Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My BID’s Animal Magnetism Draws Accolades, But Few New Sales By SHELLY GARCIA Senior Reporter A total of 43 Tipu trees have been planted, nine topiaries. Eighteen streetscapes with decorative rock formations have been installed, three more will be completed by month’s end; 24 metal animal sculptures have been hung from lampposts and three street fairs have been held. Since forming the Tarzana Business Improvement District in 1999, the community’s property owners have worked hard to make a one-mile strip of Ventura Boulevard so appealing it would lure shoppers from their cars to stroll among the shops, hopefully making some purchases along the way. So, what difference have the efforts made for shopkeepers and property owners? “None whatsoever,” said Mirna Trabolsi, the store manager for Laurie Weir, a women’s specialty shop in the BID district. “So they put in some monkeys. Does that make you want to pull your car over and walk the boulevard?” Those associated with the BID point out it is the second smallest improvement district in the city, and that its tiny budget can only go so far and impact so much. “It’s a slow process,” said Greg Nelson, president of the Tarzana Improvement Association. “I’m hoping some of these improvements will help draw quality merchants into the district, and that’s when you see people wandering around. It’s not an overnight thing, but I think we’ve got it going in the right direction.” Tarzana was among the first of many communities to latch onto the idea of business improvement districts, areas designated for landscaping and other improvements using fees collected from property owners, with the intention of sprucing up and assisting in economic development. The neighborhood’s BID was approved in 1998, and Tarzana began to collect assessments to finance its efforts the following year. In 2001 the BID collected about $55,000 from property owner fees and spent about $85,000, according to Harvey Goldberg, treasurer of the Tarzana Improvement Association. The additional funding came from appropriations held over from the previous year as well as city matching grants like those provided by the Ventura Boulevard Specific Plan for streetscapes. After choosing a theme based on the neighborhood’s connection to Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan who made his home in the area, the association set about designing landscaping adornments. Along the strip that runs from Reseda Boulevard to the east to Crebs Avenue on the west, there are now metallic sculptures of monkeys, lions and other jungle animals hanging from lampposts. Topiaries in the form of giraffes and gorillas greet shoppers at entrances to strip malls and storefronts. Trees shade shoppers from the San Fernando Valley sun, rock formations placed strategically along the boulevard complement the jungle theme. In addition, the association hired security personnel to patrol the walk and held two street fairs, Safari Nights with clowns, bagpipers and bands for entertainment. It organized a street sale for merchants to hang their wares outside the stores for passersby. Some property owners say the improvements have made a significant difference. “If you drive down this part of the boulevard, you notice that there is something nicer about it than the rest of the boulevard,” said Lillian Wall, property manager for Wall Street Plaza, a 46,000-square-foot shopping center within the BID boundaries and a member of the association’s board. “It’s cleaner and there are more trash bins around.” Across the street at the Brown Center, several new tenants have just inked deals that will help to fill a portion of a large storefront that has been vacant for more than a year since several store divisions of The Limited Inc. moved out. “The boulevard looks a lot better than it did two years ago,” said Cassandra Finn, property manager for Newmark Merrill Cos., which manages the Brown Center and Tarzana Village, also in the improvement district. But Finn concedes it’s difficult to know whether the streetscapes had anything to do with the 100-percent occupancy rate at Tarzana Village. And the improvements probably didn’t contribute much to luring the new tenants at Brown Center, Imaginarium and The Children’s Place. “I don’t know that I could really say that had a lot to do with it,” said Brad Pearl, vice president for leasing and acquisitions at Newmark Merrill. He thinks it is more likely the demographics of Tarzana persuaded Imaginarium to move in, and Imaginarium, in turn, “kicked off The Children’s Place deal.” Even Wall could not say whether the improvements actually made a difference in the vacancy rates at her property, which have traditionally been low anyway. “We don’t have a problem leasing anything,” she said. Neighborhood merchants don’t think shoppers are paying the least bit of attention. “Nobody’s noticed, I’m sorry to say,” said Serge Paloulian, store manager at For Eyes opticians. “Nobody mentions the monkeys. Nobody actively pays attention when they have street fairs.” Some point out that what makes for the brisk pedestrian activity in places like Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica is a mix of stores decidedly missing from Tarzana. “We need more coffee shops,” said Trabolsi, pointing out that The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at the eastern end of the BID provides outdoor tables for sipping lattes and passing a few hours, but the tables at the Starbucks, close to the western end, are in an alley cut off from the street and often filled with the smell of cigarette smoke that lingers in the enclosed space. “I’ve been here for 10 years,” she said. “I know what customers want. They need to open a candle store, specialty stores that people like.” Then too, Tarzana is an old-line Valley community, one that’s as attached to the city’s car culture as any in L.A. “How did Old Town Pasadena or Santa Monica Promenade develop into what they were?” asked Dale Jacobs, a local businessman and partner at Sandler, Powell, Jacobs & Berlin CPA. “It became a culture. We’re trying to create a culture that may not exist. We’ve improved security. The streets are clean, but I don’t think people want to get out of the car.” Indeed, merchants like Peter Pozirekides, the proprietor of Pozi’s Grill, may be onto something when they point out that the trick to succeeding in Tarzana is to cater to the area’s culture of home and family, not to mimic the trendy shopping areas on the West side. Pozirekides says his business has picked up some since the BID got underway, but more important is the attention he gives to his customers. “I have a personal relationship with everybody that comes in and everyone is like my family,” Pozirekides said. “If a person is short of money, I don’t ask for money. The children come in from school and we take good care of them. “There’s nothing wrong with the trees,” Pozirekides added. “They do their work for the environment. Let’s do our work too.”
