1990 in Review : Venice : Channel Gateway Suffers Setbacks

After racing to win government approvals this year, the $400-million Channel Gateway project near Marina del Rey has been slowed by unsettled economic conditions.

Athletic shoemaker L.A. Gear, which last summer was negotiating a long-term lease for all of Channel Gateway’s office space, has abandoned those plans. The nation’s third-largest athletic shoe company has reported lower profits this year despite higher sales.

Kevin Ventrudo, L.A. Gear’s chief financial officer, said last week that leasing the high-rise office building was “not advisable at this time” because of the economic environment and changes in bank financing.

As a consequence, Channel Gateway developer Jerome Snyder said that in the spring he plans to start lining up other tenants for the 314,000-square-foot office building. Snyder has said that having long-term leases is critical to obtaining the financing to build the office complex.

Snyder also is looking for financing to build the first of two 16-story condominium towers planned for the Lincoln Boulevard site.

In the meantime, construction crews have been working to drive pilings that will support the project’s 544-unit apartment complex. The four-story apartment buildings are being built with $67 million in tax-exempt financing. Twenty percent of the units have been reserved for low-income tenants.