Hollywood Alliance launches initiatives to improve district.

Seeking to rebuild its community - and its tattered reputation - the Hollywood Economic Alliance last week launched a series of eight initiatives designed to improve the area's attractiveness to business, tourists and residents.

The initiatives include creating a business improvement district in the industrial/post-production areas of Hollywood, establishing a visitor center for tourists and adding new parking lots to make the area more accessible.

Each of the initiatives will be spearheaded by a team of business leaders and public officials to ensure that the recommendations don't simply gather dust, said John Rooney, president of the Valley Economic Development Alliance.

Rooney's group was paid $300,000 to develop the initiatives and create the business-community teams that will spearhead their implementation.

To put the plan into practice, the Hollywood Economic Alliance will seek $1.7 million in first-year funding - mostly from public and quasi-public agencies including the city and county of Los Angeles, the Community Redevelopment Agency, the Los Angeles Visitors and Convention Bureau and the state Trade and Commerce Agency.

Tim Mahoney, owner of Hollywood Center Studios, is among the business owners who supports the revitalization plan. His company owns sound-stages used to tape television shows such as the "Keenan Ivory Wayans Show."

Mahoney said that when he purchased his studio in 1984, he "spent the first two years building a fortress and hiring extra security."

But simply improving security in his facility wasn't enough, he said, because Hollywood's image was causing him to lose business.

"Basically you can't just build a big wall - it just doesn't work," said Mahoney. "It took us a while to figure out and then we decided to get together with the community and see what we can do."

The eight initiatives, outlined by the Alliance last week, are:

* A Business Improvement District centered in the industrial area of Hollywood where sound stages and post-production facilities are located. No plan has been developed yet, but the BID would be designed to make the area more attractive to business and to provide incentives such as tax breaks to companies in the area.

* A business incubation plan to encourage companies to locate in Hollywood, particularly new entertainment, high-technology and media businesses.

* A visitor center to provide a starting place for tourists. In addition, the initiative will include developing new tourist attractions for Hollywood.

* A safe streets plan to reduce crime. As part of this initiative, groups would look for ways to increase the police presence on the streets and create a new homeless shelter.

* A Hollywood Business Team patterned after a similar group in Mayor Richard Riordan's office. The business team would work closely with about 1,000 targeted businesses to assist them with growth and to keep them from moving to other areas. It also will offer assistance to startup businesses or merchants who wish to expand their companies.

* An education and training partnership with entertainment companies to develop a trained labor pool to meet the needs of the industry.

* A public relations campaign dubbed "Hooray From Hollywood" to improve the area's image.

* Infrastructure improvements including new parking structures, restoration of older buildings and the development of new fiber-optic lines to serve businesses.

The Valley Economic Development Council previously developed a 16-point initiative plan to help rebuild the San Fernando Valley after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Rooney said the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley has raised about $4 million for that program.