area newsletter FEBRUARY 2020• THE VALLEY
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Community News Valley Forecasts Hot Economy Forget about the temperature – the economy is hotter in the San Fernando Valley, too. According to a new economic report, conditions aren’t going to cool down
significantly anytime soon. The forecast from the Center for Economic Research and Forecasting at Cal Lutheran University credits the technology and information sector, as well as construction and transportation, for the booming climate. The tech sector alone grew 5.9% year to year. That helped propel the Valley’s growth to more than 4% during the past five years. Compare that to the broader Los Angeles metropolitan area (3.1%) or the country as a whole (2.5%). According to the report the San Fernando Valley’s economy is to grow by 3.4% in 2020 and 3.3% in 2021 – compared to 2% and 1.8%, respectively, in the larger Los Angeles region. The report concludes the San Fernando Valley is well-equipped to weather the impact of any broader downturn.
Safer Routes for Burbank Unified Work is underway to make heading to school safer for Burbank Unified students.The Safe Routes to School
Project involves improving pedestrian, bicycle, and traffic safety around three schools in the district — George Washington and Thomas Jefferson elementary schools and John Muir Middle school. Some of the changes include new curb extensions and ramps, all-way stop signs, crosswalks and added signage. The improvements are scheduled to be completed by the end of March. Burbank is expected to next decide if the safety changes should be introduced throughout the district as part of a citywide safety policy. The district had stated the goal of the Safe Routes to School Project is to encourage more students to walk or bike to school.
Warner Bros. Breaks Ground on New Burbank Headquarters
Governor Gavin Newsom, architect Frank Gehry and Burbank mayor Sharon Springer joined Warner Bros. executives for the ceremony, which marked the first step toward the iconic studio settling into its Gehrydesigned “ice block” office towers. Newsom pointed to the money and jobs the project will mean for the state. As well, Springer estimated an additional 12,000 housing units will be built for workers over the next 15 years. The complex will consist of one seven-story
Community News seven-story building and one-nine story building, totaling some 445,000 square feet. The studio had already announced it is selling the Warner Bros. Ranch located on Hollywood Way as well as three additional buildings. The company plans to move in in 2023, which marks the studio’s 100th anniversary.
Developers All Aboard for Mountain Corridor Five companies will compete for the chance to help develop the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project. The high-speed train line will connect the San Fernando Valley to West Los Angeles, and ultimately Los Angeles International Airport. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced the names of five developer teams,
explaining they met the Metro’s qualifications to submit a Predevelopment Agreement proposal involving project planning and design. The five are ACS Infrastructure Development; Sepulveda Transit Corridor Partners (Bechtel); Sepulveda Transit Corridor Partners (Fengate); LA SkyRail Express; and Tutor Perini, Parsons & Plenary. The project could end up costing as much as $13.8 billion. Plans call for the first phase, which would bridge Sherman Oaks to Westwood, to be completed in 2033.
Sherman Oaks Development Moves Forward A major housing development in Sherman Oaks is moving forward after years of fine-tuning. The project, which would create a residential and retail space around a 1971 office building, was approved by the Los Angeles City Council’s planning and land use management committee.The move comes after several years of communication between the developer IMT Residential and community members.
Restaurant
Spotlight
Augustine Wine Bar
Castaway
Verse
13456 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks
1250 E Harvard Road, Burbank
4212 Lankershim Blvd., Toluca Lake
Perfect for both wine geeks and folks simply looking for a casual night out, this wine bar features a rotating list of wines and beers from around the world. Vintage wines, dating back to 1860, are served by the glass or bottle. The menu, led by Chef Miguel Gonzalez, offers an appetizing selection of cheese and charcuterie as well as mussels, striped bass and steak tartare toast.
This sprawling hill-perched restaurant promises to make everyone feel like a star. With the abundant seating and impressive patio, everyone receives an appropriately stunning view. The menu will impress steak lovers, but also features a cheese-andcharcuterie bar, a raw bar for oyster lovers, and non-beef items (New Zealand salmon, roasted vegan scallops and the “beyond organic� halfchicken). It also doesn’t skimp on the greens.
Spanning almost 4,000 square feet, this supper club restaurant aims to be as much an auditory experience as a culinary one, with changing playlists throughout the evening to switch up the mood and feel. The menu offers a selection of cold and hot starters, pastas such as ricotta gnocchi, the Muscovy duck breast and Scottish king salmon, and beef dishes including the Westholme Australian wagyu strip loin.
SIGHTS & SOUNDS in LOS ANGELES
Night Gallery 2276 East 16th Street Los Angeles, CA 90021
The Homer Project 4529 Homer St. Los Angeles, CA 90031
Art + Practice Exhibition Space 3401 W. 43rd Pl. Los Angeles, CA 90008
CURRENT EXHIBITION:
CURRENT EXHIBITION:
CURRENT EXHIBITION:
Josh Callaghan’s Social Block Now– June 1, 2020
Justin Lowman: Windows-Phase Three of Four Now – June 1, 2020
Collective Constellation: The Eileen Harris Norton Collection Now – August 1, 2020
Josh Callaghan’s Social Block, which inaugurates Night Gallery’s new outdoor exhibition space, takes its inspiration from that most common of building materials: the cinder block. At approximately 2.3 times a normal scale, Social Block forms a new relationship to the human body, “existing at the juncture of sculpture, furniture and architecture.” The installation is a tableau, an associative landscape onto which the viewer is invited to project the long arc of human history and its cycles of construction.
“Phase Three of Four” is activated by the stillness and movement of the sun. In other words, what time of day it is when you arrive at the viewing will determine how you experience it. For that reason, The Homer Project recommends you either plan to view the work for an extended period of time or see it multiple times, each at a different point during the day. The work aims to engage with perceptions of both materiality and time itself.
Art + Practice and the Hammer Museum present this selection of work by women of color from the personal collection of Art + Practice co-founder, Eileen Harris Norton. Harris Norton has been supporting Los Angeles-based artists for more than 30 years. Collective Constellation puts the spotlight on these trailblazers and their impact on the world of contemporary art. The works range from painting and printmaking to sculpture and video to photography and installation. They also include such artists as
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