Death of Mall Project Ensured

City Councilman Jack Weiss nailed the coffin shut Wednesday on a controversial mall construction plan in Westwood Village. Although the project had been dead for two years, Weiss said he wanted to make sure that it would not be resurrected.

A unanimous council approved Weiss’ measure to revoke the rights to build Village Center Westwood, a $100-million movie theater and shopping mall on Glendon Avenue originally proposed by developer Ira Smedra in 1996.

Smedra abandoned the plan in 2000 when he sold his interest in the project to Casden Properties Inc., which plans to build apartments and a supermarket on the property.

But because the rights to the mega-mall still existed, Weiss said, “There’s no telling what could happen with future owners. I wanted to make certain that this [project] wouldn’t happen.”

Opponents of Village Center bitterly fought the proposal, even posting lawn signs that urged their councilman to oppose the project. Village Center would have destroyed Glendon Manor, one of Westwood’s original 1929 apartment buildings, shut down part of Glendon Avenue and erected a 110-foot tower that went against the city’s land-use ordinance.

“It wouldn’t be in keeping with the village characteristics of Westwood,” Weiss said.

Laura Lake, founder of Friends of Westwood, on Wednesday morning urged the council to effectively kill the project. “It was a nuisance to us,” she said. “We defeated it a couple of years ago, and this just makes it official.”

Alan Casden, president of Casden Properties, said his plan for the site is completely different from Smedra’s and not as troublesome. Casden said his development, called Palazzo Westwood, would be half the height of Village Center and wouldn’t require any street closures.

“We intend to meet with the members of the community and the City Council office in order to bring our proposal to fruition,” Casden said. “The previous applicant, Ira Smedra, has no ownership interest . . . in the new project.”

Weiss, elected in November, said his measure kept a campaign promise. “I pledged . . . that I would oppose this particular project,” he said. “I’m proud that I was able to kill it within the first year.”