From Peninsula Newsletter of PLA
Remember this? (At 2959 Midway Drive)
For many years it did a pretty good job of quick-washing vehicles.
An added thrill (for kids of many ages) was staying in the car as it moved through brushes, chamois and soapy waterfalls.
One day it closed. We don’t remember the exact date. But $6.95 is a tip off that it was a different era. It was an eyesore for a year or two.
Then some guys came in and put it out of our misery.
Since 2017, the space has been fenced and vacant.
Sometimes less vacant than others.
A different type of eyesore
Six years ago we learned Chevron had purchased the property, planned to enlarge the convenience store and reconfigure the pumps and traffic flow and build a new car wash.
Sounded encouraging. Oh. And they wanted to sell liquor in their store. The City nipped that idea in the Bud.
But the project still seemed to be moving forward.
We were in contact with Chevron for a time. They gently suggested that navigating the City’s Development Services Department was a bit difficult.
But, we have heard nothing since September, 2020. Here is a link to Project 629771 – Chevron No. 92239.
We would like this item explained:
Did something happen this month?
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Yeah, I remember that place. Used to get our cars washed all the time there.
They applied for a Neighborhood Use Permit and it was issued in August 2019 to construct:
“Demolish exsiting servcies [sic] gas station and construct a new 2,945-square-foot convenience store, a 936-square-foot fully automated car wash facility, and a service station with a 2,520-square-foot fueling canopy with new fueling dispensers.”
We reported on this here in The Rag when this came before the Midway planning group. No idea why it hasn’t progressed since then.
The owner probably knew they could not demolish and take down the old car wash without a CEQA approved permitted plan for what is next.
They got the permit, demolished the car wash, then never follow through on the rest of their permitted plan
Hard to say why it stalled, but a good guess might be the underground tanks. I don’t know if those tanks were ever redone, but, if not, that could be the issue.
Decent, walkable site for housing with lots of amenities around. Could imagine something like this rising there: https://la.urbanize.city/post/mixed-use-development-fully-framed-sepulveda-manchester