‘This legitimizes us as having some say in what goes on in our neighborhood.’

The future of the landmark Art Deco Wilshire Tower on Wilshire Boulevard had been a hotly debated issue for more than a year. Its owners thought the structure was a white elephant and wanted to replace it with a modern office building.

Local residents and preservationists wanted the building at 5514 Wilshire Blvd. to remain. Some who had watched many of the city’s 1920s- and 1930s-era buildings fall to the wrecker’s ball were seeking ways to preserve at least the most important buildings.

Others were increasingly concerned about the effects of new, large-scale commercial developments on the neighborhoods abutting Wilshire.

So when building owner Moussa Shaaya took out a demolition permit in September, 1987, the battle was on. Two months later, neighborhood residents persuaded the City Council to declare the building a cultural historic monument. But that designation can only delay demolition for up to a year.

Now, a recent City Council vote has assured the survival of the 60-year-old structure--the first store and office building built in what became known as the Miracle Mile. Some know this building best by the Desmond’s sign--for a fashionable clothing store that once inhabited part of its ground floor--on the tower walls.

In December, the council gave approval to a plan forged by Councilman John Ferraro between the developer and the Miracle Mile Residential Assn. that had the effect of saving the building that is between Dunsmuir and Burnside avenues.

In return for keeping the tower, Shaaya will be allowed to build 125 apartment units, plus up to 50,000 square feet of commercial artist or gallery space in the parking area behind the historic building.

The agreement is not universally popular, however. Some local homeowners are concerned about the scale of the apartment project and its effect on the surrounding neighborhood. “There is still concern about density,” homeowner Lennie Eisenberg said, noting that the parking lot “was put there as a buffer” between commercial properties and single-family homes.

All in all, Ferraro deputy Sharon Keyser said, the solution “meets the community’s concern to save potentially historic commercial structures in that area.” At the same time, she added, “the owners don’t lose their building rights.”

Shaaya said of himself and his partners: “I have no comment. I can’t tell you if we are happy or if we are sad or if we prefer to have had it demolished.”

However, Nancy Michali of the Miracle Mile organization said her group is happy:

“This legitimizes us as having some say in what goes on in our neighborhood.”