CALABASAS : Mall Plans Forcing Eviction of Tenants

Arden Group Inc. plans to tear down the aging Woodland Plaza Shopping Center on Mulholland Highway to make room for a new mall anchored by a Gelson’s Markets food store.

Compton-based Arden Group owns both Woodland Plaza and the Gelson’s Markets chain of upscale supermarkets. There is just one problem: Several Woodland Plaza tenants who are being evicted say their leases are not up yet--and they don’t want to leave.

Arden Group said Woodland Plaza stores won’t be able to operate while the new center is under construction. The firm said it will help relocate tenants, but can’t promise them space in the new mall.

“At this point we don’t know how much space we’re going to have,” said Ernest T. Klinger, Arden Group’s vice president and chief financial officer.

Arden Group acquired the center in a foreclosure sale in November, 1993, Klinger said. Many tenants were angry about the company’s decision to rebuild the mall now, saying the 30-day eviction notices they received recently give them little time to find other locations.

“They don’t care,” said Lela Pettey, who operates Lela’s Hair Salon. “It’s just this big company against these little people, and money talks.”

Angela Sung, whose family operates Woodland 1 Cleaners, said Arden Group’s decision to tear down the old center didn’t come as a complete shock. But “I never expected it to happen like this,” she said. Her family signed a five-year lease two years ago.

Pettey, who has been a tenant at the center since 1982, had hoped to stay put for perhaps another 10 years. She recently spent $35,000 on renovations.

“I want to come back,” she said. “I’m a good tenant, I have a good business.”