A notice published by the City of Norwalk offers details on a proposal from Primestor Development which could turn the 10-acre lawn which fronts the Norwalk Civic Center into a mixed-use development featuring housing and commercial uses.

Under the proposed arrangement, the lawn, which fronts the intersection of Norwalk Boulevard and Imperial Highway, would be folded into a new Entertainment District-Civic Center Specific Plan, which would also incorporate adjacent government buildings and parking lots. Primestor's plans for the Civic Center site calls for the construction of multiple buildings featuring up to 400 residential units and 150,000 square feet of commercial uses, included shops, restaurants, wellness facilities, and offices.

A now outdated site plan for proposed developmentCity of Norwalk

A site plan for the project published by the Whittier Daily News shows a series of multi-story structures, connected by new landscaped spaces and pedestrian walkways.

Downtown-based JERDE has been tapped to design the project.

Primestor has been engaged in negotiations with the City of Norwalk since 2019, when it began a study of a potential development for the Civic Center lawn. A plan was formally submitted in June 2021.

“The project will increase the number of businesses and associated jobs in the community and expand the Entertainment District,” said Mayor Rick Ramirez in a statement. “The City Council has the opportunity to bring a development that will raise the City’s economic vibrancy, something that the residents need and deserve."

The site sits just over a half-mile west of the Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs commuter rail station.