Big Kmart construction begins despite neighbors'
objections
By Don Weberg
Daily Forty-Niner
Despite complaints from local residents,
construction is underway for a Big Kmart on the corner of Spring Street
and Bellflower Boulevard located within 5 miles of Cal State Long Beach.
Many people in the neighborhood said they
were content with the drive-in theater that had been vacant for nearly
two years before property development began, making way for Big Kmart,
Worthington Ford and Beach City Chevrolet.
The 116,000-square-foot building was built
by HBI Construction and will be open to the public Nov. 6. HBI project
manager, Michael Swanberg, also a CSULB alumnus, said he understands the
neighbors' complaints.
"Nobody wants to have anything built right
in their back yard," Swanberg said. "But I think once Kmart opens up, the
residents will appreciate the convenience of it."
"We want to be accepted, very much, by
the neighbors right around here," said Charlie Matson, Big Kmart manager.
"The company has done a lot with the developer to make sure that the building
is right."
One step they took included completely
enclosing the receiving area to help reduce the noise made by delivery
trucks.
"It was done in response to noise concerns
and we wanted it, and I love it as a manager because it's a beautiful receiving
department and it's easy to keep secure and managed properly," Matson said.
"We want to be a positive part of the neighborhood."
Some residents are still upset with the
entire project, though, due to certain promises they say were never kept.
One such promise was dust control.
"They said they were going to use a [water]
truck to keep the dirt down and they never did," said Adella Rohr, a neighbor.
Rohr said that not including the cement
mixers operating at 2 a.m., the noisiest part of the project was the use
of helicopters to lift air-conditioning units to the roof of the building.
"They just sent dirt everywhere," Rohr
said.
Mercer Construction, who controlled the
water, was not available for comment. |
![[news]](http://www.csulb.edu/~d49er/Icon/news.gif){kind=icon}
![[opinion]](http://www.csulb.edu/~d49er/Icon/opinion.gif){kind=icon}
![[sports]](http://www.csulb.edu/~d49er/Icon/sports.gif){kind=icon}