Businesses to be demolished for Inglewood Transit Connector project

The deadline is approaching for more than a dozen businesses in an Inglewood shopping center set to be demolished for a major transit project. 

For Amelia Hernandez, owner of Selwyn Jewelers, the news that she would have to leave was overwhelming. 

"We're a small mom-and-pop shop," she said. "We've been in the city for 64 years. We're family-owned and operated."

Hernandez said she was given less than 90 days to leave the shopping center. 

"Who would have told you that your 60-year-old business has to move in less than 90 days?" she said. "It's like telling your grandma, 'Hey, vacate your family home and figure it out with the little money that you got."

The city plans to tear down the shopping center at Florence Avenue and Market Street to make way for the Inglewood Transit Connector, which is expected to connect the Metro K Line to the stadiums.

The city is carrying out the plan through eminent domain, meaning the government is using its power to take the property for public use. Mayor James Butts said in August that the city budgeted $125 million for the property and to help the more than 20 small businesses relocate. 

"The number that I got was $53,000 in lieu of any aid for moving," Hernandez said. "It takes you right out the door in this economy because the moving cost alone is about that much."

Owners said they were told to relocate by October, but several said they haven't received an exact move-out date or a compensation offer. 

"I'm not too sure when our last day is but I know it's coming," said Sylvia Hollins, chef at Red's Flavor Table. 

Hollins added that the family business has been around for 48 years but has been in the shopping center for the last 10. 

"We need a little bit more than a heads up," she said. 

A few businesses have already found new locations. Hernandez said starting over isn't that simple. 

"My neighbors, I love them," she said. 

She told the city to "do better."