District to Accelerate Studies on Possible School Sites

As it continues its search for school sites, the Los Angeles Unified School District plans to accelerate research on alternatives to the Robinsons-May complex in North Hollywood, a top district official said Thursday.

“Robinsons-May got ahead of the rest of the process because it has, at first blush, a good record as far as environmental issues,” said David Wald, consulting director of real estate for the district. “Now, Robinsons-May will be slowed down so the rest of the process can catch up.”

The move was greeted with cautious optimism by a top executive with Robinsons-May. The company has expressed concern the district seemed to be focusing almost exclusively on its headquarters complex.

Wald acknowledged that up until now the district has done more formal study of the Robinsons-May site than of alternatives suggested by community members, business leaders and even Robinsons-May.

Wald’s West Los Angeles-based firm, Wald Realty Advisors, has been hired by the district to revamp the real estate department. Wald said the district also has hired a community outreach specialist and plans later to “focus on pursuing sites that the community can support.”

“The intention is to go back to the community, to look at every reasonable site for the schools and move all the school sites through the process together until we can determine which sites are the most appropriate to put schools on,” said Wald, who has been on the job for about five weeks.

Wald said the district was using a similar approach to find spots for schools in the South Gate and Belmont areas.

Robinsons-May Chairman Robert M. Soroka found the news encouraging.

“It’s exciting that they appear to be looking at these other locations,” said Soroka, who complained last week in a letter to Wald that it appeared his site “is the only site in the east San Fernando Valley which is undergoing formal evaluation.”

Soroka also said it appeared his site was the only East Valley location for which a preliminary property cost estimate had been prepared. The site includes the headquarters for the 55-store chain and a retail store.

“I believe that, once they’ve had a chance to look at all the other locations, some of those locations could become more attractive to them,” Soroka said.

Some formal study has been done of other East Valley sites. On Thursday, a district spokeswoman said feasibility studies have been launched for a parcel owned by Carnation Co. on Van Nuys Boulevard in Panorama City, as well as for the former Stroh’s brewery site and the old Gemco department store site on Van Nuys Boulevard. District officials, however, said earlier they have withdrawn the Gemco site proposal. The status of the other reports was not available.

Wald could not say which sites will be considered along with Robinsons-May, but said the district was pursuing the current plan “because it makes really good sense.”

“We want to do it in a way that, when we cross the finish line, we end up with sites that the community can support and that are safe for kids,” Wald said. “We don’t want to go back and start over.”