Industry's UDA Wins Bid for Boy Scout Camp

CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA-The City of Industry’s Urban Development Agency has beaten out other bidders for the 2,533-acre Firestone Boy Scout camp, in a recent deal valued at $16.5 million.pThe agency plans to build a reservoir on the site, which is located in Tonner Canyon, just east of the Orange Freeway. Two environmental groups, the Wildlands Conservancy and the Wildlife Corridor Conservation Authority, had also bid on the land, due to its placement in the 30-mile long Puente-Chino Hills Wildlife Corridor.

Although each group offered $18 million in separate bids, the deals eventually fell apart. The losing groups claim that the deal between the City of Industry and the Boy Scouts was influenced by Scouts board member, John H. Semcken III.

He is vice-president of Majestic Realty Co., a firm that helped broker the purchase. The environmentalists also fear that the development agency will build subdivisions on the land, although City of Industry officials have denied any intentions of developing the parcel. The city still has to conduct environmental reviews to see if building a reservoir on the site is feasible.