ENCINO : Retail Complex Proposed for ‘Lake’ Location

A retail complex that would house a huge upscale bookstore is the latest development proposed for a mammoth 3-year-old crater known among its Encino neighbors as “Lake Hayvenhurst,” the president of an Encino homeowners group said Wednesday.

Gerald A. Silver said the Homeowners of Encino have been approached with plans that include a 30,000-square-foot bookstore and a 43,000-square-foot retail facility to be built on the site at Hayvenhurst Avenue and Ventura Boulevard.

Craig Lawson, a consultant to the property owner, Imperial Bank, confirmed a Wednesday meeting with the homeowners, but would not discuss details of the proposal. Bank officials were not available for comment.

Silver said the proposal, which calls for two single-story retail facilities that would not be open 24 hours and would not have underground parking, would appear to meet the criteria for his group’s support.

“I feel really good about this,” said Silver, who has fought several other development proposals for the lot. “We and the neighbors felt it was a very positive and upbeat meeting and that they have the rudiments of a very acceptable proposal.”

He said he expects a more detailed meeting with bank representatives later this month.

The hole was dug in 1990 when the state required a previous developer to remove contaminated soil from the site. A gas station with a leaking underground gas tank was on the site. Imperial Bank foreclosed on the site when the developer went bankrupt last year.

Residents say the hole fills with water during rainstorms, hence the nickname “Lake Hayvenhurst.”