North Hollywood Redevelopment

Re “Finances of NoHo Plan Challenged,” April 30.

Now we have a late report to muddle up Allen Radford’s North Hollywood redevelopment plan.

I would hope the Keyser Marston report, which reported large office vacancy conditions in our North Hollywood area, could be specific. There are so few offices here, and the ones we do have left are from an era long past. It is unrealistic to consider them seriously as competition for modern rental stock from nearby independent cities. It would be interesting to see if they consider rundown, old places in what was a small retail district as competition for booming Burbank’s Media District or Glendale’s downtown renaissance.

And is it believable that they would ignore the coming effect of the subway? To not consider that effect is for Vail to ignore snow or the Harbor District to ignore the effect of the Alameda Corridor.

In the piecemeal mincing about the developer’s financing, one is reminded of another great adventure. I can see Ferdinand musing to Isabella: “Let him have the Nina, and if he makes it, then ramp him up, perhaps to the Pinta.”

Consider the harm done to Radford’s efforts by ill-considered remarks. To suggest that the city will deliberately “build in” delays in Radford’s financing plans will encourage procrastination in the community and complicate his acquisition of the very parcels needed to make his the first-class development North Hollywood deserves.

It is easy to see how men of vision and consequence always want to go out on the fringes to build new developments. When will we learn that remaking our inner city areas is the most responsible policy?

JOSEPH G. HURLEY, North Hollywood