SHERMAN OAKS : Senior Housing Plans Praised by Chamber

Long-awaited drawings of a senior citizens housing project planned for Sherman Oaks were praised Monday by the president of the Chamber of Commerce.

Chamber President Jeff Brain and others had earlier expressed concern that with construction set to begin as early as this month, repeated requests to see drawings of the $6-million Department of Housing and Urban Development-funded apartments for low-income seniors had gone unanswered.

On display at Los Angeles City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky’s Sherman Oaks office, the drawings depict a two-story apartment building sitting atop two levels of public parking.

“I think the drawings put us at ease in terms of the design of the building,” Brain said. “It was a pleasant surprise. I think it will look good in the community.”

Ellen Vukovich, a member of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn., agreed.

“I have positive feelings about it,” Vukovich said. “They came up with a really nice design for the second story.”

Though a consultant to the developer said construction could begin as early as this month, funding remains uncertain and residents and business leaders have expressed other concerns about the project proposed for a site behind Tower Records at the intersection of Ventura Boulevard and Cedros Avenue.

Though HUD has promised $6 million for the housing aspect of the project, the developer is seeking a $3.5-million short-term loan from the city to get it off the ground because HUD officials want the lower-level parking built before the agency provides its contribution.

Despite positive reviews of the drawings, residents and business leaders say they are concerned about the timing of construction, the proposed removal of trees on Dickens Avenue and that parking be made available to replace the public lot that will be displaced by the project.

“We’ve been promised certain things, and we want to make sure they’re delivered on,” said Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.

Close said that when the terms of the project were being negotiated, the developer and city officials said construction would not take place during the Christmas shopping season and that replacement parking would be provided for the public lot that construction will displace. Close is also concerned that proposed street widening on Dickens Avenue would mean the removal of several mature trees.

The drawings will be on display at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. meeting at Union Federal Savings, 13300 Ventura Boulevard. The meeting is open to the public.