A Happy Ending at GM Site

Plans to develop the Panorama City site that once housed a General Motors assembly plant got a big boost last week with the announcement that Mann Theatres will build a state-of-the-art, 16-screen complex on the property.

The momentum of efforts to turn the abandoned site into a mix of shops, theaters and light-industrial space has grown in recent weeks. In addition to the theaters, project organizers last month took a step toward getting a $4-million federal grant to finance traffic improvements around the site. Plus, several retailers already have privately committed to occupy at least half of the $100-million project.

The big question now is safety. The project, which lies in a neighborhood once burdened by drug dealing and thuggery, includes plans for a 24,000-square-foot police substation, but Los Angeles’ chronic budget problems mean the station probably will not open for several years. Mann officials said they are not concerned about crime but nonetheless plan to have private security on hand to deal with any problems.

In fact, the project itself may help reduce crime. As the largest and most inviting theater in the central San Fernando Valley, the Mann complex will be a regional draw. Criminals such as drug dealers prefer operating in the shadows, not in brightly lighted places crowded with people. Fights or car burglaries might increase, but the risks pale in comparison to the benefits the project will bring to a long-neglected part of the Valley.

With any luck, the General Motors site will once again serve as an economic engine that drives out the poverty and hopelessness that have plagued the neighborhood for years.