Casden Properties plans to break ground on Palazzo
Westwood’s construction in the upcoming weeks, but many
residents and business owners are still opposed to what they see as
a cheapening of the residential and commercial project through the
removal of many of the original amenities.
The $100 million development faces approval from the Westwood
Community Design Board before construction begins on the southeast
and southwest corners of Weyburn and Glendon avenues.
“Many members of the community, including myself, see this
as a stripped-down project with cheaper materials and cheaper
finishes,” said Steve Sann, a member of the Westwood Business
Association.
The project, which was originally planned to offer 350
apartments and 115,000 square feet of retail space, has had its
retail space reduced to 50,000 square feet. Business owners and
residents also say Casden promised an open-air walkway connecting
the building to Westwood Boulevard, but are now only getting a
closed 15-foot walkway that dead-ends in an alley.
“It appears that they are trying to build as cheaply as
possible and not as they showed,” Sann said.
Howard Katz, vice president of Casden Properties, said that an
open-air walkway was never part of the plans for Palazzo Westwood
and that the closed walkway would help filter out street noise that
would otherwise disrupt apartment residents.
“Why would we want a corridor in the building open to the
sky so that noises penetrate to the residential areas above?”
he asked.
One sign of the decreased quality Casden is putting into the
project is the elimination of foliage from the original plans, Sann
said. Village members say the reduced vegetation will attract fewer
shoppers and apartment renters to the area.
“Before, there were courtyards and fountains, but now they
look more like tightly packed airshafts,” said Laura Lake,
co-president of community group Save Westwood Village.
“They’ve stripped it bare and are using a cookie-cutter
approach, which is not what we signed on to last fall.”
Another issue of concern is the proposed continuous storefront
that lacks much of the planned variety and diversity in the
shops’ appearance, said Michael Metcalfe, a professional
architectural designer and planner and member of the Westwood
Homeowners’ Association.
Metcalfe said the lack of “anchor stores” such as
cafes and restaurants positioned at corners to help draw crowds
along the front of other smaller shops is a “kiss of
death” that could cause businesses to lose out on customers
they otherwise would have had. The lack of pre-leased storefronts
also creates the question of how many vacancies there would be when
the building opens, he said.
“To open with vacant space shows a lack of sophistication,
and I am concerned this will function at a very marginal level of
success and be very damaging to the overall economic viability of
Westwood,” Metcalfe said.
The issue of leasing out the retail space would be solved by the
time the building actually opened to the public, Katz said, saying
“it’s a two-year construction period with plenty of
time.”
In addition to a lack of pre-leasing, Casden has not provided a
service bay for the shops that are expected to open, Metcalfe said.
A six-foot corridor of delivery space to provide continuous access
to trucks is typically provided for retail, but no such plans have
been put in place for Palazzo Westwood, he said.
“They’re housing developers and know all about
efficient housing layers, but don’t have good retail
consulting,” Metcalfe said.
Lake said the reduction in parking spaces from the original plan
was a “missed opportunity” that could have helped
alleviate traffic problems in Westwood.
Metcalfe added that lack of additional parking spots showed a
lack of teamwork between the city and Casden.
“It would have, could have and should have been a
public-private partnership with the city participating financially
and subsidizing construction of additional subterranean parking
beyond what was required,” Metcalfe said.
Katz said the number of parking spots being built is
significantly more than what other building codes typically
require.
He added that the initial plans to create additional parking
were cut short when the community asked for them to preserve
historical building Glendon Manor, originally the site of a planned
three-level subterranean parking structure.
“When priorities were placed, Glendon Manor became more
important than parking space,” Katz said.
Though residents believe Palazzo Westwood is not living up to
its standards, Casden says it has done everything possible and is
still working toward making the project the best it can be.
“It’s just a question of nailing down the
details,” Katz said. “I’m just kind of
disappointed homeowners haven’t been more
supportive.”