The City of Compton has launched a new specific plan for the area surrounding the Blue Line's Artesia Station, intended to guide land use around the busy transit hub.

Called Compton Hub City, the plan emphasizes the area's connection to the Blue Line, as well as its proximity to both the Artesia and Long Beach Freeways.

The effort, which is being guided by SOM, is intended to create:

a unified vision for development around Artesia Station;

develop a strategy to achieve a walkable mixed-use cultural district; and

leverage Compton's heritage to create a unique sense of place.

The specific plan area is bounded by Greenleaf Boulevard to the north, Tartar Lane to the East, Wilmington Avenue to the west, and Apra Street to the south. Key points of interest within the space include Artesia Station, Compton Creek, the Gateway Towne Center shopping mall - and Crystal Park hotel and casino.

Currently, Artesia Space is bordered by a large swath of industrial land to the south and west, with a residential community and the Gateway Towne Center to the north and east. Compton Hub City identifies several underutilized plots of land within this area as potential opportunity sites for mixed-use developments.

Community meetings for the project thus far have yielded calls for improvements to the public realm, including new recreation opportunities, dense mixed-use developments, and improved access to and from Artesia Station. This includes potential expansions of an existing network of trails and new protected bike lanes.

A market analysis conducted for the Compton Hub City area found that there currently exists a strong, stable market for industrial land, and that community retail is dominated by the regional Gateway Town Centre, rather than locally-oriented retail. There is demand for new housing - projections point to a need for up to 826 new units through 2040 - but also demand for more than 1 million square feet of industrial space, with less robust need for retail and office space.

The specific plan recommends that these land use needs could be parlayed into new transit-oriented developments by the introduction of physical and aesthetic improvements in the community, as well as better connections to the Blue Line and shared parking transit patrons.

Family

Compton Hub City considers multiple development scenarios for the Artesia Station area. The first, called "Family," envisions a new public park, office development west of the Blue Line, mixed-use projects on both sides of the tracks with townhomes, a new transit plaza, and limited changes to the Towne Center.

Memory

A second alternative, called "Memory," envisions limiting new development to the east of the Blue Line. The area would see moderate-intensity mixed-use buildings with a public promenade, an enhanced park-and-ride facility for Artesia Station, and limited impacts to the Towne Center.

Energy

The third alternative, called "Energy," calls for higher-intensity mixed-use buildings, as well as a reimagined Crystal Casino site, with the casino separated from the hotel. Under this scenario, the station area would also see a new public square and changes to the existing transit center, but there would be no impacts to the Towne Center.

Ongoing questions posed by a recent presentation to the Compton City Council include:

Should existing industrial uses adjacent to the Transit Center be preserved?

Should the proposed open space function as a traditional park or as an urban plaza?

Should new development stretch to Alameda Boulevard?

Should the Gateway Town Center be preserved or incorporated into a new retail district?

SOM and the City of Compton intend to continue with planning the Compton Hub City through the coming months, with a draft specific plan expected to be released in Winter 2019. Approval is anticipated to occur in Summer 2019.