Homeowner Groups Oppose Mall Project
Homeowner associations in Encino and Sherman Oaks have banded together to oppose a proposed major renovation of the Sherman Oaks Galleria and an adjacent building that would replace retail and office space with new restaurants, movie theaters and entertainment facilities.
Residents liken the proposed multimillion-dollar project to Universal CityWalk, and predict that the Galleria project could foster the same type of youthful hooliganism. They say the proposed complex, with its new movie theaters and entertainment facilities, is incompatible with their community, and predict that traffic generated by the project will clog local streets.
“Our main concern is . . . that they are changing what was office and retail--chopping it down by over a third--and replacing it with a congestion-causing and crime-prone entertainment center, which appears to be a video game arcade,” said Gerald A. Silver, president of Homeowners of Encino.
According to a traffic study commissioned by the mall’s owner, Galleria Joint Venture, the proposal calls for a one-third reduction in office space, or 134,000 square feet, and a one-third decrease in retail space, or 192,000 square feet. Galleria Joint Venture would like to add 78,000 square feet of entertainment facilities, 70,000 square feet of restaurants and 3,400 additional movie seats. These changes, combined with others, would mean an overall 7% reduction in the mall’s size, which is now 999,000 square feet.
Mall General Manager Joy De Backer said mall representatives have met with homeowner groups and that the project has received an overall positive response. According to De Backer, the community needs more movie theaters.
She said the entertainment center may include arcade games, but that it may also include such attractions as an IMAX theater, a “ride” that combines film and moving seats to simulate motion and virtual-reality games.
“There’s no reason why we can’t offer an entertainment complex that offers family entertainment and entertainment for adults, and can be a safe environment,” she said.
According to De Backer, Galleria Joint Venture has not yet applied for a project permit from the city.
Gary Holme, chairman of the Galleria Review Committee of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn., disputed De Backer’s claim that the proposed project had received support from the community. “They’ve done it sort of backward,” he said. “They need to come to the community and see what the community needs rather than shove it down the community’s throats.”
