By Terry Miller
The Gold Line Construction Authority, City of Monrovia, and the Successor Agency to the Monrovia Redevelopment Agency signed an agreement Thursday that will result in the Authority acquiring the remaining land needed for the project’s maintenance and operations facility. The agreement includes settlement of all lawsuits and claims related to the land acquisition and follows the City Council and Successor Agency’s approval of the terms earlier this week, and the Construction Authority Board’s approval last night.
The agreement is actually a “Stipulation for Entry of Judgment in Condemnation” and will now be sent to the Superior Court judge overseeing the eminent domain case for final approval and judgment. Once approved, the Authority will have the ownership rights it needs for 100% of the land required for the maintenance facility – an important milestone for the project, per our funding agreement with Metro and our contractual agreement with the Kiewit Parsons Joint Venture (the Alignment design-build contractor).
The terms agreed to today include four separate elements. The Authority agreed to pay $40.6 million to obtain the land held by the City and the Successor Agency and to settle the eminent domain case and all current and future claims and objections by the City related to this land acquisition. The Successor Agency and City agreed to reimburse the Authority up to $200,000 for legal expenses related to the Excalibur Property Holdings, LLC case and $650,000 environmental remediation costs associated with mitigating contamination on the land. The City and the Authority agreed to arrangements related to the planned parking facility for the future Monrovia Gold Line station. The Authority agreed to pay the actual amount (up to $15.75 million) needed to make public improvements around the 24-acre maintenance facility, as required under the City’s Transit Village Planned Development Area.