NOHO'S LIFELINE

NoHo's Lifeline
Taxpayer money will help build massive project near Red Line station

By Daryl Paranada

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, local public officials, and community leaders were on hand Monday to break ground on the latest phase of a revitalization project in North Hollywood. The final phase of the NoHo Commons project costs $79.4 million and will bring a Laemmle Theater, retail, and restaurant space to nearly three acres one block from the North Hollywood Metro station.

“This project will represent another step forward in the push to invest in smart, transit-oriented growth with affordable housing and retail,” said Villaraigosa. “NoHo Commons is a bright star in the constellation of revitalization that has arrived here in North Hollywood thanks to the ascendancy of the NoHo arts district.”

A joint deal between the J.H. Synder Company and the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, the project is the final component of a three-phase, $375 million revitalization effort that began in 2001. The first phase brought 438 mixed-income housing units to the area. The second phase, completed last year, contains nearly 300 rental units and 60,000-square feet of retail space, housing a supermarket, bank, and several restaurants. The latest phase will include a Class A office complex and parking garage.

“NoHo Commons is the place where L.A.’s past and future intersects in a grand fashion. This project has affordable housing, fine dining, shopping and entertainment, office space and it’s easily accessed by public transportation,” said Cecilia V. Estolano, CEO of the redevelopment agency. “It’s going to build on the cultural identity of the NoHo arts district and make this an even more significant entertainment center for the Valley.”

According to Estolano, $8.5 million of public funds is going towards the project, which she believes will help the area become one of the hottest office markets in the region within a decade.

“We’re getting an outstanding example of what happens when a developer works with the community, works with the CRA and creates a balance of opportunities and benefits,” said Estolano, noting that the project will also include a streetscape and arts component.

One of the cornerstones of the project will be a seven-screen Laemmle Theater, an art house chain that has remained an L.A. county institution since 1938.

“Development tends to be a negative word in this town, but people are very happy to see us come because they know that the name means something, what it stands for, and it’s a great amenity for the community to be able to see the types of films that we play here in this location without having to go over the hill or go a long distance,” said Greg Laemmle, the president of the theater chain. “In many ways this area represents the one authentic urban environment in the Valley and I think enhancing that and concentrating it with the density of housing and with the cultural, 24-hour amenities is just a great opportunity.”

City Councilman Tom LaBonge, who represents the area, recalled the days when Lankershim Boulevard was one of the commercial hubs of the city. “This was the main drag in the Valley,” said LaBonge. “As years passed it became a challenge. It became a challenge for many years where it wasn’t a place where people wanted to be. But artists came and entrepreneurs came and they created a NoHo kind of concept where people said this is a special place to be.”

Addressing concerns about the amount of growth occurring in the area, LaBonge said that there would be a balance between protecting the neighborhoods and bringing quality development to North Hollywood.

Among those who would be affected by the development was Peter Svidler, a developer building two residential complexes in the NoHo Commons area. “Having anything like this would certainly help bring buyers back to the area,” said Svidler. “I think it’s making it into a much nicer area with a great future.”

Published: 03/26/2008