Owner Plans to Renew Blighted Shopping Strip

To the delight of Sherman Oaks homeowners, who for more than six years watched a once-busy row of stores slide into decay, the owner of the shopping strip at Woodman Avenue and Ventura Boulevard announced Monday that he will renovate the stores and try to bring the old tenants back.

With Los Angeles City Councilman Michael Feuer and Sherman Oaks homeowner activists Rose Elmassian and Virginia Shabaik present for a news conference in front of the boarded-up buildings, property owner Mel Guthman said he intended to refurbish the 16 existing storefronts and add one more.

“This is a marvelous day,” declared a beaming Feuer, drawing a ripple of applause from the 40 or so residents attending.

“I am delighted to announce that what has been known as the Woodman-Ventura project is about to be revitalized due to a new spirit of cooperation between the owner and Sherman Oaks homeowners.”

The announcement capped more than six years of conflict pitting the property’s former developers against homeowners who adamantly opposed three other, higher-density projects at the site. Residents were dismayed when popular businesses such as Scene of the Crime bookstore and Mary’s Lamb restaurant were evicted in late 1988.

The homeowners and the city fought off two proposals by developer Jacky Gamliel to build a three-story office building and later, a 144-unit senior citizens housing project. In May, it was announced that a proposal by a second developer, Ovadia Oved, to build a smaller, senior housing and retail project had stalled for lack of financing.

City planning officials have approved the new plans by Guthman and his partner, Shep Weiner, according to Mitchell Guthman, who is Guthman’s son and the new project’s manager. The property owners expect to receive a building permit shortly and hope to begin work within two weeks, Mitchell Guthman said.

Guthman estimated that the project would cost less than $1 million, saying the actual cost would depend on the conditions the city places on the development. In talks with Feuer and homeowners during the past several weeks, the property owner won promises from Feuer to do what he could to help the project get a permit and from homeowners to not oppose the project.

The project’s developer, which Guthman predicted would be completed in four to six months, would be Robert Campoy of Standard Pacific Corp.

Guthman said he is confident that he will get the necessary financing for the project. According to Mitchell Guthman, the loans would come from private investors rather than banks, and clinching the loans will depend on whether the property owners are successful in obtaining a building permit.

Sherman Oaks homeowners were elated that the refurbishment of the blighted block appears to be in sight.

“This is great news,” said Elmassian, of the homeowner group. “We are so excited.”

Feuer, the property owners and the homeowners all credited one another with making the new project possible.

Guthman said it was a mistake for Gamliel to evict the tenants in 1988 without having a building permit in hand for a replacement structure.

Asked why he hadn’t tried to do the simple remodeling project sooner, Guthman said he was powerless under the terms of his lease with his tenant, Gamliel, which ran through February, 1994. From then until earlier this year, Guthman said, he stuck with Oved’s project because he thought it had city backing and the necessary financing.