Westwood Rebirth, Stuck on Idle

In the hoopla over the Staples Center opening this week with its glowing predictions of a business and cultural resurrection downtown, it’s easy to forget about another of the city’s ongoing redevelopment sagas: Westwood Village.

Westwood’s imminent revival has been proclaimed many times in recent years, but so far has found little traction amid the boarded-up storefronts and the area’s homeless. Many hoped that projects like the 1997 Broxton Avenue streetscaping, which includes a new parking structure and retail space, would spark a broader revival. But that hasn’t happened. Instead, Westwood’s retail anchor, Macy’s department store closed in January and at least a dozen other stores shut their doors in the past year. Westwood Boulevard looks as dreary as ever.

The Westwood Village of the 1930s through the 1960s was a bustling neighborhood. Funky before the word was invented, the village drew a dream customer base: smart, up-market folks who came for first-run movies, shopping, restaurants and strolling.

But that Westwood is long gone. The big action after dark has moved to Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade and Old Pasadena, among other places.

Certainly there is night life in Westwood: In addition to the movie theaters, the Geffen Playhouse draws 100,000 people a year and a handful of restaurants have established a solid foothold. But the village can still be a lonely place when the sun goes down.

Area boosters now look to those restaurants--some already operating and some set to open--to lure the customers and retail tenants who could jump-start the village. A public relations firm touts the latest revivalette. But more is needed to draw and keep customers. The district is short on neighborhood services, for instance. It once had more than one grocery; it now has none.

Projects that offer services, including a city library, outdoor performing space, housing and a food market are still on the books. While many area residents welcome the plans, others don’t, fearing that any new development will bring more traffic and crime. Real, lasting revival apparently will have to wait a bit longer.