CALABASAS : Neighbors Welcome Plans for Gelson’s
Developers who try to build commercial projects near residential neighborhoods often receive a hostile reception. But the applicant for a proposed Gelson’s Market shopping center in Calabasas says he has been greeted with open arms.
Indeed, all parties involved have been heaping praise on each other as the Calabasas Planning Commission prepares to vote on the project tonight. Residents of the upscale neighborhoods near Mulholland Highway and Freedom Drive say they can’t wait until construction is complete on the center, which would replace an old shopping center.
“We were just ecstatic that Gelson’s chose our neighborhood to locate their flagship store,” said Ralph Enderle, president of the Greater Mulwood Homeowners Assn., which represents 1,480 homeowners.
City officials say they are also pleased with the way things have gone.
“It was a pretty clean project,” said Steve Harris, Calabasas community development director. “I wish a lot of other projects went as smoothly.”
The developer, Brentwood-based Riley / Pearlman Co., says the community reception has been unusual.
“In my 18 years in the business, I’ve never seen anything like this,” Art Pearlman said. His firm was hired by Arden Group Inc., which owns the 6.5-acre site, and the Gelson’s chain. “It’s seldom that we find the synergy and the excitement in the community to get this done.”
The 70,000-square-foot project will have “‘an old European village feel,” Pearlman said. The 40,000-square-foot market, he said, will have room enough for a European-style Wolfgang Puck cafe, as well as a bank, pharmacy and “very high-end coffee shop.”
Pearlman said Gelson’s has a track record for going all out to win public support for its markets.
“Most developers say, ‘We have these development rights, and this is what we are going to do,’ ” Enderle said. “These people have a concern for the neighborhood. They gave me the (telephone) number of the construction manager and said, ‘If you have any problems, call us.’ What more could you ask for?”
Arden Group initially ran into controversy when tenants of the old shopping center were evicted to make way for the new development. The angry tenants threatened to sue, and Arden Group scrambled to soothe hard feelings.
“We expect several of the tenants to remain on as new tenants when it’s open next year,” Pearlman said. “Many of the tenants couldn’t wait around for the nine or 10 months it would take to rebuild it--and we can understand that--but we did meet with every single one.”
Pearlman said he believes that Gelson’s will succeed where the Alpha Beta store that was once at the site failed because the Alpha Beta--at 27,000 square feet--was too small to be competitive in today’s market.
