Twenty-five-year-old Joseph Miller and his architect/developer partner Judit Meda Fekete are appealing the Planning Commissions springtime rejection of their redevelopment proposal for 9900 Culver, the former parking lot of the U.S. Post Office at Culver and Duquesne.
Billed as a showcase example of a modern mixed-use project, the five-story, 4700-square foot parcel features ground-floor retail, residences above with underground parking.
In striking contrast to the South Sepulveda Boulevard redevelopment, which was temporarily silenced last month by lack of community consultation, Mr. Miller and Ms. Fekete seem to have followed the textbook guidelines.
Turning It Around
Reversing that pattern, the two of them assiduously worked the surrounding community the way that South Sepulveda critics said developers are supposed to do it.
Ms. Fekete calls it educating the neighbors.
Quickly and strategically, the two partners established a visible presence.
Ms. Fekete said they visited every business on Culver Boulevard.
Even in the midst of the technology revolution, the personal touch is vital, especially perhaps in a small town, they are convinced.
Tidy Message
The message of Ms. Fekete and Mr. Miller was clean and direct. They sold their project with two-tiered enthusiasm and insight. They introduced themselves and their redevelopment vision.
We held (three) community meetings, Mr. Miller said.
We reached out to the community.
I sit in Starbucks (across the street from City Hall), and while I dont stop people, they come over and introduce themselves.
And so the foundation for 9900 Culver was hammered firmly, comprehensively into place.
Staffers Say Yes
In spite of the Planning Commissions turndown, city staffers in an unusual departure from common practice are recommending that the City Council overturn the Planning Commission and stamp approval on the package City Hall wants.
That hardly clinches the outcome.
During the last seven years, not one gambler in Culver City has grown rich predicting the City Councils direction in high profile cases.
Responding anonymously and separately this morning, Council members said the result was too close to call.
The Planning Commission rejected the bid 5 to 0 last April for two main reasons:
Traffic and Parking
Members did not say they didnt believe the traffic study that showed traffic generated by the project would be less than significant. They just said they were uncertain.
The other dissatisfaction planners encountered was with parking, including a tandem arrangement for condo residents and an insufficient amount of on-site parking stalls.
Mr. Miller and Ms. Fekete argued that they not only conformed with all code requirements, they came in below in some cases. For example, by code, they could build 26 condos, but they are proposing only 23.
A Personal Imprint
Within the last year perhaps starting about the time the city sold the corner property to Ms. Fekete and Mr. Miller for redevelopment purposes the dynamism of Mr. Miller began surging into increasing display.
Possessed of nuclear energy and a boyish enthusiasm that seems to have been harnessed by a grasp of necessary maturity, he is fast making footprints here and not just the kind developers talk about.
A comer to watch, tonights public hearing at the City Council meeting will be a crucial test for him and Ms. Fekete.
Mr. Millers family was in the car business for more than three decades in Culver City.
Growing up, he had heard about Downtowns historic inability to become a destination.
To the frustration of merchants and visionaries, the compact Downtown was a very quiet pass-through neighborhood. Until recently, it had been an insoluble riddle.
Bringing Elements Together
The question is, said Mr. Miller, how do you encourage retail pedestrian activity?
The question ushered in an ideal segue for one of Mr. Millers favorite subjects, mixed-use redevelopments.
The answer, to me, he said, is that people want to live here, in Los Angeles and particularly in Culver City. But they dont want to pay a million dollars for a 1200 square foot house built in 1942.
People want to live in an urban setting. And so, I think you do what we are trying to do with the 9900 Culver project.
Choosing a Site
You invigorate the streetscape by putting retail (meaning a mixed-use project creating instant retail customers) on a very important corner in Downtown that already is very walkable.
Across the street from City Hall, the southwest corner of Culver and Duquesne appears to meet the criteria of Mr. Miller and Ms. Fekete.
