A Politically Incorrect Blog About Living in Woodland Hills, California

Construction of New Pavilions Begins in Corbin Village Plaza

Thanks to Joel for the heads up on this.  I guess I haven’t driven by the Corbin Village shopping plaza in a few weeks, either that or I’ve been averting my eyes from the open sore that the place is.  It looks like that they have begun the preliminary work of putting in a Pavilions supermarket next to the 99 cent store.  I’m sure many in the community would have rather seen the mostly vacant plaza be razed, but perhaps this is a step in the right direction.

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Westfield To Hold Workshop For The Village Changes, Community Urged To Attend

If you care about Woodland Hills, you should download this PDF to read about Westfield’s proposed changes for The Village.  Then, you should come to their workshop and voice your opinions and concerns on Wednesday July 28th.  See my annotated illustration above for a diagram of the proposed project.

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Westfield To Ram Costco Down Woodland Hills’ Throat, Whether We Want It Or Not

This is very sad.  Dennis Zine is not doing us any favors by being so in the pocket of Westfield on this one.  I’ve seen the Costcos like the one they want to put in.  A giant parking lot, a giant warehouse store, and their needless Costco gas station.  Why?  I am not for this project.  Obviously due to the economy exploding “The Village” was doomed, but where is the community input on these changes?

LA Daily News writes:

Three years after announcing it would build an upscale mixed-use project in Warner Center that would rival Century City, Westfield LLC has dramatically scaled back its $750 million plan for the mall connecting its Topanga and Promenade complexes.

In a letter dated July 6 and sent to some households in Woodland Hills, Westfield executives blame the economic recession for their decision to eliminate the housing component and slash office and retail space at The Village at Westfield Topanga.

However, the plan also adds 146,000 square feet for a retail anchor – which sources confirm will be a Costco – in a nod to the changing consumer desires.

“What you envision in 2007 is not going to be what you envision in 2010,” said Westfield spokeswoman Katy Dickey. “It’s reflective of the changing economy and consumer demand.” She declined to say how the more modest development will impact development costs.

The biggest addition to the project is a 146,600-square-foot store that sources confirm will be a Costco. Plans call for the discount warehouse – which would include a gas station and tire center – to be built on the south side of Victory Boulevard, across from the upscale Nordstrom’s at Westfield Topanga.

“It’s a drastic change,” said Joyce Pearson, who chairs the Woodland Hills/Warner Center Neighborhood Council. “I think that is part of what everyone is going to have to grapple with. Is this going to be a good match with Woodland Hills?”

Plans for The Village were announced with great fanfare in 2007, a year before the mortgage meltdown plunged the economy into the worst recession in decades. With the real estate market still struggling and the retail sector just beginning to rebound, the mall owner reduced the size of the 1.8 million square project by 804,000 square feet, or 45 percent.

This particular line is priceless, “However, the plan also adds 146,000 square feet for a retail anchor – which sources confirm will be a Costco – in a nod to the changing consumer desires.”  How big of a check did Westfield have to write to the Daily News to get that sentence in there.  This is the consumer desire?  To have a Costco in that lot?  I’m a consumer, and I sure don’t remember getting that survey in the mail or attending that focus group.

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KB Homes Nearing Completion Of Ascent At Warner Center, Re-Opens Sales Office

In the past month or two, KB Homes has greatly amped up the pace of construction at the troubled Ascent at Warner Center condominium project on Erwin Street.  See my previous post about this project for some back story on the delays.  KB closed the first sales office, which was on Oxnard Street, for the project in 2008 after a fire and amidst the flagging economy, but on Thursday I observed them placing signage for a new office at 21220 Erwin St.  Looks like the sales push for the project is now in full swing, as there are now also sign twirlers out and about on Canoga Avenue.  My guess is that there are some bargains to be had in the building, so if you’re interested drop by or give them a call at 818-274-0101.

The gallery below contains some recent pictures of the project, the sales office, sign twirlers & sidewalk signs, as well as some previous photos I’ve taken over time.  There are also some nice artist renderings on the KB Homes website.  Nice landscaping.

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The Collateral Lender Zoning Variance Defeated

Many apologies, as this actually happened at end of March.  I overlooked a comment posted by Ryan, a homeowner on Don Pio Drive that I had met at a February Neighborhood Council meeting where a zoning variance for the proposed new location of the The Collateral Lender had been discussed and a recommendation voted upon.  I ran into him at Whole Foods one morning last week where he reminded me about the comment.

He wrote:

We just received word the other day that the Variance, thankfully, has been DENIED!!!

No words just yet on the The Collateral Lender’s next move, if any.  I’ll keep you posted.

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Is a Zoning Battle Brewing Over Pawn Shop Variance At Ventura & Don Pio?

My spider sense tingled today when I received this e-mail message:

Important Woodland Hills NC Board Meeting Wednesday Feb. 10, 2010

Please pardon this intrusion.

As citizens of Woodland Hills a matter regarding zoning of a pawnshop on Ventura Boulevard will be of interest to you. Come and be heard and/or email me at  jockbaird@aol.com.

As candidates for and members of The Woodland Hills Warner Center Neighborhood Council Board

I’m asking you to attend Wednesday’s Neighborhood Council meeting at Woodland Hills Academy (formerly Parkman Junior High School) across De Soto from Kaiser Hospital, 20800 Burbank Boulevard from 6:30 – 9:00.

This is an extremely important meeting for you and the NC. A zoning variation regarding a pawn shop’s proposed move on Ventura Boulevard will be discussed. This is an item of great importance to the citizens of Woodland Hills.

Thank you!
Jim Anderson
Area 2 Co-ordinator
Woodland Hills Warner Center Neighborhood Council

Then, later in the afternoon I drove by the former location of “Anzhlika Bridal” at 21840 Ventura Blvd and observed a few public notices in the window.  Upon examing the notices, I realized that this was the undoubtedly “pawn shop” location in question.

To anyone who is observant, it is readily evident that this now abandoned storefront’s entryway often serves as a lounging spot for various vagrants and degenerates.  I have personally witnessed drunken and/or crystal meth fueled arguments between these folks at this very spot.

I’ll have to hear what the Neighborhood Council’s general position is on the pawn shop situation, but I personally don’t think have the place there would be all minuses.  Having it empty isn’t great either.  I’m amazed that with the advent of eBay that pawn shops still exist.  But, perhaps drug addicts looking for a quick fix aren’t Power Sellers and/or have difficulty getting PayPal accounts.

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Will The KB Homes Condo Project On Erwin Ever Be Finished?

I drive by the KB Homes Ascent condominium construction project at 21301 Erwin Street every day on my way to work, and while it seems that there usually is some sort of work going on (at least a few days a week), no real progress ever gets made.

I actually watched the place catch on fire from the chair at my dentist’s office (Dr. Rosen DDS on Ventura Blvd) back on Monday March 24, 2008.  There’s a great blog entry about this fire on the LAFD’s official blog. (See some more pictures of the fire here).

An interesting, if bitter, article was posted on a blog called Union Organizer about 6 weeks after the fire:

Work has resumed on the problem plagued Ascent at Warner Center project at 21301 West Erwin Street. This is the location of a construction fire that caused major damage to two floors. Representatives from White Residential and KB Homes refused comment on Friday when asked if corners were cut in an effort to speed up construction. Industry experts have speculated that the structure might be condemned due to shoddy workmanship. When asked about the status of the project, management referred all comments to their legal staff. A sign remains on the gate that reads “Limited Entry; Off limits to unauthorized personnel by order of the Dept of Building and Safety, City of Los Angeles. Warning: this structure or site has been damaged and may be dangerous to occupy. Further damage may occur at any time. Enter at your own risk. This facility was inspected under emergency conditions on 03-24-08, 10:30am”. No Helix Electric employees were seen on Friday. Two men believed to be from Withee Malcolm Architects were on site briefly. A banner on the building directs the public to the KB Homes/Ascent Sales Gallery at 21101 Oxnard Street just far enough away to mask the smell of burnt lumber.

Curbed LA wrote almost a year ago (see their fire images and blog entry here):

Here’s a different type of ghost building: It was last March that Ascent at Warner Center, developer KB Homes’ 191-unit condominium project went up in flames, the blaze sparked by a welding tool. A reader recently wondered about the status of the five-story project, and it turns out the development has been sitting there unfinished since March. Since at least last July the sales office has been closed, according to the Union Organizers blog. Here’s the statement KB Homes gave us: “While KB Home has temporarily suspended construction at Accent at Warner Center we remain optimistic about the future of the community. KB Home has been in business for over 50 years and will remain focused on building quality homes and providing superior customer service to all of our home owners in the Los Angeles area.” According to the Daily News, which also recently did a story on the project, KB Homes reported a net loss of $307.3 million in their most recent quarter.

I’m just wondering when this project will be finished.  Looking at some of those pictures, you can really see how that particular area is so densely packed with housing.  Pretty frightening in an emergency, to say the least.

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