Encino Residents Backing Upscale Retail Development
A $100-million shopping center proposed for one of Encino’s busiest corners has won the surprise support of developers’ toughest critics: nearby homeowners.
Residents have told developer Jay Hofstadter that they will back his plans for a fashionable retail plaza on Ventura Boulevard between Hayvenhurst and Libbit avenues if he promises to protect their privacy and prevent neighborhood traffic problems.
Hofstadter’s Sherman Oaks-based development firm hopes to build the upscale shopping complex on a blocklong parcel now occupied by Terry York auto dealerships and the defunct Queen’s Arms restaurant.
Aiming for Chic
In a meeting this week with members of the Homeowners of Encino group, Hofstadter said his project will have the chic stylishness of the Beverly Center and the Rodeo Collection in Beverly Hills.
Residents said they are more interested in the project being low-rise than high fashion, however.
They said Encino’s commercial strip has been saturated with large projects that have contributed to traffic congestion along Ventura Boulevard and on nearby residential streets. Homeowners have also complained about tall buildings that tower over nearby single-family-home neighborhoods.
Encino residents have recently fought back at developers by pressing Los Angeles city officials for construction moratoriums and height restrictions. Residents have also opposed construction proposals at city zoning hearings.
Hofstadter told homeowners that he is willing to build a low-density project no higher than three stories and which will be even lower on its northern side, next to a 35-year-old residential neighborhood.
Plenty of parking will be provided for shoppers and employees, and special unloading zones can be designed to relieve traffic pressure on the boulevard in front of the plaza, Hofstadter said.
Homeowners were encouraged by that. In an informal poll, about three-fourths of the 125 people at the meeting voiced support for the project if it includes such safeguards, said Gerald Silver, president of Homeowners of Encino.
“This marks a new era in Encino development,” Silver said. “The developer came to us before he finalized his plans. This shows we support developers who support us.”
Contrast Evident
The Encino homeowners’ reaction was in marked contrast to that of Studio City residents who earlier this year blocked construction of a high-fashion retail plaza near their homes.
The Studio City homeowners forced developer Herbert Piken to redesign a shopping center proposed for Ventura Boulevard at Coldwater Canyon Avenue. Piken had also likened his initial project to the tony Rodeo Collection. The new design will have “a more suburban look,” according to Piken’s architect.
Hofstadter said he decided to meet with Encino residents before he designed his project and filed development plans with city officials.
“I knew there would be some areas to resolve, some traffic problems, for example,” he said. “The residents gave me some directions and questions to look at.”
Cost Depends on Size
He said he will show a preliminary design to Encino homeowners in July. The cost of the project will depend upon the center’s size, which is expected to be from 250,000 to 375,000 square feet, he said.
“Encino is an affluent area,” Hofstadter said. “I basically want to keep it as an upscale project, something that you really don’t get in the San Fernando Valley.”
According to Hofstadter, escrow on the project site is expected to close this summer after auto dealer Terry York relocates his car lots.
A spokesman for York declined Friday to comment on the firm’s plans.
