Construction to begin on Santa Monica housing-retail development

The $350-million Village at Santa Monica complex is another sign that the commercial real estate market is rebounding in choice areas.

The Village at Santa Monica, shown in this rendering, will be the first major residential development to be built on Ocean Avenue in two decades and one of only a few condominium complexes under construction in Los Angeles County. The complex, scheduled to open in January 2014, will mix luxury condominiums and affordable apartments on a 3-acre site once owned by think tank Rand Corp. (Moore Ruble Yudell / February 14, 2012) By Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times February 16, 2012

In another sign that commercial real estate is thawing in choice markets, construction will officially get underway Thursday on a $350-million residential and retail development on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica.

The complex, called the Village at Santa Monica, which mixes luxury condominiums and affordable apartments, has been in the works for more than six years. The project is being built by New York developer Related Cos. on a 3-acre site once owned by think tank Rand Corp.

The Village is the first major residential development to be built on Ocean Avenue in two decades and one of only a few condominium complexes under construction in Los Angeles County.

“It’s very difficult to finance condos right now,” said Bill Witte, president of Related California, a subsidiary of Related. “The reason we were able to is because the financial community saw this correctly as a unique animal.”

The seaside location is the lure. Santa Monica has some of the most desirable real estate in the region and it is a challenge to get projects approved by local officials. Related was one of 14 competitors vying to develop the property, which the city purchased from Rand for $53 million in 2000. The city then sought a developer for the site.

Rand, meanwhile, built a new headquarters in 2004 on a piece of its former campus. The Village will rise west of Rand’s building and on both sides of an office built by Santa Monica developer Robert Maguire in 2002.

The Village will have 158 condos and 160 apartments in a cluster of buildings up to 10 stories high. Shops and restaurants will line much of the ground floor.

“We really want to activate the street,” Witte said. There will be public plazas and gardens and a large public walkway through the Village connecting Main Street to Ocean Avenue.

Condo prices probably will start at $700,000 or $800,000, Witte said. Sales will begin in 2013 and the Village is scheduled to open in January 2014. Apartment occupancy will be restricted to tenants whose annual incomes are less than 60% of the local median, which is now $50,580 for a family of four.

Rents are expected to run from less than $600 a month for a studio apartment to about $1,300 for a three-bedroom unit. Prospective tenants will take part in a lottery and screening process starting in summer 2013.

“The city’s commitment to affordable housing is an integral part of this development,” Mayor Richard Bloom said. “It will help ensure that Santa Monica is an accessible and welcoming community that fosters economic diversity.”

The city will also build the $55-million Palisades Garden Walk & Town Square on 7 acres north of the Village. The park that will connect Ocean Avenue and City Hall is being designed by James Corner Field Operations, the New York firm that designed the popular High Line elevated park in Manhattan.

Santa Monica is experiencing a burst of growth on the commercial property front that easily surpasses the slow, ragged comeback taking place in most Southern California neighborhoods. The office vacancy rate in downtown Santa Monica is a fraction of the county average and rents are among the highest in the state.

“The Santa Monica market reads more like San Francisco and the Bay Area than the rest of L.A,” Witte said, with job growth in technology and social media companies leading the way.

Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, a block away from the Village, is slated for substantial renovation followed by a relaunch with new programming by the Nederlander Organization. The Art Deco-style City Hall is scheduled for a $50-million restoration.

There is also a rush of real estate activity surrounding the expected 2016 arrival of a Metro Rail train line, designed to connect the city with downtown Los Angeles.

Near the end of the line, a Denny’s restaurant site at Lincoln Boulevard and Colorado Avenue recently sold for $11.25 million to make way for a new apartment and retail complex. Another parcel at the same intersection is expected to sell for more than $30 million as commercial property prices return to pre-recession levels.

The Village is also close to the planned train line.

Related has begun excavation on the Village’s underground garage. The condos and apartments will mark a return to housing on the site — the city sold it to Rand for $250,000 in the early 1950s after using it for an emergency housing project serving local World War II veterans and their families.

Related is developing the condos in partnership with Los Angeles real estate investment firm Resmark Cos. and the apartments with nonprofit developer Community Corp. of Santa Monica.

Santa Monica architecture firm More Ruble Yudell designed the master plan and the condos, and another local firm, Konig Eisenberg, designed the apartments.

Related is one of the country’s most prolific developers. Its portfolio includes high-end projects, such as the massive Time Warner Center in New York and the Century luxury condo tower in Century City, as well as market rate apartments and affordable housing such as Pueblo Del Sol in Los Angeles.

It is developing the $56-million Civic Park in downtown Los Angeles set to open in June and plans to break ground by the end of the year on a 20-story mixed-income apartment tower near the Broad Museum on Bunker Hill, Witte said.

Ex-Dodger Eric Davis lists Calabasas home

The 7,239-square-foot Mediterranean-style house features a swimming pool and spa, barbecue pavilion, half basketball court and stretches of lawn. Davis played for the Dodgers in the early ’90s.

Ex-baseball player Eric Davis is ready to downsize from his current house in Calabasas. (David Yobs) By Lauren Beale, Los Angeles Times February 2, 2012, 12:39 p.m.

Retired professional baseball player Eric Davis and his wife, Sherrie, have listed their home in Calabasas at $2.195 million.

The Mediterranean-style house, built in 1994, sits on about half an acre with a swimming pool and spa, barbecue pavilion, half basketball court and stretches of lawn. The 7,239-square-foot home features a marble-floored entry, a wrought-iron staircase, a media room with a wet bar, an office, four bedrooms and six bathrooms.

Davis, 49, played for the Dodgers in the early ’90s and ended his playing career with the San Francisco Giants in 2001. The former center fielder now works for the front office of the Cincinnati Reds, where he played from 1984 to 1991. He was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 2005.

The couple will scale down to a smaller single-level home in the area, according to their listing agent, David Yobs of Prudential California Realty. With their children grown, they don’t need as large a home anymore, Yobs said.

Public records show they bought the property in 2001 for $1.65 million.

Calabasas plastic bag ban seems to carry weight

By Sylvie Belmond

belmond@theacorn.com

PACKAGE DEAL—A shopper gets help with reusable bags. Acorn file foto Many shoppers in Calabasas appear to welcome the city’s prohibition on carryout plastic bags. But others say the regulation is an infringement on personal liberty and a drag on business.

The Calab asas City Council is debating the pros and cons of the plastic bag ban, which affects all retail stores in the city. The ban went into effect last July.

While larger stores, such as Albertsons and Rite Aid, had to comply right away, smaller retails stores had until Jan. 1 to conform to the ordinance.

Though stores will no longer provide free disposable plastic bags, customers have the option to buy recyclable paper bags for 10 cents each.

To help with the transition, the city worked to educate residents about the benefits of the ban and to promote the use of reusable bags.

But some shoppers are still unaware of the ban and aren’t happy about the 10-cent fee to purchase paper bags, Alex Farassati, environmental services manager for Calabasas, said in a report.

According to the report, more than 330,000 paper bags were sold between July 1 and Jan. 1, totaling about $32,000 in revenue for large shops. Store managers believe the sale of paper bags will drop in 2012 as residents become accustomed to carrying reusable bags when they run errands.

The shops have also sold a large number of reusable bags.

Overall, stores are reporting a smooth transition to the ban on plastic. Merchants believe shoppers have adjusted well to the ban and most are amenable to the change because they believe it will benefit the environment.

Resident Dale Reicheneder initially opposed the ordinance because he considered it an intrusion. But he said the law has forced him to change old habits and decrease his consumption of disposable plastic bags.

“I learned from it and I think I’m better for it,” Reicheneder said.

Other speakers endorsed the ban in front of the City Council, describing how it protects local creeks, beaches and the environment.

Calabasas officials made a prudent decision, said Kirsten James, water quality director with Heal the Bay, a nonprofit environmental organization.

“It is making a difference, and we need to continue on this path,” James said, adding that fewer bags have been found in local waterways since the ban went into effect.

Sarah Paulson Sheehy, a representative for the California Grocers Association, said her organization has no qualms about the prohibition on plastic bags.

Although the transition at some stores hasn’t been seamless, “we as an association are comfortable with the ordinance,” she said.

Rick Crandall, an environmental department representative for Albertsons, said his company is happy with the approach the city took.

“Most customers don’t understand that bags have never been free,” he said. The costs are always passed on to consumers, who pay for them one way or another.

But not everyone is so agreeable.

In October, a lawsuit was filed challenging Los Angeles County’s plastic bag ordinance. The suit alleges that the 10-cent charge for paper bags is a special tax that cannot be enforced without voter approval.

“It’s inappropriate for a city to establish the price an establishment should charge for anything,” Calabasas resident Thomas Hanson said.

Martin Goldstein, who lives just outside the city limits on Mulholland Drive, said he no longer buys large quantities of goods from Calabasas stores because it’s too inconvenient.

Stores should be able to supply plastic bags if they choose, Goldstein said.

Paul Mac, who owns a gas station in Calabasas, asked officials to better educate consumers who don’t live in the city.

“We get a lot of transient customers. When they purchase items and bring them to the cashier and learn there is a 10-cent charge, at times they get rude or leave the store,” Mac said.

Alicia Weintraub, a member of the Calabasas Environmental Commission, suggested the city develop the capability to field complaints. That would take the burden of angry customers away from store employees, she said.

“The problem is that some store employees get harassed by customers who oppose the ban,” Weintraub said.

Because the ordinance for smaller stores only went into effect four weeks ago, it’s too early to evaluate its impact, Farassati said.

The Environmental Commission will revisit the ordinance in about six months.

Calabasas council rescinds septic law

2012-02-02 / Community

By Sylvie Belmond

belmond@theacorn.com

The Calabasas City Council has closed the book on a controversial septic tank inspection law that was accused of creating stress and hardship over the past year for some homeowners in the rural parts of town.

Last week, the council overturned the law and restored the regulations to what they were before the adoption of the septic tank ordinance, a law that was pushed heavily by former Councilmember Barry Groveman.

“ This rescinds the codes passed two years ago and takes us back to that date,” Mayor James Bozajian said. In the future, the city will abide by septic tank regulations that are being developed by the state.

In 2009 the city passed an ordinance requiring property owners who have on-site wastewater treatment systems to obtain operating permits and to make sure their septic tanks working properly.

Building officials inspected 138 septic systems in Calabasas. Twenty of those properties subsequently hooked up to sewers. Of the 118 that remained, 31 received violation notices stating that their septic tanks were failing.

The city will work with the property owners who have notices of violation to help them make their systems work. If a faulty tank only affects private property and not creeks or public rights of way, the city will dismiss the notice of violation without further inspection.

The city will also accept inspections recently performed by a licensed inspector who can confirm that a system is working properly.

But if a code enforcement complaint comes from a third party, the city will investigate, as it would with any other building violation. If the system is found to be defective or overflowing and poses a health risk, it must be repaired, city officials said.

Councilmember Fred Gaines says he’s not opposed to the septic systems.

“But septic systems in our city, as far as I’m concerned, have to work,” Gaines said.

Bozajian, who initiated the repeal, apologized to the community for the trouble the city septic ordinance may have caused.

“I’m very pleased tonight that the council is taking this direction,” he said.

Districts and families in limbo over proposed cut to new kindergarten program

Photo by David Yamamoto, Special to The Star // Buy this photo

Transitional-kindergarten pupils look at a substance for a science project during class at Sumac School in Agoura Hills.

Alyce LaLiberte has no great options.

Her daughter, Addisynn, turns 5 in November — nine days past the state’s new cutoff to register for kindergarten.

To enroll in regular kindergarten classes in the fall, children must turn 5 by Nov. 1, a month earlier than for this school year.

The state is moving up the birthday cutoff gradually over three years. By 2014, children will have to turn 5 by Sept. 1 to be eligible — a move legislators approved in 2010 to boost student achievement and bring California in line with most other states.

A new state law requires districts to put transitional kindergarten programs in place for children like Addisynn.

But

Gov. Jerry Brown last week proposed eliminating that mandate. Faced with an estimated $9 billion budget deficit, officials said now is not the time to expand or create programs. The move could save $224 million in 2012-13.

Preschool advocates, however, say the plan will shut thousands of children out of public education. Educators, lawmakers and others vow to fight the proposal.

Districts and families in limbo over proposed cut to new kindergarten program

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The situation has left LaLiberte in a holding pattern as she tries to make sure her daughter has a spot somewhere this fall.

“It’s seriously what I think about every day,” the Simi Valley resident said. “It’s very frustrating.”

The governor’s budget is just the first step in the budget process. Legislators must weigh in, and officials say a lot could change.

Districts faced challenges getting new transitional programs ready, but now they’re stuck in limbo.

“We’re just working in the dark,” said Robert Iezza, elementary education director in the Conejo Valley Unified School District.

Conejo Valley and other local districts said they plan to continue moving forward with transitional programs.

Some districts already have similar classes, geared toward children with fall or even summer birthdays. At the end of the first year, parents and teachers decide whether the pupils are ready for first grade or kindergarten. Most choose  kindergarten.

In the past, all those children have made the age requirement for kindergarten. This fall, those with November birthdays won’t.

California has a waiver option that could be used to let some pupils into kindergarten, but how or if that process would work is unclear.

With the proposal to cut state funding, district officials said they are having to tell families things are up in the air for children with November birthdays. Officials estimate about 40,000 pupils statewide will fit into that category in 2012-13. About 120,000 children are expected to qualify for the transitional programs in 2014.

The Simi Valley Unified School District plans to move forward with its transitional program. The district has had a similar program before, offered to some of the youngest kindergarten-eligible children.

Officials are planning to expand it to more campuses in the fall but caution parents that it might not be available for children born in November, said Ron Todo, elementary education director.

About 100 to 120 pupils in the district could be affected. Todo said the district hopes the state will come up with another solution and that local officials may search for more funding if the state cuts the money.

LaLiberte said she will have to continue paying tuition at a preschool but that she worries the wait could put preschool out of reach, too.

Preschool spots are competitive, she said. If she has to wait to see what happens with the state budget, she could lose her daughter’s spot in the preschool.

The Las Virgenes Unified School District has had a transitional program, Journeys, for four years and plans to keep it going. From its start, the classes have filled up and had waiting lists, said Carol Martino, principal of Sumac School in Agoura Hills.

“If they cut the funding for the November students, we will continue to have the Journeys program. But obviously, if they don’t fund, we won’t be necessarily serving those November kids,” said Rose Dunn, the district’s director of instruction.

“It will be difficult to run the programs, given the kind of cuts that we’ve had, for free,” she said.

Preliminary estimates say the district may have 50 pupils with November birthdays who would be affected.

“It really speaks to the need to have a more stable funding source for education, because to be having to make decisions like ‘today you’re in; tomorrow you’re out’ is really unconscionable for children,” Dunn said.