Urban Village Backed for NoHo

Paving the way for an urban village of hundreds of apartments and shops next to North Hollywood’s subway station, an MTA committee unanimously recommended on Thursday that the agency enter into an exclusive deal with an Orange County development team.

The proposed project, the second for the last northern stop on the Red Line, would create a $90-million pedestrian-friendly, multistory complex of up to 534 residential units and 28,000 feet of retail space.

“It’s a perfect match for the neighborhood,” said Joe Hooven, president of the Universal City-North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. “The area desperately needs some kind of development. It’ll be good for the overall rebuilding and revitalization of North Hollywood.”

The committee’s action comes after decades of attempts by the city to revitalize the blighted commercial core of North Hollywood. In the past, the city--acting through the Community Redevelopment Agency--has had major setbacks in trying to develop the area.

Unlike NoHo Commons, a nearby proposed development for which the redevelopment agency last month agreed to provide $31.7 million in loans and subsidies, the proposed project is not expected to use any public money.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials say they plan to turn a profit on the deal and use the proceeds to pay for a 1,500-space parking structure. Any money beyond that would go into the MTA general fund, officials said.

The transit agency plans to sell one of the parcels on the 12.4 acres and lease the remainder to the developers, a collaboration between Foster City-based Legacy Partners, which has an office in Irvine, and the Olson Co., which has its headquarters in Seal Beach.

The proposal also calls for replacing the 1,200 parking spaces at the station with the 1,500-space park-and-ride structure, MTA staff members said. If all goes well, the project would be completed by mid-2006.

MTA planner Carol Inge said the development was timely given the success of the Metro Red Line, which had record ridership this summer. Average weekday boardings on the 17.4-mile line, which runs from North Hollywood through Hollywood and Mid-City to Union Station, hit 150,025 in June.

“We’ve still got to crystallize the vision for the overall area beyond our parcel into the land being developed by the CRA,” Inge said. “But ultimately, we see a vibrant mix of different housing types, retail and office space with strong physical linkage to our transit stations.”

The MTA board is to vote Nov. 29 on the committee’s recommendation.

If the full board approves it, the agency will enter into a six-month period of exclusive negotiations with Legacy Partners and the Olson Co. to work out details of leasing, architectural design and management.

The development team was chosen because it had an appealing design concept, experience and a strong financial proposal, Inge said.

The committee approved the concept on the condition that the development team work with the redevelopment agency to devise a master plan, including additional commercial development and mixed housing, for the North Hollywood Red Line station area.