Company Picked for CityWalk Expansion

Universal Studios has selected the Hensel Phelps Construction Co. of Irvine for its upcoming expansion of CityWalk.

Construction is expected to begin in the fall on the 90,000-square-foot enlargement of the popular retail and dining strip, and will take at least a year to complete.

Jim Yeager, a spokesman for CityWalk, declined to reveal the cost of the project or the dollar amount of the contract. He said Universal Studios has not yet settled on the list of future tenants.

None of the existing CityWalk complex will be closed during construction, which will add restaurants and shops to the area east of the Cineplex Odeon theaters, Yeager said.

Some area neighbors expressed concern about the growth of CityWalk, which is scheduled for an additional upgrade as part of Universal Studios’s $1-billion “master plan” expansion.

Tony Lucente, president of the Studio City Residents Assn., said Universal Studios has yet to address his group’s concerns about the project’s size. The association plans to ask for a reduction when the matter comes before planning commissioners in October.

Hensel Phelps is involved in two other high-profile construction projects: a $100-million expansion of the Anaheim Convention Center and construction of a 10-story courthouse near the Century and San Diego freeways.

Cuyler McGinley, a company spokesman, said a confidentiality agreement barred him from talking about the Universal Studios project.