2 Developments Signal Hope for the Mid-Valley

The story of the central San Fernando Valley in recent years has been one of decline: from boarded-up shops in the Van Nuys Civic Center to the 1992 shutdown of the General Motors assembly plant on Van Nuys Boulevard in Panorama City. But two new pages in that story give reason for hope. First, nine developers are competing for a city contract to spruce up the Civic Center. Second, work has already begun on the GM site to build the mid-Valley’s largest retail project since the 1950s.

Both projects signal a healthy, renewed interest in the heart of the Valley. Once the economic center of northern Los Angeles County, the floor of the Valley suffered from many of the same economic and social trends that allowed it to thrive from the 1940s through the 1970s. The forces that lured residents and shopkeepers to Van Nuys in the first place--cheaper housing, safe streets, good schools--eventually lured their children even farther out to newer neighborhoods in Chatsworth and Santa Clarita.

The big stores and boutiques that once lined Van Nuys Boulevard followed the residents and filled up the malls, leaving the tree-lined promenade vacant for adult bookstores, discount warehouses and pawnshops. Houses were torn down for cheap apartments. Then the closing of the GM plant just up the street from the Civic Center knocked 2,500 workers out of well-paying assembly and administrative jobs. Efforts to revive the area started and failed, thwarted in part by the difficulty of cobbling together enough land to build the kind of project that might act as a magnet to other investors.

Now it appears that the area will have strong magnets at both ends--the new retail center in the north and the Civic Center renovation in the south. Already, retail big shots such as Office Max and Home Depot have agreed to open stores in the retail complex, estimated to cost between $75 million and $100 million and be developed jointly by Selleck Properties and the Voit Cos. In addition, Mann Theatres plans to open a 16-screen movie house on the site, which will also include smaller shops and restaurants and a police substation.

Renovation plans for the Civic Center include a partnership between the city and private developers--a project of particular interest to outgoing City Councilman Marvin Braude, whose district includes the area. The developers are competing to build a complex on city property along Van Nuys Boulevard that would include shops and restaurants. Part of the property would include office space leased back to the city. Future plans include more office space or apartments. It’s a deal that promises to save the city millions of dollars over the long run as aging offices are consolidated into newer buildings.

Individually, the two projects are promising signs that the cycle of disinvestment that plagued the mid-Valley for the past two decades has begun to turn around. Together, though, the Civic Center and General Motors projects can act as economic bookends that hold the neighborhood together and serve as foundations to build a better future yet again.