Amelia Hernandez isn’t sure there will be any room left for her in the Inglewood of the future.
Her Selwyn Jewelers store, which was handed down from her father, has operated in the city since 1962. But now her business and dozens of others could be forced to relocate to make way for Inglewood’s nearly $1.6 billion automated transit system connecting the Metro K Line to the Kia Forum, SoFi Stadium and the Clippers’ Intuit Dome.
Selwyn Jewelers is one of 21 businesses located in the Inglewood Center on Florence Avenue that could be demolished to make way for a transit station and 650 parking spaces for the proposed Inglewood Transit Connector the city hopes to have running in time for the 2028 Olympics.
Hernandez said her family-run business was previously forced to move by the city about seven years ago from its old address on Market Street, next to the Fox Theatre, to its current location in the shopping center. Her father, Hector Hernandez, worked his way up through the original Selwyn Jewelers company, becoming the head jeweler and then the owner.
Though the city has offered to reimburse relocation costs for the affected businesses this time around, Hernandez’s past experiences with the city and the skyrocketing price of doing business in Inglewood have left her worried that her business — and those of her neighbors — may not survive the transition.
‘Wait and hope’
“There is not much for me to do other than wait and hope we can afford the move,” she said in an interview. “If not, we’ll be forced to shut down.”
The city has hired a consultant to help the businesses eventually obtain funds to cover their costs, and city officials say they’re doing everything they can to soften the blow from the project.
Hernandez has received a packet explaining the process and been encouraged to apply for relocation assistance, she said. Under the city’s draft plan, displaced businesses can submit receipts to be reimbursed for moving expenses,…
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