Ben Lee Properties — February 2019 Newsletter

Issue: February 2019  |  Cheviot Hills & Beverlywood, Los Angeles

This Month's Article

By Ben Lee T alk about meta… when you google: “Google and Westside Pavilion,” in less than a millisecond more than 85,000 results appear.

All of the headlines basically announce the same news that most of us have now already heard: That Google will be leasing practically all the space in the new building that will take the place of what was once our neighborhood mall, the Westside Pavilion.

Here’s what we know so far: construction is scheduled to start sometime later this year and the building is supposed to be completed in 2022. (Side note: if commercial construction is anything like residential remodels, then it probably won’t be done for six months after the projected end date and will likely come in over budget.

Am I right? But I digress). The building will be huge; roughly 600,000 square feet.

And while renderings show there’ll be patches of green spaces and maybe a restaurant or two, for the most part the entire expanse along Pico will be the home to employees of this internet behemoth.

So what does that mean and where does this leave us: the actual residents of neighborhoods that border this new massive project?

Well, like most changes and periods of upheaval, you can look at this undertaking in a variety of different ways.

No doubt your next door neighbor may take an opposite position from yours.

Speaking of Next Door, all it takes is a quick visit to that website to see how varied the opinions of neighbors are pertaining to this subject.

There seems to be as many objectors as there are supporters to every facet of the deal.

One thing that has people worried is the increase of traffic.

Developers assured that because most of the construction will be internal (imagine them scooping out the inside of the structure and working from within for the first year or so), the flow of traffic on Pico shouldn’t be too disastrously affected for quite some time.

Once the focus shifts to the façade, I imagine there’ll be more activity on Pico, Westwood and Overland causing some headaches.

Again, according to the developers, this portion of the construction will be much shorter than the rest of the project.

Of course, another concern is an increase of traffic once Google sets up shop and employees start to commute to and from every day.

It’s my understanding that part of what made this location so attractive was its proximity to the Expo line.

With more and more people utilizing the Expo, it’s a very distinct possibility that there won’t be any more drivers commuting into the area than there were when the Westside Pavilion was at full capacity.

Google also has a history of promoting bicycles as a way to get around and with an employee median age of a spritely 29, you very well may see more bikes than cars on the road.

Another negative comment I’ve heard is the grumbling about what our neighborhood could enjoy and use more than what’s to be gained from just a glorified office building.

Pico Boulevard seems to own the market on mattress stores but is sorely lacking in other areas of commerce.

We could use some more family friendly restaurant options, especially now that Islands went away.

There should also be more locally owned businesses to promote shopping and strolling through the neighborhood.

There have been many vocal proponents of trying to secure a new supermarket or Whole Foods.

All of these are important additions but the good news is having Google around won’t prevent any of them from happening.

We know Westside Tavern, the Landmark Theaters and Apple Pan are all staying put.

It’s possible that the entire stretch of Pico actually will improve just by virtue of having such a worldwide commodity and global powerhouse in close proximity.

Businesses may be more inclined to take over vacancies along Pico in an attempt to woo Google workers as new customers.

The other positive take away from our new neighbor coming to town is that I have every confidence to believe our property values will absolutely increase as a result.

The rules of supply and demand dictate that with this large influx of employees and executives coming to the area, those who can will want to relocate to live closer.

There will be increased competition for housing, which in turn, will drive prices higher.

It’s a scenario we’ve seen played out in Silicon Valley/Northern California during the height of the internet boom and I have no reason to believe we can’t expect the same to happen here.

So, this is good news for sellers or for those who want to see their housing investment increase.

Like all periods of change, there is bound to be some nervousness, anxiety, excitement and optimism.

I’m hoping as a community we weather the disruptions that the construction may bring and concentrate on the positives of how Google can add to our neighborhood.

If nothing else, at least our internet searches will be even faster than they are now?

Featured Listings

Community & More

By Michael Harris H eritage Square is located off of the Arroyo Seco Freeway.

A number of old residences and architecturally important buildings that were ready for demolition were saved by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission and Foundation.

The buildings were moved from their original sites to the Montecito Heights section of Los Angeles and restored.

The buildings date from 1850 to 1950. Of particular interest to the Westside is the old Palms railroad station which was moved to Heritage Square and restored.

The Palms station was used by the old red car line and certainly was well worth preserving as are the Victorian and Queen Anne restored for a visitors delight.

Heritage Square is a rich location for filming these old and beautifully preserved architecturally important buildings that are part of our history to be enjoyed.

Legally Blonde starring Reese Witherspoon and Tom Hanks’ Saving Mr.

Banks are just two films that benefitted from the area’s unique and historic scenic backdrops.

Beverlywood happenings Westside Places By Ben Lee W anted to congratulate friend and neighbor Daryl Moss on his much deserved acknowledgment of service to the kids and families of West Los Angeles!

Back in 2000, the LA City Council and Department of Parks and Recreation honored Daryl by officially naming the big gymnasium at Cheviot Hills Park after him.

This month marked the monumental rite-of-passage for the Moss children, Myles and Lily, who have outgrown the little gym and now play basketball in the big gym, near the plaque that honors their dad.

Daryl grew up in Beverlywood and worked at Cheviot Park for over sixteen years.

During his tenure, Daryl ran all the sports leagues and camps and grew the program to be the largest in all of Los Angeles.

Today Daryl is still very active with the park, now focusing his efforts primarily on coaching youth basketball.

Interestingly, he managed to segue his history of running camps at Cheviot into his professional career.

Daryl and his wife Nathalie founded the extremely popular Canyon Creek Summer Camp and this summer marks their 19th season giving kids from all over the most fun and active summer imaginable.

On behalf of just one family who has spent many, many hours at Cheviot Park, thank you Daryl for all that you’ve done.

If you’d like to learn more about the Moss’ summer camp program, please visit their website: www.canyoncreeksummercamp.com Congratulations Daryl Moss If you enjoy reading these vignettes each month, you may want to check out my father-in-law’s book, Westside Stories.

It’s a memoir/history of growing up on the Westside of Los Angeles in the 1940s and 1950s with great photos, anecdotes and stories.

Perfect for the history buff/enthusiast in your family!

It’s available for purchase on Amazon, search Westside Stories by Michael Harris.

By Ben Lee Y ou could battle traffic and spend a small fortune to see musical theater performances at any one of Los Angeles’ glorified stages but why do that when we are blessed to have professional quality theatrical productions right in our own backyard?

This month the Academy of Music and Performing Arts at Hamilton High School will be singing and dancing their way through Hairspray!

With the tag line: “We all dance to the same beat,” Hairspray is a toe-tapping adventure that highlight’s one teenager’s quest to desegregate Baltimore in the 1960s.

If you haven’t seen a production yet at Hamilton, do yourself a favor and get tickets today: www.hamiltonmusic.org Enter to win this month’s raffle Daryl Moss and his daughter Lily By Ben Lee A big thank you to all those who entered to win this month’s raffle to Culver City’s delicious restaurant AR Cucina.

Congratulations to Denise Cavalii. You are this month’s lucky winner and we hope you enjoy all the tasty Italian treats $50 can buy.

To all those who entered but didn’t win this time, don’t despair as there is always another raffle around the corner.

For February, we are excited to offer a $50 gift certificate to everyone’s favorite neighborhood store: DL Rhein.

Featuring one-of-a-kind treasures for your home, this local treasure on Motor at National is the perfect spot to find something special for your home, your Valentine or yourself!

To enter, just send an email to: ben@benleeproperties.com and write: DL RHEIN in the subject.

That’s it! We’ll pick a name at random at the end of the month and let you know if you’re the lucky winner for a $50 gift certificate.

Good luck! Hairspray comes to Hamilton