City officials, in discussions leading up to the acquisition of the property, have noted that Torrance had a transit center for years until the center at Del Amo Fashion Center closed a few years ago. The new location has the added advantage of being close to rail lines if the MTA rail system is extended to Torrance in the future, officials have said.

Taugner, David Prior and Frank Schulz of Klabin represented the city, which bought the land from PPG Industries, a Pittsburgh-based supplier of paints and coatings that formerly operated a plant on the site. PPG was represented by Dave Stromath of CB Richard Ellis.

Mary Giordano, assistant city manager of Torrance, said that city officials hope that the five acres designated for the transit center will ultimately be the destination for a future MTA South Bay Green Line extension to Torrance. “This was a critical property for us because we’ve been looking for a site to be considered for a new regional transit center for nearly five years," Giordano said. During the due diligence phase of site acquisition, the extension of the Green Line to Torrance was approved by the MTA to advance in environmental review, Giordano noted.

The two chief advantages of the property are its Crenshaw Boulevard location and a rail line that runs its entire route, Giordano said. She notes that Torrance hopes to create a regional transit, for which the city will seek federal funding for development. Ultimately the center will include passenger amenities, a bus parking area and up to 500 park-and-ride parking spaces. The city's goal is to be under way on the project in early 2011.