Larchmont Chronicle
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south gate ca. permit no. 294
JANUARY 2010
vol. 47, no. 1 • delivered to the 76,439 readers in hancock park • windsor square • fremont place • park labrea • larchmont village • Miracle Mile
SECTION ONE
Group weighs in on Wilshire, Farmers Market
Fairfax Theatre's second act pits group, developer EIR in process
HEALTH & BEAUTY annual section. 15-26 SOUNDING OFF. Column tackles marijuana law. 2 SYCAMORE Square's new leader takes helm. 9 VILLAGE Peri-natal on Larchmont. 19 SPAS to help start the New Year. 26 PARTIES dazzled Around the Town.
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RESCUE group thanks patron on June St. 38 RESOLUTIONS with soul. 39 'CRAZY HEART' leads the list. 42
SECTION TWO Real Estate Home & Garden
By Suzan Filipek Opened some 80 years ago at the northwest corner of Beverly Blvd. and Fairfax Ave., the Fairfax Theatre is a rare find in the city, says actor Gaetano Jones, of the Friends of Fairfax. “It is an architectural landmark, one of the few remaining theaters. It’s been an anchor of the community.” Besides being a full-fledged working theater, it screens movies in an historic venue and is the cornerstone of the neighborhood, said the founder of the small-but-growing group. Members plan to submit an application this month to the city Cultural Affairs Dept. to nominate the building as a city Historic-Cultural Monument. Meanwhile, the owners of the property, B & F Assoc. in Santa Monica, are in preliminary plans to gut the interior of the two-story structure for a mixed-use building with 71 condominium units and 12,000 square feet of retail space. The six-story building will include a rooftop pool and other amenities and four stoSee Fairfax Theatre, p. 12
Bungalow tells plans to comply with zoning
Developments planned
CAROLING while cycling was local bicyclists’ way of celebrating the season. Ross Hirsch organized the ride on Dec. 19 through the neighborhood. Tim Corrigan of Larchmont Labyrinth played Santa Claus.
Wilshire/La Brea 482-unit development approved Traffic mitigation on Neighborhood agenda By Suzan Filipek Now that BRE Properties’ mixed-use development at the southeast corner of Wilshire Blvd. and La Brea Ave. is a done deal, area residents are looking ahead. “Going forward we’ll continue working with the [developer] on a traffic management plan to mitigate the increased traffic expected from the businesses and residents that will join our neighborhood,” said Ann Eggleston, president of the Sycamore Square Neighborhood Association. About 1,000 new residents
are expected to be added to the area resulting from the apartment-and-retail development. “It’s expected to double our size,” said Eggleston. A first meeting is tentatively scheduled for this month, to be organized by Councilman Tom La Bonge’s office. While the neighborhood generally supported a largescale project at the busy intersection—after all “we live in an exciting and vibrant city”— they had written letters and e-mails and spoke about the size of the 482-unit develop See BRE, p. 10
Appeals denied
PLANTS AND more at Rolling Greens' new location. 2 WILSHIRE Country Club history, part 2. 4 NEW LEADERSHIP at the helm. 7 For Information on Advertising Rates, Please Call Pam Rudy 323-462-2241, x 11
Larchmont Bungalow owners are resubmitting plans to the city Department of Building and Safety to comply with zoning rules in effect on Larchmont Blvd. Jonathan Ahron, spokesman for the 107 N. Larchmont Blvd. business, said he is submitting new plans to the department for the 3,000 square foot location. The move is another effort to keep the Bungalow open. Appeals by the business owners to continue operating as a take-out with tables and chairs was turned down by the See Bungalow, p. 14
TURNING SEVENTY. Sue Otto and Filis Winthrop at Larchmont Village's venerable institution, Chevalier's Books. Page 10
By Chris H. Sieroty The Land Use Committee of the Mid City West Community Council has approved plans for a 21-story residential and mixed-use commercial structure on Wilshire Blvd. The committee’s approval means the Houston-based Hanover Company project now goes to the entire council for a vote at its Jan. 12 meeting. Bounded by Wilshire and Crescent Heights boulevards and Orange St., the building includes 158-residential units, with approximately 175,057 square feet of total floor space, including 6,850 square feet of ground level retail, subterranean parking and four-levels of above ground parking. Ira Handelman, of Handelman Consulting Inc., which represents the developer, told the committee that the original plan to construct four town homes at the southeast corner of Orange and Crescent Heights has been shelved after meeting with neighborhood groups. All sides have been unable to reach a consensus about what should be done with the property that is currently home to rental apartments. See Development, p. 28
On the Boulevard Glimpses by Jane Family members escaping the blizzards of the east coast couldn’t be happier to be visiting relatives in southern California. A little rain and cold weather shouldn’t daunt Larchmontians from enjoying the dawn of a new year and a new decade. *** Owen and Retha Smith had a reunion with their son Mark who now lives in Wapinger Falls, N.Y. An emergency room doctor, he commutes to Mount Zion hospital in Brooklyn several times a week, we learned from Owen at Prado. *** See BLVD., p. 14
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