A proposed project that would demolish the iconic Sportsmen’s Lodge hotel in Studio City and replace it with a mixed-use development next to the upscale retail center known as The Shops is one step closer to final approval.
The Los Angeles City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee voted 4-0, with Councilmember Imelda Padilla absent, on Tuesday, March 19, to uphold a prior Planning Commission decision to allow the proposed project at 12825 Ventura Blvd., just south of the Los Angeles River, to move forward.
The Studio City Residents Association, along with Erewhon, a high-end grocery store next to the project site, and UNITE HERE Local 11, a union that represents hotel workers, are appealing the planning commission’s decision, but the PLUM committee this week voted to deny their appeals.
The full City Council is expected to take a final vote at a future meeting.
The developer, Midwood Investment & Development, wants to demolish the history-rich 190-room hotel – and replace it with a mixed-use development featuring approximately 46,000 square feet of commercial space and 520 apartment units, of which 78 would be set aside for very-low income tenants.
Dave Rand, attorney for Midwood, told City Council committee members that the project would bring “one of the most important and catalytic developments to this part of the San Fernando Valley.”
“For years, Ventura Boulevard has been a largely ignored yet hugely important corridor in the Valley,” he said. “With this city’s unbelievably ambitious housing goals and obligations … this site is the perfect location to bring housing, mixed-use and river-appropriate fronted development.”
He added that the project would bring affordable housing to a part of the city that hasn’t seen much of it.
Those who support the project include business groups like the Valley Industry Commerce Association and The Valley Economic Alliance, who spoke of further economic revitalization the…
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