MINI TOWNS COULD DOT MTA LINES DEVELOPMENT ALONG ORANGE ROUTE SPURS VISION OF NEW LIFESTYLE.

Byline: SUE DOYLE Staff Writer

A multimillion-dollar construction boom is poised to transform the San Fernando Valley's Orange Line and other transit hubs in Los Angeles as developers envision communities of the future that rely on public transportation more than cars.

Office complexes, retail shops, entertainment and a mix of subsidized and traditional housing are in the works for MTA-owned land to redirect sprawling growth that has gridlocked traffic and fouled the air.

``The sprawl is to the wall. It's over the hill,'' Roger Snoble, chief executive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said Wednesday. ``Sprawl doesn't work anymore.''

Snoble said the Orange Line -- nearing its 22,000-passenger capacity after less than two years -- has become a catalyst for new development along its 14-mile route.

Long overlooked, land along the corridor -- particularly at its connecting hub to the Red Line subway -- is drawing interest from developers seeking areas where public transportation already is part of the landscape.

``It's almost a paradigm shift. In past years it would just lay there, but now it's amazing the kind of interest we're having,'' said Roger Moliere, head of real estate development for the MTA. ``With development, transportation is the driver.''

Fulfilling demand

Developing hubs of housing, work and entertainment along public transit routes fulfills a growing demand by commuters frustrated with traffic-choked freeways and surface streets, Moliere said.

Three companies are bidding for a contract to develop 17 acres of MTA-owned land around the transit hub at Lankershim and Chandler boulevards in North Hollywood, where the agency hopes to see 500 apartments, shops and offices, Moliere said.

Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., said North Hollywood has tremendous potential because of its proximity to the busway and the Red Line.

``We are in a gridlock situation,'' Kyser said. ``So access to some type of rapid transit, either rail or bus, is going to be more and more important to people.''

Smaller developments on MTA-owned land along the Orange Line call for a 32,000-square-foot office building with parking on 1.7 acres at Victory and Balboa boulevards.

Across the street sits a four-acre Park and Ride lot on which MTA officials hope to see a retail-and-residential development.

Another residential complex with some shops could come to another Park and Ride lot on the Orange Line at Sepulveda Boulevard and Erwin Street.

MTA officials say that 12-acre lot is underused and seems suitable for housing with a small retail component. Parking would be retained and possibly expanded.

In each case, the MTA plans to lease the land to developers.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said developers get the benefit of having mass-transit systems in place rather than building on a promise that routes will eventually be created -- a practice that led to much of the current congestion.

``We're paying the price for that everywhere,'' said Yaroslavsky, noting that commuters spend hours in their cars that they could be spending with their families. ``We're now paying the price for sprawl.''

Snoble compares the current boom along the Orange Line to how the 1800s construction of the railroads triggered the movement west.

``Regular development doesn't happen along bus routes,'' he said. ``Developers are looking at (the busway) now and saying, `Hey, this is as good as light rail and we need to jump on this opportunity while it's here.'''

Getting second look

At the same time, development around Los Angeles has spread about as far as it can, and now older areas -- such as North Hollywood -- are getting a second look, said Cliff Goldstein, senior partner at J.H. Snyder Co., an L.A. developer.

Launching its third major project for North Hollywood, the developer is building a Laemmle Theatre, a 100,000-square-foot office building and some housing on the southeast corner of Weddington Street and Lankershim about a half-block from the Orange Line.

``We need to come back to neighborhoods that have been too long neglected and revitalize these neighborhoods,'' Goldstein said. ``Sometimes it takes new development to have the large amount of dollars come in and revitalize. The Orange Line will contribute to that.''

Bruce Ackerman, president of the Economic Alliance, said developers can learn from mistakes made in other areas of L.A., where housing is miles away from stores and even farther from work. All three components should be planned together when envisioning communities, he said.

``If you blend the livability component and job component, all of a sudden you have a community that can sustain itself and grow itself into the future,'' Ackerman said.

Yaroslavsky urged caution in developing the Valley's open parcels because the results will be far-reaching.

``Whatever you do now will last for 50 years,'' he said. ``So we have to do it right the first time.''

sue.doyle(at)dailynews.com

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CAPTION(S):

photo, map

Photo:

Offices, shops, entertainment and a mix of subsidized and traditional housing are in the works on MTA land near the Orange Line to redirect sprawling growth that has gridlocked traffic and fouled the air.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer

Map:

Proposed Orange Line projects

Source: Daily News research by Sue Doyle

Warren Huskey/Staff Artist