South Lake Project Roils the Waters in Pasadena
South Lake Avenue in Pasadena, a shopping district once renowned for its ritzy appeal, may only be a shadow of its former self with its mixed bag of upscale retailers and discount stores, fast-food eateries and fancy restaurants.
But the avenue’s enduring image as one of the last bastions of the city’s old guard has fueled a development controversy that has ruffled the feathers of traditionalists and angered many of the affluent homeowners who live in grand old houses and stylish townhomes in the surrounding neighborhood.
For two years, Forest City Development, a Cleveland-based company, has been drafting a plan to build a theater, restaurant and retail complex around the old Bullock’s department store, now a Macy’s. The building, designed in the Moderne style, was one of the first suburban department stores in the West and is a registered national historic site.
The developers envision a pedestrian-friendly shopping district, with tenants such as Gelson’s market and a seven-theater Angelika Film Center and Cafe, specializing in foreign, independent and art movies. Both businesses have committed to the project, which would be built on Macy’s parking lots and what is now a landscaped ivy bank along the store’s South Lake front.
Under a separate plan, a Borders bookstore is slated to occupy the vacant I. Magnin building.
The Forest City project’s size and scope have created the usual fears of congested streets and overflowing parking lots. But beyond that, they have prompted a battle over the identity of the shopping district, pitting those who preach progress against those who pine for the halcyon days of afternoon teas and genteel shopping.
“Everyone is in favor of economic development, but it is important to keep in line with the traditional atmosphere of South Lake,” said Sue Mossman, executive director of Pasadena Heritage, a historic preservation group. “The most significant architectural part of Pasadena from the 1940s is the old Bullock’s department store.”
The fact that the Macy’s is still often referred to by its previous name, Bullock’s Pasadena, speaks volumes about the symbolic significance of the building to the city’s residents.
One, Janet Kennedy Ovirstreet, said at a hearing last week that the Forest City project is not in line with “conservative blueblood Pasadena,” accustomed to the days when stores such as I. Magnin, Gene Burton’s for women and Jurgensen’s gourmet food lined the avenue.
“It is not snobbery,” she said later. “People shop in South Lake because it is quiet.”
She said Forest City’s project is too dense to appeal to the local residents and is more likely to draw those who browse but do not spend money.
Opponents not only say the proposal would deface a cherished symbol, but they fear that throngs of moviegoers and shoppers would turn the avenue into just another mall with noise, congestion and parking nightmares.
“They want to put stores everywhere,” said Jeff Ellis, president of the Madison Heights Neighborhood Assn., which represents an area southwest of South Lake. “They want to make extra dollars on every square foot they can get. . . . This is just another mall, no matter what kind of fancy name they put on it.”
Fresh in opponents’ minds is the 1995 opening of a Ross Dress for Less across the street from Macy’s. Among the new project’s most vocal opponents are the residents of San Pasqual Street near Ross, who say the quality of life in their neighborhood has deteriorated because of the store.
“Our lifestyle and health cannot be compromised to make a buck for the city,” said Dona Hall, a San Pasqual resident.
Hall said the crowds drawn to Ross have increased traffic to intolerable levels. The Forest City plan, she said, is sure to exacerbate the problem.
“Everyone is using Ross as an example of what they don’t want,” said Ed Langhammer, a board member of the South Lake Business Assn., which supports the proposed development.
Over the past months, residents have complained at public meetings about Ross customers urinating on their lawns and parking their cars on private driveways.
“How in the world would someone know that it was a Ross customer?” Langhammer said. “Part of what I think is going on here is the neighbors appear to be afraid of this ‘other’ element. You tell me. Are they concerned about young people? People of color?”
Langhammer and other supporters say the Forest City project will revitalize the area and reestablish it as a preeminent shopping destination.
“What may have worked in the 1940s doesn’t work anymore today,” said Steve Haderlein, a chairman-elect with the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce.
Proponents believe South Lake has suffered from an identity crisis in recent years with its hodgepodge of upscale and low-end merchants.
“The residents want upscale, and we want it to be upscale,” said Victor Grgas, director of planning for Forest City. “That’s keeping in line with the area’s historical background as a premier shopping district.” He added that the project has already been significantly scaled back to assuage residents’ fears.
Federated Department Stores, parent company of Macy’s and a partner in the project, recognizes that the era of stand-alone department stores has faded and hopes this project will boost its business, Grgas said.
Pasadena Councilman Bill Crowfoot, who supports the planned development, concedes that the view of the historic department store would be obscured by the shops but says that the building would get “a new lease on life.”
The propaganda war between the opposing camps escalated recently when critics circulated about 4,000 fliers among local residents calling the project “Macy’s Mall,” warning that it would destroy the Bullock’s landmark. Proponents fired back with a six-page mailer saying the area cannot survive without the project. It underscored fears that the district would otherwise be overrun by discount chains ruining South Lake’s character.
“I would tell you that if this project is NOT approved, your property values will definitely decrease. You will be living within walking distance of a Kmart, a Wal-Mart, a Marshall’s, a TJMaxx,” Rita Garvin, a member of the South Lake Business Assn., wrote in the special newsletter the organization sent to area residents.
Emotions also ran high last Thursday night, when about 400 people voiced their opinions to city officials during a public hearing at the Pasadena Hilton’s International Ballroom. The meeting had been rescheduled from October, when an overflow crowd of 300 crammed into Allendale Elementary School, creating a fire hazard and forcing cancellation.
The hearing was aimed at collecting comments on the project’s environmental impact report, which generally said most traffic, parking, noise and other problems can be minimized with street improvements and other measures.
Critics jeered during a slide presentation by Forest City representatives.
“It is raining lies in Pasadena,” said Michael Kiralle, who lives near the site, when it was his turn to approach the podium.
Holding an open umbrella to make his point, Kiralle accused the “Macy’s PR machine” of showering residents with false claims about the potential impact of the project.
Supporter Carole Fowler, who owns a gift shop on South Lake, thinks the project will bring more foot traffic to the area.
“We need all the business we can get,” she said. “It is going to be a nightmare without it.”
The final draft of the environmental report will include comments from citizens. The City Council is expected to receive the report in February and vote on the project by March.
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
Proposed Development
The site plan for the old Bullock’s department store site on South Lake Avenue in Pasadena envisions the following:
1. New parking structure.
2. Movie theater/restaurant complex.
3. Existing Macy’s building.
4. shopping boutiques.
5. Gelson’s Market.
6. Remodeled parking area.
7. Boder’s bookstore.
*
GROWING CONFLICT
As development heats up again, so do the old battles. D1
