FIRM GETS FOOTHOLD IN WEST VALLEY SHOE STORE SET FOR REGION.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

CANOGA PARK - A run-down pawn shop subject to neighborhood scorn will soon get a facelift to prepare for its new tenants, as the Warehouse Shoe Sale and Ritmo Latino announced plans to expand in the west San Fernando Valley on Friday.

The dilapidated store at the corner of De Soto Avenue and Sherman Way, plastered with dingy brown tile far past its stylish heyday, will be scrubbed up with funds supplied by the Community Redevelopment Agency in preparation for WSS' and the Latino music store's arrival. With the two sharing space in the long-vacant 10,000-square-foot building, the CRA envisions that a corner plagued by neglect will soon show signs of revitalization.

Working in conjunction with Councilman Dennis Zine's office, the Gardena-based chain has submitted redesign plans to the CRA, which can allocate up to $30,000 for cosmetic changes.

``It's not a blight, but it's not one of the nicest-looking places there,'' said Michael Besem, Zine's field deputy, carefully choosing his words. ``That will beautify the corner.''

Others were not so delicate in their choice of words for the long-deserted site, still covered with signs advertising a business closed for more than a year.

``It's an eyesore,'' said Jim Miele, WSS' chief operating officer. ``That dark brown tile is not our motif, so we're not going to leave it there.''

After several months of discussion with Zine's office, Warehouse Shoes approached the CRA with renderings to strip the tiles and create the building anew. Using money set aside for facade repair and business attraction, the agency will pay contractors hired by the shoe retailer to ritz up the outside. This project will be the CRA's first in Canoga Park, agency officials said, aimed to make the muddled shopping district more cohesive.

``We want it to have curb appeal,'' said Leslie Lambert, the CRA's project manager. ``It's hard since that's not as much of a pedestrian area. If businesses look derelict and ugly, people won't shop there. We want to get the economy better there.''

Both stores, expected to start sharing space in the building by April, cater to the Latino market, an essential part of the local community. Already, several Latino-oriented stores, from a Fallas Paredes shoe store to a Vallarta Supermarket, dot the stretch of Sherman Way between De Soto and Canoga avenues. Though both of the newcomer chains have a few stores in the Valley, neither has expanded west beyond Van Nuys, and WSS hopes to add several more in coming months.

``I think there's potential there,'' said David Massry, president of Tinton Falls, N.J.-based Ritmo Latino. ``I've seen the business that Vallarta's done. It's a good area that we're not covering yet.''

His store will carve out 3,000 square feet for its aisles of norteno, salsa and rock en espanol discs, DVDs and listening stations. WSS plans on filling the remaining 7,000 square feet with rows of men's and women's footwear and limited apparel items. Ritmo hasn't finalized its hiring plans yet, but WSS expects to employ 10 to 12 workers, full time and part time, at above-minimum wages, with benefits.

Combined with the continued attempts to revitalize the area surrounding the Madrid Theatre, the city agencies hope to turn a jumbled retail strip, where French pastries, antiques, work clothes and discount shoes all compete for shoppers' attentions, into a hip destination.

``We're not trying to create Rodeo Drive in Canoga Park, we just want something successful for the community,'' Besem said. ``We want something for everyone here.''

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Warehouse Shoe Sale