Plan Revived for Offices on Ventura Boulevard

A developer who last month proposed building a senior citizen apartment complex and commercial center on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks has instead revived an earlier plan to construct an office complex on the site, the developer’s attorney said Wednesday.

Benjamin M. Reznik, attorney for developer Jacky Gamliel, said discussions with Los Angeles officials over the senior citizen housing proposal stalled, so the developer plans to pursue plans for a 90,000-square-foot office complex.

Gamliel hopes to develop a strip of property between Woodman and Ventura Canyon avenues best known as the site of the defunct Scene of the Crime bookstore. In a lawsuit filed against the city in March, Gamliel argued that his plans for the office complex had been illegally blocked by city officials, specifically Councilman Michael Woo. The suit also said city planners unreasonably delayed processing of the project.

Reznik said Gamliel offered the proposal for senior citizen housing in hopes of settling his lawsuit without a trial. When discussions on the new proposal bogged down, Gamliel decided to proceed with the trial, which began Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Deputy City Atty. Susan Phann, arguing before Judge John Zembrowski, denied that city officials acted improperly or delayed the processing of Gamliel’s proposal. The trial is scheduled to resume Aug. 22.