Broad Plan to Revitalize Fading Wilshire Center Area Is Proposed

An ambitious plan to revitalize a slumping Wilshire Center area and transform the historic district into a thriving commercial and residential neighborhood was unveiled Wednesday with some corporate flair and a show of political support.

Council President John Ferraro and Councilman Nate Holden were among those who gathered in the sedate tea room of Bullocks Wilshire to listen to the findings of a three-year study of the Wilshire Center, in the heart of what was once a fashionable community west of downtown Los Angeles and east of Beverly Hills.

The neighborhood, which once boasted such prominent landmarks as the Ambassador Hotel and the Brown Derby restaurant, has fallen on hard times. Over the years, several major corporations have left, the Ambassador closed its doors, and the famous giant hat that marked the restaurant sits atop a split-level corner shopping mall.

But members of the Wilshire Stakeholders Group--including representatives of local real estate and development firms, corporations, community organizations and religious groups--said Wednesday they hope to reverse that trend.

“I think right now this is the most urbanized part of Los Angeles. It has the most charming, urban character, but it’s building on that, that is the future of the area--an urban quality of life,” said Wayne Ratkovich, chairman of Wilshire Stakeholders.

The group, alarmed by the uncertain future of the community, commissioned the $227,000 study to find ways to rescue faltering commercial and real estate interests with a dramatically changing community that includes a growing number of Asian and Latino residents.

Recommended Actions

That study, conducted by UCLA’s Urban Innovations Group and partly funded by the city of Los Angeles, recommended that:

* Wilshire Boulevard be developed for corporate high-rises and commercial buildings while nearby 6th Street be transformed into a “unique sidewalk-oriented shopping street” aimed at pedestrian traffic.

* A “flex density” plan be developed for the area that will link commercial development and zoning regulations to such key factors as traffic capacity and housing opportunities.

* A multistory “festival marketplace” be created at the corner of Lafayette Park and Wilshire to capitalize on the multi-ethnic character of the area.

* A Wilshire Center Community Development Corp. be established as an umbrella group to develop plans for affordable housing, improved public safety and promote cultural diversity in the district.

The plan shapes up as a massive undertaking for a neighborhood whose eclectic character is reflected in an architectural mix of prewar buildings and new condominiums, massive high-rises and ethnic storefronts. And the organizers even displayed a four-foot-long cake decorated with an icing of high-rises, department stores and boulevards to sample.

City’s Viewpoint

But Melanie Fallon, a deputy director in the city’s Planning Department, said her office is enthusiastic about the proposal and it represents one of the few times that local groups have produced their own community plan. Fallon added that the report must now go to City Hall, where her agency and the City Council will review the recommendations and determine whether they can be implemented.

One recommendation certain to generate controversy, however, is the report’s suggestion that the site of the former Ambassador Hotel be turned into a “multi-use complex” that will include major commercial and retail businesses and a separate housing development.

The Los Angeles Unified School District has already made it clear that it will seek to acquire the 23.5-acre Ambassador site, which was sold in July, and build a new 2,000-student high school there. That plan drew immediate opposition from community residents and members of the Wilshire Stakeholders Group, but spokeswoman Diana Munatones said the school district has not changed its mind.

District Determined

“We are committed to do anything and everything we can to acquire that property,” she said. “This site is an island where we don’t have to bulldoze anything or evict anyone, and this high school is something the community and these kids need.”

Members of the Wilshire Stakeholders Group, which called the Ambassador “the single most critical property in Wilshire Center,” sought Wednesday to downplay their differences with the school district, pointing out that the study was well under way before the district’s plans were known.

But Holden, who has been a vigorous opponent of the district’s plan, took the opportunity to voice his vehement opposition to the high school proposal, calling it an invitation for graffiti and blight. And Ferraro echoed his objections, suggesting that other alternatives may need to be found.

Plan For Wilshire Center This map is from a 3-year-study aimed at revitalizing the Wilshire Center area and wascompletd by the Urban Innovation Group, an affiliate of UCLA’s Graduate School of Architectureand Planning.