In 2017, an entity affiliated with Fred Leeds Properties entered into an exclusive negotiating agreement with CRA/LA to redevelop a portion of the Marlton Square shopping mall with a modern retail center.  Two years later, there has been a twist in that plan, according an agenda item slated for discussion at the November 7 meeting of the CRA/LA Governing Board.

According to the staff report, though Fred Leeds' initial agreement with CRA/LA expired in March 2019, the two entities have continued to negotiate terms for the approximately 10-acre site.  In the intervening time, Fred Leeds - operating through the project-specific entity MLK Marlton, LLC - has entered into negotiations with Capri Investment Group, owners of the adjacent Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza Mall, for the development of a bioscience facility on the site.

The proposed development, as currently envisioned, would consist of:

  • 165,000 square feet of incubator space;
  • 196,000 square feet of office space;
  • 360,000 square feet of wet/dry labs;
  • a 15,000-square-foot retail plaza; and
  • parking for approximately 800 vehicles.

The project would span properties located at 3700-3772 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and 4023-4025 Marlton Avenue, owned by Fred Leeds and CRA/LA.

The Governing Board is scheduled to consider the approval an exclusive negotiating period with Capri and Fred Leeds which would run through September 2021.

The project dovetails with other projects in development surrounding the Marlton Square site, including a $90-million outpatient facility recently completed on an adjacent by Kaiser Permanente.

Just east of Marlton Square, Capri Capital Partners received entitlements to add housing, office space, and a hotel to the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza.