Sherman Oaks : Prospects Bright for Renewing Boulevard

The chances of a property owner renovating a long-blighted row of shops on Ventura Boulevard are looking very good, City Councilman Mike Feuer said on Monday.

“I’m optimistic that this approach will succeed,” Feuer said. “We’ll know more in the next few days.”

The proposal to restore the strip--which once included the Scene of the Crime bookstore and other popular shops--was discussed Monday morning in a meeting called by Feuer and attended by his aides, as well as property owner Mel Guthman and Rose Elmassian, co-chair of the Woodman/Ventura Committee of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.

Guthman was hesitant to talk about any projects that might be in the offing, saying he did not want to raise people’s hopes without justification. But he, too, hinted that future prospects for a remodeling project looked bright.

“Do you think I’d be wasting my time on it if I didn’t think I was going to make it?” he asked rhetorically.

Guthman said he is prepared to renovate the existing stores as long as he is able to obtain the necessary loans, the blessing of residents and city permits.

On Monday, Sherman Oaks community leader Jeff Brain said he believed it was the ad hoc committee of the Sherman Oaks Town Council that convinced Guthman at a meeting Thursday to pursue the remodeling idea. Brain is the chairman of the ad hoc committee. Elmassian could not be reached for comment.

The former merchants on the strip were evicted in 1988 to make way for a proposed three-story office building. That project became tied up in litigation, and two other proposals, both mixed-use senior housing and retail developments, either were rescinded or stalled for lack of financing.