A draft environmental study published by the City of Commerce unveils updated plans from a local developer to rebuild Veterans Memorial Park as part of a mixed-use housing complex.

In 2019, Comstock Realty Partners filed plans with Commerce to combine the park site - located near the I-5 Freeway and the Rio Hondo - into a new development called Modelo.  The project, as currently envisioned, would demolish the existing park - which is described as being in "an advanced state of disrepair" - to rebuild and relocate it alongside multiple buildings containing up to:

  • 850 residential units;
  • 165,000 square feet of commercial uses;
  • a 77,000-square-foot community center;
  • a 5,000-square-foot museum; and
  • 4.75 acres of new open space.

The rebuilt park would be home to the proposed community center, which would offer sports facilities, offices, a library, event space, and other ancillary functions.  The building, designed by Tighe Architecture, would rise approximately 120 feet in height.  Other components of the park would include a soccer and baseball fields, a playground, a grass-stepped amphitheater, the proposed Latino Museum, and public art.

The new housing, also designed by Tighe, would be built in a series of low-rise structures to the west of the park, split between for-sale townhomes and rental apartments.  Plans call for buildings ranging between two and seven stories in height.

An entertainment center would occupy the northeast corner of the Modelo site, with proposed uses that include:

  • a 55,000-square-foot movie theater;
  • 16,000 square feet of restaurant space;
  • a 15,000-square-foot fitness center;
  • a 20,000-square-foot arcade and bowling alley;
  • a 25,000-square-foot grocery store and food hall;
  • 28,000 square feet of general retail; and
  • a 6,000-square-foot pharmacy.

The most visible element of the project, located adjacent to the commercial building, would be a 15-story, 250-foot-tall tower which would contain additional housing and commercial uses.  Renderings depict a high-rise structure with a jagged, angular profile culminating in a sculpted peak.

Nearly 1,800 parking spaces are proposed to serve the housing and commercial uses, with various buildings incorporating above-grade, below-grade, and at-grade garage space.

Construction of Modelo is expected to occur over approximately 43 months, although a precise project timeline is not stated in the environmental study.

Despite its scale, Comstock's proposed project is not the largest real estate development on the horizon in Commerce.  Over two miles northwest, the owners of the Citadel Outlets are planning a 1-million square foot expansion which would add hotels, new retail, and a monorail to the property.