Tuesday, January 21, 1997
WESTWOOD:
Village Center Project offers town a chance to rebuild its
reputation, business coffersIs Westwood doomed to mediocrity?
Student presence and interest in Westwood has declined
dramatically since its heyday, which lasted from the ’50s all
through the mid-’80s.
If Ira Smedra has his way with the City Council, sometime before
next April Westwood could be back on track toward its glory
days.
Smedra’s $100 million Village Center, to be placed on the
parking lot of Weyburn and Tiverton, would bring a 17-theater
multiplex, including an IMAX theater, a supermarket and
"community-oriented" stores to the city. It seems the surest way to
boost Westwood’s economy, which has been impervious to the "boom"
of "boom and bust" business cycles. It is the goal of this project,
according to the project’s information guide, to "bring back the
sense of fun that once characterized Westwood Village."
And, with any luck, the project will begin to accommodate what
has been a largely ignored student market in the last few years.
Support for the Center, however, faces opposition.
Critics  mostly community groups such as the Friends of
Westwood  claim that Westwood does not need the extra
theaters, despite Mann’s aggressive expansion on the corner of
Gayley and Wilshire. They also maintain that the plan does not
adequately prepare for the incoming traffic that the Village
Project is sure to bring, but local businesses have expressed
support for the project, which will also bring foot-traffic to
them.
To the critics, we ask how it is possible that Westwood could
survive without the economic boon that students provide. This
source of revenue could even help improve Westwood, but this
potential gold mine has been left untapped.
One may attribute the lack of businesses specifically targeted
at students to community groups, which have pressured the passage
of ordinances preventing live music and dancing, in order fulfill
their vision of Westwood as a closed-door, primarily residential
community.
What are these ordinances but attempts to prevent Westwood’s
natural growth into the balanced college town it should be? Where
are we now? Yale without New Haven? Berkeley without its environs?
USC?
Their efforts are nothing but detrimental to Westwood.
At a time when local merchants are concerned about ASUCLA’s
influence over the student market, the City Council would do well
to approve the Village Center and help Westwood. Both students and
businesses would benefit.
If the proposal does not pass, then the city will most likely
continue on its path toward economic and cultural stagnation.
Without tapping into and arousing the interest of the strong
student population that UCLA offers, there is no obvious happy
ending. The Center is much more than a chance; it is a gift that,
supported by many local businesses, is necessary and long
overdue.
Westwood cannot afford to look this gift horse in the mouth.
The Bruin encourages students to write to Los Angeles City
Councilman Mike Feuer in order to win his support for the Village
Center Project. All correspondence should be addressed to: 822 S.
Robertson Blvd. #102 L.A.,CA 90035.
Isn’t it time you had somewhere to go on Friday night?