EXTREME MAKEOVER -- SIMI VALLEY EDITION WHAT'S OLD IS NEW AGAIN BUILDING OWNERS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF GRANTS TO REMAKE THEIR PROPERTIES.

Byline: ERIC LEACH

Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY - Some of the old buildings along Los Angeles Avenue are starting to look new again thanks to radical makeovers under the city's Los Angeles Avenue Revitalization Program.

Property owners on 5 acres and less are taking advantage of municipal grants as high as $80,000 to get rid of their old facades and create new, eye-catching structures.

"It's a real education process for the owners of the buildings. They are under the impression nothing is free," said City Councilwoman Barbra Williamson, who sits on the council's Los Angeles Avenue Revitalization Committee along with Councilman Glen Becerra.

"I love it," she said. "Some of the changes just knock your socks off. Quite a few people on Los Angeles Avenue have done it, but not enough."

Some examples of makeovers include the Century 21 building on the north side of Los Angeles Avenue between Galt Street and Erringer Road, the Cedar Plaza shopping center nearing completion at the southeast corner of Galt and Los Angeles, the APEX Financial Services office, where construction is under way at 1951 Galt, and the Euro Discount Tile building, where the renovation is nearing completion at 1276 E. Los Angeles Ave.

Plans have also been made to remake the Taco Bell at 1438 E. Los Angeles Ave.

Assistant City Manager Brian Gabler said the new work on Los Angeles Avenue stems from the Tapo Street Renovation Project that started nearly seven years ago.

"We had a lot of success working with business and property owners over there, so we looked at Los Angeles Avenue as the next likely candidate, one of the older commercial corridors in the city," he said.

The Los Angeles Avenue project started about three years ago and is now having some dramatic results.

"It's just starting to catch wind with the property owners," he said. "It can be tough starting a project where the property owners are asked to infuse a lot of money."

Although the city has given grants up to $80,000, Gabler said the property owners usually contribute much more themselves.

"Projects built in the 1970s are starting to show their age and need some assistance," Gabler said. "Property owners are starting to look at redoing them, changing the facades. As time goes by they start investing in their properties. They talk, and one sees what another did. Word of mouth helps."

The grant money from the city comes from property taxes in the form of redevelopment funds. As the area is upgraded, the value of the property and property taxes go up, recouping the investment.

Financial adviser Anil Garg is in the middle of redoing his office building with the help of a $35,000 grant from the city.

His APEX Financial Services offices are in what was once a house built in the 1950s at 1951 Galt St., near the corner of Los Angeles Avenue.

Garg pointed out that construction projects like this can be messy and difficult at times, but the results wind up being good for the businesses, customers and the neighborhood in general.

"This was kind of an old stretch of Los Angeles Avenue between Erringer and First Street," he said. "You can see a big difference already. The Cedar Plaza looks nice, Euro Tile looks nice. It's starting to change the whole area."

Alfonso Gonzalez, owner of Euro Tile, said he lives in Simi Valley and is happy to see his hometown being upgraded.

"We wanted to do something and they offered the grant fund money. It's great," he said. "They hope our building will serve as an example to others."

Down the street at the Cedar Plaza, a 25-year-old wood facade was removed and the roof extended upward with a dormer-style tower at one end, with the whole roof covered by Spanish tile.

Insurance agency owner Mario Astorga said visitors to the Cedar Plaza like the change.

"Customers come in and say the building looks a lot nicer and newer," he said.

Becerra said modern retailers are increasingly looking to older areas for new outlets.

"We can't focus on the newer areas and neglect our older areas," he said. "When a new company comes into Simi Valley now, a lot of time they have to go into older shopping centers. That's why the redevelopment money is so important, because it makes the older areas more attractive to high-quality retailers who want to locate in our community."

The businesses usually stay open while the remodeling takes place, which can be an inconvenience for customers at times, officials said.

"Any time you go under a remodel, it's always an inconvenience," Williamson said. "The last thing business people want to do is deter their customers from coming into their stores. It is money out of their pockets. But in the long run it works out really well."

eric.leach(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) At Euro Discount Tile Inc. on East Los Angeles Avenue, a city grant has allowed for a makeover. Simi Valley officials are encouraging businesses to take advantage of grants to overhaul facades.

(2 -- color) Alfonso Gonzalez owns newly renovated Euro Discount Tile in Simi Valley. The area is undergoing a revitalization through government grants.

Ernesto Elizarraraz/Special to the Daily News