Santa Monica’s Week In Business

Michael Rosenthal

   The City of Santa Monica likes to focus on sustainable development with a strong recycling ethic. For a unique application of this philosophy, one need look no further then the wonderful reincarnation of the Powerhouse Theatre, once a power generating facility, now a neighborhood entertainment venue. I have seen plays there that were at once intimate and extraordinarily powerful.  The patio deck, though small, is an excellent place to mingle with neighbors, friends and visitors to our community. The Powerhouse has now initiated live jazz concerts every Sunday from 5 p.m.to 8 p.m., featuring performers from around the area. 
   Andrew Barrett-Weiss, Executive Director of the Powerhouse Theatre Company, likes to say, “Parking is a lot easier when you walk.” Fortunately, the theater is located within a few feet of Main Street, the Ocean Park neighborhood and is adjacent to Venice with its 3rd St. and Marine locale. Santa Monicans can also visit by taking the Big Blue Bus or hopping on the Tide Shuttle.
   The County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, Arts Commission, has approved an organizational grant to the theatre for $5,841 a year over the next two years. 
   One of the largest employers in Santa Monica is planning to move. The aerospace company BAE Systems, formerly Lear Siegler, with approximately 700 employees, has announced it plans to sell its buildings on Centinela, at the eastern edge of the Santa Monica airport. The 10.4-acre campus, with over 200,000 square ft of space might fetch as much as $35 million. The company plans on using the proceeds to retire debt. BAE has said it wants to remain in the Los Angeles area and will seek property within 20 miles of its existing location. Whoever acquires this property will have the added advantage of adjacent parkland as the City is developing the asphalt along Airport Avenueinto playing fields, doggie parks and open space. The property also commands magnificent views of the westside basin, with sight lines to both the mountains and ocean. 
   Santa Monica-based architect Frank Gehry has been hired to help developer Rob Maguire design and plan for 60 acres of commercial development at Playa Vista. The property in question is being acquired from Playa Capital and was originally slated for the Dreamworks campus. There is good news and bad news in this announcement. It is always good to have one of our treasured local architects work close to home, but it is bad news for development foes as the combination of locally well connected Rob Maguire and the stature of Gehry will be difficult to defeat. The initial four-building design will contain a total of 450,000 square feet of commercial space out of a total of 2.2 million allowed for the overall complex. Gehry will be cooperating with other architects for the balance of the project. 
   Developer Maguire has been the first to actually start construction with his Waters Edge project on Lincoln Blvd. directly adjacent to the Playa Vista visitor’s center. 
   Project foes have attempted to save all 1,087 acres of the Ballona Wetlands. Much of their focus has been on preserving all lands west of Lincoln Blvd., which would permit a significant portion of the wetlands to be restored, as well as providing for an unobstructed scenic corridor to the ocean. Many peope have strongly advocated for preservation of the entire open space as a great urban park, fearing that development will generate a significant increase in traffic in the already clogged 405 and Lincoln corridors. They also believe that the lands immediately beneath the bluffs must remain open so that the natural runoff that provides necessary fresh water for the wetlands water mix will not be interrupted. 
   Gehry’s largest project to date in Santa Monica is Santa Monica Place (now owned by Santa Monica public company MaceRich), which employs his trademark industrial materials in the south-facing parking structure grid. But the mall effectively split the town in two. Local architect and City Councilman Herb Katz has suggested blowing (figuratively, I understand he is a non-violent sort of fella) the roof off the center of the mall and creating an open corridor from the Third Street Promenade to our planned civic center plaza. The idea ties into another idea I heard from Mayor Mike Feinstein who suggested we cover sections of the freeway just east of McClure Tunnel in order to create more open space. I saw a picture the other day of a Montana highway that had huge landscaped overpasses so that Grizzly Bear can cross through from one mountain range to the next. My wife has called me both grizzly and a bear (affectionately of course) so why not provide people like me a landscaped walking space across the freeways?
   Santa Monica-based architectural firm Andresen Associates, has recently completed a 24,000 square foot project for Liberty Livewire Corporation in Burbank at the Media Studios North Complex, adjacent to the Burbank Airport. Liberty has a large presence in Santa Monica with their corporate headquarters at 520 Broadway. It’s the parent company of Hollywood Digital, Todd-AO, POP, Riot, 4 MC, Soundlux and others. Andresen Associates created a new accounting center for Liberty, bringing together the accounting departments for all of the above companies and incorporating the primary IT Department for Liberty. Andresen specializes in designing entertainment/post production facilities, with former clients including MGM, Disney and Lorimar.
   Principal of the firm, Kristina Andresen AIA, was appointed to the architectural seat on the Santa Monica Department of Building and Safety Commission. Andresen also sits on the board of Upward Bound House which has two wonderful facilities in town including Family Place with 22 units of transitional housing and services for homeless families and Senior Villa with 68 units of low-income senior housing. If you want to support this outstanding non-profit organization consider attending their annual benefit dinner at the Fairmont Hotel, October 18. For more information contact Andresen at (310) 399-0868.
   It looks like the U.S. Postal Service will be getting the boot from its facility on Colorado between 10th and 11th streets, as it is now in escrow. Liberty Livewire acquired Santa Monica-based Four Media Co, the owners of the property, and absorbed it into their other properties. This freed up the 130,000 square foot parcel of land for sale. USPS will get to stay for the remaining 5 years of its lease.
   MTV, with offices in the sleek precinct of Santa Monica, celebrating 20 years (“I want my MTV”) in business has announced that it has reached 100 million homes in Europe. Though short of the 130 million homes it reaches in Asia, Europe is the most profitable overseas venture for the Viacom-owned company. 
   Los Angeles City Councilwomen Ruth Galanter was defeated in her bid to become Council president and immediately spoke of double crosses. Ironic in that many of her constituents have accused her of the same thing in striking a deal with Playa Vista developers after campaigning as a slow growth candidate. She also ramrodded a thumbs up vote on Playa Vista through a lame duck council last month irritating newly elected representatives who wanted to take a fresh look at the project. 
   I watched Bill Rosendahl’s Adelphia Cable show the other night and saw him advocate for a Medicare credit card, not for just seniors but for all citizens of the U.S. This is similar to how health care is handled in most industrial countries of the world including Germany, France, England and Sweden.These countries have outstanding care and the best technology available. Immediately, the representative from the California Chamber of Commerce opposed the plan, stating it would be based on a payroll deduct plan and be onerous to business. They just don’t get it, small businesses today are seeking ways to provide health care coverage for their employees and have few alternative affordable methods available. The plan would cut out the 24% of our health care dollars that currently go to insurance overhead and profits instead of into doctor-patient care. Most small businesses want to retain good employees and health care is the number one requested benefit. If the Chamber does not find a way to support small business in this effort they are not doing their job. Forty-three million Americans are without any type of health insurance. 
   The Visitors and Convention Bureau is given $1 million-plus a year to help bring tourists into Santa Monica, the City has spent millions for parking structures, road repair, civic improvements, park improvements, Pier improvements and so forth. The city Planning Commission approved luxury hotels and spent millions fixing Ocean Front Walk. Now the owners of two of our luxury hotels are threatening city councilmen with funding their opponents’ next elections if they don’t back off the livable wage fight. The same people that have provided all the civic improvements that make their hotels so successful sponsor this ordinance. These are two magnificent hotels, taking advantage of all the city has to offer. I personally frequent them, send visitors to them and admire their charm and beauty. Why they feel it necessary to go against the residents’ desires on this issue, the same residents who have provided tax dollars to make their city attractive to tourists, is beyond me.