Halloween Store Gone, Old Circuit City Once Again Empty

I never know when you write one of these articles, which ones are going to be popular, and which will be duds.  Oddly enough, one of the most popular ones I ever wrote was my mini rant about the abandoned Circuit City store that had become a Halloween Store.

I’ve been keeping my eye on the place, and last week they finally took the banners down and the store once again stands empty.  Let’s see what the future holds for this storefront.

Popularity: 1%

Woodland Hills Ice Opens Today At Topanga Promenade!

Wow, it’s finally here!! Big writeup in the Daily News:

San Fernando Valley residents can skate, spin and jump their way through the holidays at an outdoor ice rink opening today in Woodland Hills.

The 7,000 square-foot rink will open at 3 p.m. in the parking lot of the Westfield Promenade, Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Erwin Street. It will be open daily through Feb. 21, offering open skating, lessons, demonstrations, theme nights and visits from an ice-skating Santa Claus.

“We’re hoping to become a new holiday destination tradition for everyone in the Valley, said Alex Mohler, operations director for Woodland Hills Ice.

The rink will mark its first day of operation with half-price admission and free lessons from 3-5 p.m. An official grand opening on Dec. 14 will feature a free community skate from 3-5 p.m.

While there are several indoor rinks in the Valley, Woodland Hills Ice is the area’s first outdoor venue. Other seasonal outdoor rinks are located at Pershing Square and Nokia Plaza in Los Angeles; the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica; and The Lakes shopping center in Thousand Oaks.

See the full Daily News article here.

See all Hills of Woodland articles about Woodland Hills Ice.

Popularity: 1%

Chatting With Whitney From Woodland Hills Ice on Friday, November 20th

On Friday afternoon I stopped by the parking lot of Westfield Topanga Promenade to check on the construction progress of Woodland Hills Ice.  I took a few spy photos (which hopefully I will add to this post this afternoon) and I see that the have begun laying the foundation and finished running the electrical service out to the site of the future rink.

After taking some photos I parked my car and was about to head over to Corner Bakery when a young lady approached me.  “Are you Girard from Hills of Woodland,” she asked.  I was busted!  It was Whitney from Woodland Hills Ice, so I took a few minutes to talk with her about the progress of the project and get some background.

Whitney explained to me that she’s never been involved with the ice skating business before, but she does come from a business background.  In about June of 2008 while visiting Woodland Hills, she got the idea that the Topanga Promenade Mall would be a great place to have Winter ice skating.  Crazy, eh?

From then on she has been tenaciously pursuing the dream, including putting together a coalition of skating rink industry companies who have partnered up with her to secure financing and the lease with Westfield.  In fact, Whitney informs me, that the lease has a 4 year term, with Woodland Hills Ice coming back November through February for the next 3 years (that’s through Februrary 2013, folks).

Like many projects of this magnitude, Woodland Hills Ice has been on-again and off-again several times, and only got the full go ahead last month.  Whitney was particularly thankful to Dennis Zine and says that without his support, the project wouldn’t have happened.

She revealed a lot of numbers to me, and lets just say this is a huge investment for Woodland Hills.  She says so far community support has been extremely positive.  We all know that in the west valley there can be extremely limited entertainment options for kids and adults alike, so it’s nice to have something new to do.

While there is still a lot of work to day, as of Friday Whitney remained cautiously optimistic that they’d reach their target opening date of November 25th (Wednesday).

Prices include skate rental and will be $11 for children under 12 years of age, $13 for students and seniors, and $15 for adults.

Opening day and Black Friday specials include:

Join Us On Opening Day: Wednesday November 25!
3-5PM half price skating with free introductory skating lessons

Early Birds: Join Us On Black Friday November 27!
8-10AM Skate for $8 and a free introductory class at 9AM

Also, Whitney says that on warm Winter days where the temperature is above 80 degrees you can come skate in your bathing suit for a discount.  I’ll keep you guys posted on whether or not construction finishes in time for opening day.

Good luck, Whitney!

Popularity: 1%

Today’s Vacant Lot Is Yesterday’s History – Explore Google or Jump A Wall To Touch It

Early this morning I set out to take a simple photograph of a vacant lot to accompany my post about 20600 Ventura Blvd being sold.  Easy enough, in theory.  From Ventura Blvd it is actually difficult to take a picture of the property because it is on an elevated plateau.  In fact, it is on two elevated plateus, one about 20 feet above street level, and another 50+ feet above street level.  So, in an attempt to get a better view I invited myself onto the property of an adjacent condominum complex, jumped a wall (okay, a half-wall), and took the last two pictures of the above gallery.  Interestingly enough, from this vantage point you can see that the property is indeed larger than it seems to be from Ventura Blvd.

In the process of beginning to make this post I wanted to confirm that the address of this property was in fact 20600 Ventura Blvd, so I punched that address into a Google search and was surprised at what I found.  Before the facility formerly on this property was an assembly hall for the Jehovah’s Witnesses, it was a valuable and storied piece of San Fernando Valley history and culture – The Valley Music Theater.

An undated online petition from, in my estimate, 2005 or 2006 reads:

I am reaching out to all of you. I am in the midst of trying to keep and bring back a landmark to the valley. I am talking about the Jehovah Witness Temple on Ventura Blvd. Well before they bought it, it used to be a theater and concert venue in the valley during the 60’s. It had performers such as Ray Charles, the Doors, Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds, Ike & Tina Turner, Peter, Paul & Mary, BB King, Lou Rawls, Three Dog Night, Jim Croce & the Spiral Staircase, among others. Sammy Davis Jr., Johnny Carson, Don Rickles & Woody Allen also performed in the futuristic domed structure.

Well it was sold to developers years back when the Jehovahs outgrew it and now they want to turn it into another set of Apt/ town homes. Now I am all about growth in the valley but this is one piece of land that would be a waste to turn into more housing. I’m in the process of trying to file a petition to make it a woodland hills landmark and halt any demolition they plan to do it. I have spoken to the President of the Woodland Hills Home Owners Assoc. and I have reached out to the local assemblyman as well. I am most likely going to need petitions from other San Fernando Valley residents, so I am going to start that here and now. With me being the first signature. Please go ahead and include your name down the list. If you know other people not on myspace that want to be included in this, please get them involved as well. There is serious and do need people who believe in this or would like to have a concert venue brought back to the valley so us “valley kids” don’t always have to go to the city. Its time the bands/theater/comedy comes to us. Please keep reposting this!!!

I found this enlightening and captivating.  So, this building had a former life. And a noteworthy one, at that! Searching for Valley Music Theater reveals this blurb from AmericansSuburb.com (an amazing, yet dormant site):

The theater at 20600 Ventura Boulevard was supposed to be the first local performing arts hall with serious ambitions. Designed as theater in the round, it was built by pouring a concrete dome over a dirt mound, then excavating away the soil. Bob Hope and other local celebrities backed the venture, which opened July 6, 1964, with a gala premiere of The Sound of Music. When legit theater didn’t catch on, rock music was tried. On February 22, 1967, the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and the Doors put on a memorable show. Boxing matches were tried, but in 1980 the theater became a Jehovah’s Witness assembly hall. In 2004 the church sold to a developer who hopes to build condos and retail on the site.

I also came across an article from this summer in the Daily News about the developer who razed the theater in 2007 but defaulted on the loan before executing their grand vision for the property.  They write:

“They (JPI) put a very large loan on (the site), graded it and ran out of money,” said a Valley real estate executive familiar with the project who did not want to be identified.

JPI also wanted to modify its original plan to cut costs but ran into opposition from neighborhood groups.

However, any residential project would have to include a retail component and a shuttle that runs from early morning to early evening, Murley said.

“They wanted to do a very cheap facade that just didn’t fit in,” said Gordon Murley, president of the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization. “They started grading, then covered it with plastic and that’s it.”

The current entitlements will transfer to any new owners, he said.

It should be noted, that the quote above exhibits the first mention of Gordon Murley on this blog.  A man who, I have been duly informed, is perhaps the most powerful man behind-the-scenes (and not-so-behind-the-scenes) in Woodland Hills politics.  It has also been explained to me that he generally seeks to limit development in Woodland Hills, specifically and especially along Ventura Blvd.

I guess my marginal bit of commentary with regards to the demolition of the facility is that the whole thing was conducted as a business deal, when in fact there possibly should be been more involvement from the community in recognizing that, while the structure itself was no doubt completely obsolete and had long since been retired from its original use a community theater, there was indeed some historical and community significance to both the theater and the use of the land on which it stands.

Sadly, any notion of using the land for the benefit of our community gave way to the economic motivations of real estate developers, who in hindsight had eyes bigger than their stomachs.  What I also half wonder is if there aren’t some ‘powers that be’ who are both happy that there is neither a theater or community enriching facility at the site, nor any other development (with realistic prospects and/or known timetable) slated for the site in the near future.

If you have anything to add or any insight that you can provide to me, please leave a comment on this post or e-mail me at contact@hillsofwoodland.com.

I leave you with a gallery of photos of the theater as it stood in these undated photos most likely from the year or two before it was demolished.  Photo source: abandonedbutnotforgotten.com

Popularity: 6%

Laying Pipe At Topanga Promenade Mall for Woodland Hills Ice

As previously reported, Woodland Hills Ice – a seasonal outdoor ice skating facility – will be opening at the northwestern corner of the Topanga Promenade Mall’s parking lot on November 25th.

Well, this morning on my drive to work I noticed that some of the groundwork has begun as a 300+ foot trench has been dug for a little cut-and-cover pipe laying.

I contacted Whitney over at Woodland Hills Ice and she confirmed that they have begun laying the pipe to bring electrical service out to the rink.  Hopefully they’ll get that pipe in place quickly because wow, that construction pretty much eats up 75% of that parking lot.  I pray it will be done by my next craving for Maggiano’s.

I’m hoping to secure a couple of complimentary passes from Whitney so I can send some of my field reporters out for a review.  I’d go myself but I’d probably slip and accidentally kill myself and possibly Barry Manilow, if he happens to be there.  That would suck.

Popularity: 1%

Former Jehovah’s Witnesses Assembly Hall Parcel Changes Hands For Third Time In Four Years

I came across this fascinating press release today about the sale of the 8 acre parcel of land that was the former site of the Jehovah’s Witnesses Assembly Hall (still visible in the Google Maps satellite image).  This site is across from Keyes Woodland Hills Nissan and adjacent to the Avalon Woodland Hills apartment complex.

In 2007 the property was sold for $48 million with the lofty (and insanely unrealistic) goal of building 355 condos with 18,000 square feet of retail space.  How is that even possible?  Maybe the laws of physics cease to exist on this property.  While the Jehovah’s Witnesses (presumably they were the 2007 sellers) made out like bandits in the deal, in the market downturn the buyer, JPI development, undoubtedly ‘lost their ass’ and defaulted on the property.  You can rest assured that your federal tax dollars went to clean up that mess, one way or another.

Now, another company has purchased the property for a still outrageous $25 million dollars with the hopes of developing it with less lofty goals.  To me, this property is worthless unless the deed comes along with a permit to bulldoze Avalon Woodland Hills.

Here’s the press release:

The Lee & Associates Multi-Housing Investments Group, a member of the Lee & Associates group of companies, has transacted the purchase of a prominent Woodland Hills property of approximately eight acres sold by Bank of America.

This is the third time in four years that the property, on the former site of Jehovah’s Witnesses Assembly Hall at 20600 Ventura Boulevard, has changed hands. Craig Stevens and John Battle, principals of Lee & Associates and members of the multihousing group, brokered each of the three sales. The other agents for the latest transaction are Lee principal Jim Fisher and associate Mike Smith.

“I never would have imagined when I sold this site the first time that this would still be an empty parcel of land,” said Stevens, who, along with the rest of the multihousing team, represented the buyer in this latest transaction. “In 2006 it seemed like we would never keep up with the apartment and condo housing demand, and this project, with its great location and elevations offering panoramic views of the Warner Center and the San Fernando Valley, promised to be among the very best of the projects in development.”

Additional details of the transaction were not disclosed.

The property was acquired for $25 million in 2006 by the Troxler Group and Lehman Bros.  The Troxler Group guided the property through the development process

and completed plans to build 355 entitled condominium units with 18,000 square feet of retail.   In 2007 the Troxler Group sold the property to JPI Development for $48 million, but before JPI could realize its plans, the real estate market turned downward, credit markets froze and the property fell into default.

The property was again listed for sale and attracted multiple offers over the last four months as the market began to revive. A group out of Orange County emerged as the buyer.

The developer will re-entitle the parcel, and it is too soon to tell how many units the group will decide to build, but it is likely that the final project will be less than the density first envisioned for the property.

“The latest sale price reflects a new economic reality in the marketplace,” Stevens said. “With banks requiring much more equity than they did in the past, bigger projects are not always better.”

In the past, developers were able to obtain financing based upon rental growth trends and the strong housing demand. But today, rental growth assumptions are lower, and developers must allow for rental concessions and a longer time frame to lease up units.

“The whole underwriting process has changed significantly,” said Stevens.

How much do you want to bet that the property will be flipped again in a year for another staggering loss?

Popularity: 3%

A Plan To Make You Puke: They Want To Put A Costco At Westfield’s “The Village”

In an article which to me feels like they are putting out feelers to see what the community reaction will be, the Daily News puts forth a piece which details pending negotiations between Costco and Westfield to bring a Costco to the southeast corner of Victory and Topanga.

I suggest all Woodland Hills residents read this article closely.  The Village is supposed to be nice.  I think Costco is great, but the reality is that Warner Center is not the place for the disgusting mess that Costco creates.  One only need to look to the Costco in Canoga Park to see an example of the blight that Costco allows to run rampant.
Councilman Dennis Zine is quoted in the article:

Zine conceded there could be community opposition to building one of the popular stores at what is already a busy intersection.

I believe that is a red herring, in that yes the intersection is already absolutely a disgusting traffic nightmare for North/South traffic, but it’s far from the compelling reason to not allow the development of a Costco at the site.  Westfield will no doubt already have to address traffic concerns with the city whatever they end up building there.

They also mention in the article that there are a few alternate locations in mind:

Potential sites also included the Catalina Yacht factory and the Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne property at the southeast and northwest corners of Canoga Avenue and Victory Boulevard, respectively.

It is my honest belief that a big box warehouse store at Topanga and Victory would be a major step backwards for our community.  The Catalina factory property would be a better choice, in my opinion, in that it is adjacent to the relatively buried Home Depot.

I am actually a big fan of Westfield, but I was disgusted when I read this.  See the Daily News article here.

I’d really like you to post your comments on this one.  If I’m out of line in my objections, let me know.

Popularity: 2%

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