Part of the historic and beloved Sportsmen's Lodge compound in Studio City is set to be completely redeveloped into Sportsmen's Landing, a giant upscale shopping center that's apparently already leasing and bragging about its future Equinox gym, according to San Fernando Valley Blog. The Sportsmen's Lodge hotel (which is staying right where it is now) got a huge revamp a few years back, cashing in on its swinging retro appeal in a big way, but its next-door neighbor—the similarly named Sportsmen's Lodge Event Center—won't be so lucky.
Developer Richard Weintraub bought *the events center in 2007 for $51 million; there has been talk of redeveloping part of the property (not the hotel part) into a fancy complex with multiple restaurants and shops since at least 2008. The latest plan for the major reboot, outlined in a short description on a public hearing notice, would greatly expand the amount of space on the site—the event center is about 61,000 square feet, but the new Sportsmen's Landing will be a "97,807 square-foot mixed-use shopping center with 24,251 square feet of restaurant space, 37,518 square feet of retail space, 30,000 square feet of health club space."
At a community presentation back in May 2014, developers revealed that they would have to raze the existing events complex to make way for the high-end new development, according to SFVB; they also explained at the meeting that the 24,251-square-feet of restaurant space would be split among five restaurants. The leasing description indicates that the new Sportsmen's Landing will also include "spectacular water features [and] children play areas," and that there might be more upgrades coming to the Sportsmen's Lodge Hotel, which last finished an update in 2013.
Of course an expansion this big has opponents. Locals have come together on at least two websites to fight back against a proposal that they fear will bring an immense increase in traffic without providing enough parking to handle all the new visitors. There will only be 445 parking spaces; one opposition group says there should be 1,000 for a project this size according to local specific plan guidelines.
· Massive Mixed-Use Expansion Planned for Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City [SFVB]
· A Sneak Peek at the Sportsmen's Lodge Hotel's Big Makeover [Curbed LA]
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