Veterans Memorial Park, a nearly 10-acre green space adjacent to the Rio Hondo in Commerce, could be reconfigured to accommodate a mixed-use development featuring housing and retail space.

The proposed Modelo development, submitted to the City of Commerce by Comstock Realty Partners, would combine the park site with an adjacent property owned by the developer.  By moving and reconstruction the park, the developer would make space for the construction of 825 housing units and 165,000 square feet of entertainment retail.

The residential component of the project would be divided into townhomes - ranging between two and three stories in height - and larger apartment buildings standing as tall as 65 feet.

The proposed retail - which would rise toward the eastern property line adjacent to the I-5 Freeway - would include a movie theater, an arcade, a grocery store, a pharmacy, and various shops and restaurants.

Parking for 1,275 vehicles would be provided across the site, inclusive of 525 spaces reserved for commercial uses.  The property would also be served by a new bus stop at Veterans Park and a direct connection to the Rio Hondo bike path.

In addition to the existing baseball field and basketball courts of the existing Veterans Memorial Park, the project would add a 30,000-square-foot community center (including a library, a computer lab, a day-care center, and a senior center), a 15,000-square-foot gymnasium, a 4.75-acre sports field complex, a grass-stepped amphitheater, and a 5,000-square-foot Latino Museum.

Construction of the Modelo development is anticipated to occur in two phases, starting in May 2020 and terminating in April 2023.  Remediation of the park and the adjacent property - both of which were once a landfill - would occur prior to the start of construction.

Despite its scale, the Modelo project is not the largest development on the horizon for Commerce.  The owners of the massive Citadel Outlet Mall have planned a 1-million-square-foot expansion of the complex which would add new retail, multiple hotels, and possibly a monorail.