‘Renaissance’ transforms Village
By Hedyeh Melamed
Imagine a once safe and lively village famous for its quaint
restaurants, late night strolls, ice-cream parlors, entertainment
and coffee houses suddenly transforming into a town plagued with
its lack of competitiveness, the recession and publicized incidents
of crime.
Originally developed by one family in the late 1920s, and now
distributed among companies that own the majority of commercial
property, Westwood Village has experienced a long and painful
decline.
However, Thomas Carroll, executive director of the Westwood
Village Management Corporation, has dedicated the last two years to
creating a plan to re-establish and re-strengthen the community as
a vital component of the greater Los Angeles area. His primary
missions are to resolve the parking situation, revitalize the
streetscape environment, and ultimately create a community that
will meet the needs of all its members.
By month’s end, the Los Angeles City Council will meet to vote
on a new tax geared toward local businesses. The fee would be made
into a fund to improve the pedestrian environment of the
village.
"By two years we hope to create a cultural, educational and safe
atmosphere. With all of the diversity in this community, we want to
establish a sense of place. We want people in the surrounding areas
to feel a sense of connection and belonging with the new Westwood
Village," said Carroll.
Carroll, the designer who transformed the Third Street Promenade
in Santa Monica, envisions Westwood as an area that will once again
be rich in culture, with its fine museums, theaters, retail stores,
all in walking distance of each other. He wants to reinvigorate a
community center that will serve residents, workers, students and
visitors.
The new "renaissance" theme that Westwood plans to take on will
incorporate a strong mixture of retail businesses, arts and
entertainment. Carroll hopes Westwood Village will be recognized as
falling somewhere between the Century City Shopping Center and the
Promenade.
His first step toward Westwood’s renovation is building a new
multi-level parking structure that be located across from
Stratton’s Grill, located on Broxton Avenue. The 12-month, $7
million parking project will begin construction in August of
1995.
The four-level parking structure will consist of 400 spaces,
with retail boutiques on the ground level. A flat $2 rate will
apply after 5 p.m. seven days a week. In addition, meter rates will
be reduced to 50 cents per hour.
"I think the new parking structure being built is great. This
way, Broxton Avenue would be blocked off and it would allow us to
place outdoor seating for our customers. We are hoping this is one
way that will attract people to come back to Westwood," said Robert
Ananian of Stratton’s Grill.
Students also hope that the new structure will resolve the lack
of parking in Westwood.
"There were so many times I avoided entering the Westwood
Village for my errands or to grab a bite to eat, because of the
lack of parking. If this new parking structure resolves the parking
problem, I would be more willing to go there," said Susie Hanasab,
a third-year student.
Overall beautification of the Westwood Village will consist of
planting 100 street trees, including double rows of Chinese flame
trees and landscaping Broxton Avenue. Plans also include widening
and repairing sidewalks, while new pedestrian street lights similar
to historic lights will be installed. Designers explained the
community will be decorated with new benches, ornaments and
artwork.
Carroll wants to change Westwood’s image by promoting "clean and
safe" banners throughout the Westwood village community.
"I have seen Westwood go through up and down roller coasters.
From its attraction to teenagers and young adults, to its famous
movie premiers, to its devastating recession that hit this
community hard. But I think a change is long overdue, and hopefully
this final revitalization plan will restore Westwood to a new found
image and status," said David Melamed, 15-year owner of the Gypsy
Cafe, located on Broxton Avenue.
In addition, with the construction of the world-renowned Getty
Museum nearby, Carroll hopes that it will establish a connection
with the Westwood community.
"The Getty is like the Parthenon in Athens. It is an incredible
museum that is going to attract the world. The fact that we will be
the commercial area adjacent to this museum is wonderful. This way
we will be able to attract more people towards Westwood," he
said.
In the future, Carroll hopes that the safety concerns of
Westwood residents will be addressed with the creation of a police
community center, that will function as a substation for the Los
Angeles and university police.
"I think it’s a proactive move that Tom Carroll is making.
People perceive Westwood as unsafe, but the crime rate is down, and
with this community center being built in the village, it’s an
excellent way to keep the area permanently safe. Through this
community center we hope to reinforce the importance of crime
prevention, neighborhood watch, and public safety. In essence, we
want to be an outlet for alert bulletins and drug/alcohol services.
Besides providing public safety, we will work to meet a variety of
the communities needs," said Clarence Chapman, chief of university
police.
Other goals are to implement a weekly, monthly and annual events
schedule including the weekly certified Farmer’s Market which takes
place every Thursday on Weyburn Avenue. According to Carroll, the
farmer’s market acts as a microcosm of what he wants to provide for
Westwood Village.