The city’s building and safety department conducted an inspection of the site on Thursday and has granted a permit for work to resume. The site is being prepared for construction to begin again.
Why has it been stalled for so long?
This story goes all the way back to 2012. That’s when the La Mirada Neighborhood Association, represented by attorney Robert Silverstein, sued to stop the proposed, three-story shopping center in an area where building heights were supposed to be capped at 35 feet.
In 2016, the City Council attempted to fix the issue through spot zoning -- or rezoning the site of the building.
La Mirada sued again, but last summer the court of appeals reversed that decision, and a few months later a Supreme Court judge reconfirmed that the city’s height changes could take effect.
LA Department of Building and Safety issued a permit on March 5, 2019, meaning work can begin immediately. To obtain when construction can begin at this site, you will need to talk to the contractor.
This Target store has become something of an Internet phenomenon.
There’s a journalist in town who stays anonymous but she has created a persona called Target Husk.
She created Facebook and Twitter accounts under the name “Target Husk” and posts feelings and reactions to the news, especially LA land use stories. We aired an interview with “Target Husk” - speaking of course through its human vessel - last week.
Here’s what Target Husk has to say:
“The isolation is worse at specific times of the year, particularly leading up to the holidays. Black Friday is a particularly painful day. As you know that is a big day for department stores. So it does get quite isolating. Though I try to look forward to the future. I try to not give up hope,” she said.
Target Husk is very funny and creative but through her postings managed to create an affection for this hulk of an unfinished big box store.
Now of course we wonder what will happen to Target Husk. We asked it if it would continue to communicate and it said, via its human vessel: “I'm excited about the new, of course, but a little scared! I intend to remain just as present throughout construction, sharing my stories and interacting with my friends. It's hard to say when my sentience will come to an end, or if it will at all, but I plan to live the rest of my existence to its fullest!"
What does the Target corporation say about this?
In a statement we received, a spokesperson said: “Target continues to work toward resuming construction and we look forward to opening a store that will serve the surrounding Hollywood neighborhood. We’ll have more details to share on grand opening timing once the construction work begins.”
As for the Target Husk account, the Target corporation says, “we’ll always have a special place in our heart for @TargetHusk – though we look forward to one day updating our official store count from “1,850 + 1 husk” to 1,851.”