-2 council vote came after a study was released showing the potential impact on traffic if all 4 million square feet of industrial buildings in the area are converted to medical offices.

The study found that if the more than 100 buildings are converted, “all major arterial intersections will be in operation beyond their design capacities.” It said the number of cars going into and out of the area each day will increase from 24,553 to 208,209.

The study examined what the city calls the Lomita Corridor, a 251-acre area bounded by Madison Street, Skypark Drive, 235th Street and the Union Oil tank farm. It also took in a 45-acre parcel owned by Union Oil on the southwest corner of Crenshaw and Lomita boulevards.

The conversion was sought by Ansen Enterprises, owners of the single-story structure at 3011 Lomita Blvd. Ansen President E. E. Lohn, whose plan has been delayed by the council for eight months pending the study, called the report “an insult to (the council’s) intelligence” and said the city “studied too much. If they had studied 5% of what they looked at, it still would have been overkill.”

In an interview, Geissert said the decision is not a response to a conversion trend in the entire city. She said the Lomita Corridor is unique because so many industrial buildings there can be turned into medical offices.

Councilman Bill Applegate, who, along with Councilman Tim Mock, voted to approve Ansen’s request, said he supported the project but disagreed with Lohn’s criticism of the study.