PANORAMA CITY : Demolition Job Clearing Room for Retail Area

The cracked and weedy parking lot of the former Robinson’s department store in Panorama City contains piles of rubble, reams of rain-soaked insulation, splintered plywood and broken grocery carts brimming with trash.

Closed since 1987, the 156,000-square-foot building and its littered lot have long been viewed by residents as an ugly monument to the economic blight that has gripped the area in the last decade.

But Wednesday, demolition of the eyesore began in order to make way for a new, $9.7-million retail shopping center, a joint redevelopment project by the city and private investors.

As a tractor punched a hole high in the store’s dingy cinder-block facade, officials discussed plans for the new 98,000-square-foot Panorama Towne Center, which will include a Food 4 Less grocery store, a Sav-on drug store and several other retail businesses.

“There seems to be a desire in this neighborhood on the part of the people to improve the community,” said Arieh Greenbaum, a member of the private investment partnership that joined forces with the city on the project.

“There is the need to create jobs and increase security in the neighborhood,” Greenbaum added. “We feel this project will do both.”

Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon said the project will create about 200 jobs, providing vital employment opportunities for a community that was rocked by the 1992 closure of the General Motors plant, which idled 2,600 employees.

Part of the financing for the project comes from $60 million in funds provided to the city last year by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The City Council agreed in May to lend the investment partnership $2 million of that money, which was awarded to the city as a result of the 1992 riots.

Located on Van Nuys Boulevard next to Panorama Mall, the new development was described by local merchants as key to the area’s revitalization.

“I remember when Robinson’s was the showcase store,” said Barry Leonard, who owns a nearby optometry business. “The mall came in later, and things were booming. But the demographics changed, the recession hit, and it’s been a steady slide. This project is a new start.”

Mary Callahan, manager of the Panorama Mall, said the new center should have a positive effect on business there. “When you see new things happening, it gives a sense of forward momentum,” she said. “It brings vitality to a community.”

Ardean and Pete Smith, anti-graffiti activists who have lived in Panorama City since 1950, said the project is long overdue.

“We’ll be glad to see something come in here,” said Ardean Smith, pointing to large, cream-colored blotches on the store’s walls, which she has painted numerous times after they were defaced by taggers. “Anything’s better than what it’s been.”