Wednesday, October 29, 1997
Struggle for Westwood’s soul
Westwood Village Marketplace
By Rachel Munoz
Daily Bruin Contributor
Coming soon (maybe!) to the west side of Westwood: the Westwood
Marketplace. A smaller project offering upscale shops, movie
theaters and restaurants, it faces no known opposition from the
community but has no retail tenants yet.
In a recent step in the development of this project, Regent
Properties has recently purchased a portion of land on the west
side of Westwood, as the intended site of Westwood Marketplace.
Cinamerica, the parent company of Mann Theatres, was working
with the property for a while, then decided to contact Regent
Properties to look into development, explained Douglas Brown, the
managing partner of Regent Properties.
"Regent has a history of working with the local community," said
Bruce Beck, a consultant for DB&R, the public-relations firm
for the Westwood Marketplace. "It’s the type of project the
community likes."
Approximately 120,000 square feet will be designated for the
marketplace in a half-block portion bordered by Gayley, Broxton and
Weyburn Avenues, and about half way down to Kinross Avenue. What
will remain after the completion of the marketplace is the Mario’s
building and Maloney’s.
"A pedestrian-friendly, urban village, upscale in nature," is
how Brown explains the essence of the Marketplace.
Although the project has not signed any retail tenants or
restaurants, Mann Theatre has signed a commitment with Regent
Properties to be the theater operators.
"We’ve been a part of Westwood’s glorious past, and now with our
commitment to the Regent project, we’re looking forward to becoming
part of Westwood’s Renaissance," said Charles Goldwater, president
of Cinamerica in a statement.
"It’s been our long-stated goal to be involved in the
revitalization of this wonderful community," he continued. "And
we’re excited that Regent will be given the responsibility to help
all of us with a stake in Westwood’s future to make this dream a
reality."
In addition, the Marketplace is also expected to offer retail
space and restaurants. Brown interprets the Marketplace as an
old-fashioned town square where people can come with their families
to see a movie, shop and eat dinner.
The amenities sound promising, but Brown does not want to
neglect the hopes for community involvement that the project could
develop.
"We focus our retail onto the street so we don’t enclose it," he
said. "The shops face the street to interact with the
community."
One concept that hasn’t enclosed the Westwood Marketplace is
keeping within the aims of the Specific Plan.
"Meeting the specific plan is a goal of Regent Properties," Beck
said. "It is approporiate in size and scope."
Outside of maintaining height limits, the marketplace has
managed to stay within the movie seat cap while building another
theatre. As opposed to the rival Village Center Westwood, this
project will be able to comply with the Plan because they are
wokring with Mann Theatres.
Mann has agreed to close down some of its Westwood Theatres in
order to provide enough leverage for the new seats. According to
Brown, Regent Properties is currently seeking permission for a
nine-plex theatre with approximately 2,850 seats.
At a time when new ideas are severely criticized in the Village,
remaining within the ideas of the Specifc Plan has excluded the
Marketplace from the protests that other projects have
received.
Though not involved directly with the project, Larry Taylor,
president of Cristina Development and major property owner in the
village, is active in working towards revitalization of the village
and strongly supports the project.
"Regent Properties enjoys a fine reputation for being a pioneer
in the development of urban entertainment centers and for working
closely with local communities to revitalize urban … areas," he
said in a statement. "I look forward to seeing Regent’s plans for
the Westwood Marketplace."
Although the Marketplace is the newest project presented to
Westwood, Brown disregards any notion of competition.
"Our project stands alone," he said. "It will be reviewed on its
own merits."
As far as Smedra’s project only a few blocks away goes, Brown
only considers it another development that happens to be close to
the marketplace.
"We are not in competiton with anyone else," Beck confirmed.
Instead of competing with other proposed Westwood devlopments,
Brown chooses to focus on what Westwood is and could be.
"Westwood is a demographic goldmine," he said. "Our development
is something that has waited to happen in Westwood."
Steven Fink, vice president of Cristina Development, also hopes
that Westwood will finally be able to live to its fullest
potential.
"(Westwood) is an underutilized, poorly-represented area of the
community," he said. "Seeing the new excitement in the village is
great for the village. We all want what is best for the
village."
However what is best for the village might be a long time
coming. The entitlement process alone could take anywhere from 12
to 15 months for the project and with building time estimated at 10
to 12 months, Westwood Marketplace could be something many current
UCLA students will never have the chance to experience.