Plans to Expand Civic Center Dealt Setback

Plans to expand the Van Nuys Civic Center have been put on hold after Los Angeles city officials failed to attract a private developer for the project, dealing yet another setback to the revitalization of aging Van Nuys Boulevard.

Construction of an office building at the southeast corner of Van Nuys and Sylvan Street was considered an important step in the area’s 13-year quest to turn itself around and shed its image as a jumble of government buildings surrounded by adult bookstores, pawnshops and car dealers. Community leaders had hoped that the project, which was to have been a joint venture between the city and a private developer, would improve the neighborhood while attracting more capital to Van Nuys.

City officials had hoped to find a developer to build a 450,000-square-foot office building on parking lots near city, county, state and federal offices.