Playa Vista Developers Open Visitors Center

Developers of the controversial Playa Vista project unveiled a visitor center Tuesday to explain the project to the public--complete with interactive video, pictorial histories of the site and renderings of its future.

Part of the 1,087-acre Westside project of housing, offices, stores and parkland, the information center symbolizes what developers said is their intention to merge nature and technology.

Construction of Playa Vista’s first phase, with 15 different types of housing, is expected to be finished within five years. Environmentalists have attacked the Playa Vista project for years, and the developers attempted Tuesday to note the environmental features of the project and center.

“In here, the carpeting is made with recycled plastic and the insulation with recycled newspapers,” Playa Vista President Peter Denniston said of the center. “We got to walk the talk.”

Protection of the nearby Ballona wetlands and the presence of methane gas on the site have been a point of contention for environmentalists, resulting in heated court hearings and discussions.

“There’s no question there’s a small group of tenacious opponents that want to stop the project,” Denniston said. “I expect continued lawsuits, but we’ll continue to prevail.”

At a news conference, Denniston answered questions about the gas, saying that the city found the methane could be safely mitigated. That view is challenged by Kathy Knight, a local Sierra Club representative.

Knight, who opposes the project, said the visitor center should provide complete information to future homeowners and tenants. “I think it’s important that when people come in and look at units that they give them full disclosure on the gas situation,” she said.

Developers hope the visitor center will draw and inform prospective residents and community members.

Denniston described Playa Vista as a community unique to Los Angeles--a place where traffic will not dominate, with parking in below-grade lots, with on-site trams and 15 miles of walking paths. Parks will be available to residents and visitors.

Residents will be able to control their home’s air conditioning from their cellular phones. They will be connected to their community via a neighborhood Web site.

For the time being, awaiting a vote from the Los Angeles City Council next week concerning $135 million in city-issued bonds, Playa Vista investors have had to put up that money--intended for infrastructure improvements, such as roadways and utilities.

Starting July 28, the information center, located on Playa Vista Drive at Lincoln and Jefferson boulevards, will be open Tuesdays through Fridays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays nd Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is a project Web site https://(www.playavista.com).