Agency Plans 11-Acre North Hollywood Building Project

City redevelopment officials are working on a proposal to have developers build stores, restaurants and up to 1,000 housing units, many of them artists’ lofts, on 11 acres near the Metro Rail subway station in North Hollywood.

The Community Redevelopment Agency tentatively plans to seek competitive proposals on the project early this year, but the agency has already received interest from more than a dozen development firms, city officials said.

“The plan for creation of an urban village in part of North Hollywood is good news,” said City Council President John Ferraro, who represents the area.

“The CRA has come up with a solid proposal, one that could produce a tremendous improvement in the area,” Ferraro added.

The project site west of Lankershim Boulevard is across the street from a previously announced proposed site to build four 20-story office towers as well as film sound stages and other structures on 42 acres, said Walter Beaumont, assistant project manager for the CRA’s North Hollywood project area.

Much of the 11-acre property--south of Cumpston Street and east of Tujunga Avenue--was purchased by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for use as it extends the Red Line subway to North Hollywood. The MTA did not need the entire parcel for the station.

Beaumont said MTA officials have told their city counterparts they are interested in a private project that complements the new subway station.

“The MTA is very happy and willing to look at a joint development,” Beaumont said.

Both proposals reflect new developer interest in a rundown area of North Hollywood that may be the site of the last subway station built in Los Angeles, scheduled to open in May 2000, Beaumont said.

“The proximity to the Metro Rail station is a huge plus,” Beaumont said. “It doesn’t hurt that this may be the last Metro Rail station in a long time.”

Development firms talking to CRA officials include the Olson Co. of Seal Beach, Creative Housing Associates of West Los Angeles and Post Properties Inc. of Atlanta, which specializes in self-contained, mixed-use residential developments, Beaumont said.

Todd Olson of the Olson Co. said his firm would likely submit a proposal for a housing development if the city seeks bids.

“It [the area] is very attractive,” he said. “Transit-oriented development is the trendy thing these days.”

Housing developments near subway stations often are allowed to have fewer parking spaces, because residents are close to shopping and mass transit, Olson said. The site also abuts North Hollywood Park and the North Hollywood Library.

“We’re hopeful that this would turn out to be something that can work out for everyone, but we’re still in the stage of determining that,” said Janie Maddox, a spokeswoman for Post Properties.

Beaumont said Post representatives have talked of building 1,000 to 2,000 housing units, including condominiums and many with large loft spaces for artists to work and live.

However, CRA officials said the land would more comfortably accommodate 500 to 800 large condominiums or as many as 1,000 smaller residences. As many as 200 of those condominiums might be built with large lofts for artists, Beaumont said.

Unlike many loft developments, the proposal being considered by CRA officials would be owner-occupied lofts, he said.

Post “would like to create a community and even keep control over building public improvements,” such as streets, sidewalks and light standards, Beaumont said.

City officials say the proposal fits with the NoHo Arts District theme and the increasing interest of entertainment companies and theater groups in locating in the area.

“Lofts have done well in other cities, including Long Beach and Chicago,” Ferraro said.

The NoHo project would also include some restoration and use of the century-old Southern Pacific railway station that sits unused near the new Red Line subway stop.

The largely industrial and commercial area being targeted has long been economically distressed, populated by car repair shops, plumbing supply stores and storage lots.

“It has just looked bombed out, frankly,” Beaumont said.

Competitive proposals will not likely be sought on the site until the CRA makes a decision on what is going to happen to the 42-acre property across Lankershim.

Two development partnerships submitted proposals to the CRA for that property in October. Retail developer J. Allen Radford proposed a billion-dollar project with 4.26 million square feet of studio space, movie theaters, condominiums, a hotel and four 20-story office towers.

The competing proposal, submitted by ANKO Construction Inc., proposes a 1.7-billion-square-foot development anchored by a sound stage complex possibly to be managed by CBS Center Studios.

Beaumont said a decision on which proposal to approve is scheduled this month by the CRA board. That would allow the City Council to vote on the project in February. The vote would be followed by six months of negotiation with the winning competitor for a development agreement.

The request for proposals on the 11-acre site could go out after the council vote in February on the other site, Beaumont said.

Not everyone is confident that the massive housing project is feasible or desirable.

Glenn Hoiby, an attorney and member of the CRA’s Redevelopment Project Area Committee, said artists normally are attracted to lofts in older commercial buildings that offer low rents.

“I don’t think new construction will stimulate that kind of interest from artists,” Hoiby said.

The North Hollywood attorney also is concerned about the effect of 1,000 to 2,000 more housing units on an area with traffic congestion and other problems associated with high-density development.

“You’ve got gridlock on most of the east-west streets much of the day now,” Hoiby said.

City officials say that the housing will be close to the subway station, which would encourage residents to use mass transit.

Hoiby is skeptical.

“People in Southern California are not going to give up their cars,” he said.

NoHo Revival: Officials propose building stores, restaurants and housing units on 11 acres near the new Metro Rail station. B1