MCA Receives Mixed Reviews on Planned $3-Billion Expansion

Entertainment giant MCA Inc. has created a local buzz with its previews of a $3-billion proposal to build a 24-hour resort in the Cahuenga Pass--industry analysts call it cutting-edge while some neighbors are giving it a thumbs down.

“People are talking about it,” said Tony Lucente, president of the Studio City Residents Assn. “They are talking about traffic and noise. I think they are afraid of what this might mean for life in our community.”

At the same time, the expansion could make Universal City one of the world’s top theme parks, bringing thousands of jobs and millions of tourist dollars to the area, analysts said.

Not all of MCA’s neighbors have decried the proposal. An MCA executive said in the past few days the company has received about 100 telephone calls, mostly supportive.

Last week, nearly 30,000 households received full-color brochures outlining the proposal to double the development on MCA’s 415 acres. The brochures revealed sketches of a proposed Mediterranean-style resort, as well as planned expansions of the company’s film and TV studios, Universal Studios Hollywood theme park and CityWalk.

In a neighborhood south of the MCA property, Denise Coleman is taking a wait-and-see attitude.

“I’m interested to hear what they have to say,” Coleman said.

MCA is seeking both county and city approval for the project. About two-thirds of its property is on unincorporated county land and the remainder is in the city of Los Angeles.

Later this year, the public will get a chance to see detailed descriptions of the 5.9 million square feet of new development that MCA hopes to add to the 5.4 million square feet already there.

If approved, MCA could challenge Disneyland’s position as the preeminent Southern California tourist spot, said Deborah Enders, an Encino-based entertainment industry analyst. She predicted that the resort would also attract convention business.

“Los Angeles has always been jealous of Las Vegas as a convention destination,” Enders said. “If they pull this off, and I think they probably will, it will definitely draw people. . . . They’ll have an enclave that you don’t have to go outside of. All the dollars will be kept within that realm.”

The proposed expansion is leading an industry-wide trend toward such destination resorts.

“I think building that kind of mega-amusement facility is something we’re going see more of in the future,” said John Graff, executive director of the Virginia-based International Assn. of Amusement Parks and Attractions.

Project opponents agree the envisioned resort would probably be successful. The problem, they say, is they don’t want any increased traffic or noise in their neighborhood.

Michael Wester and other leaders of the Cahuenga Pass Property Assn. said they are hoping to persuade MCA to shift its expansion to land near the Convention Center, with Metro Rail providing a connection to Universal City.

“People will rediscover downtown Los Angeles,” Wester said. “They could even turn the Metro Rail link into a themed ride.”

Helen McCann, vice president of development management for MCA’s Universal Studios Recreation Group, said that idea does not “meet our goals . . . of building on the strengths and the synergies that we already have going here at Universal City.”