UCSC Schedules Second Development Workshop

SANTA CRUZ -- UC Santa Cruz will hold a second public workshop on Feb. 25 as part of a multiyear effort to update its Long Range Development Plan, a revision that is expected to guide the campus's physical development through the year 2020.

The workshop will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Sierra Room of the UCSC Inn, located at 611 Ocean St.

Designed to provide an overview of the current planning progress, the meeting will be facilitated by UCSC's long-range planning consultant--Cooper, Robertson & Partners--and will present preliminary enrollment scenarios for early testing. There will also be a discussion of how the LRDP will address sustainability.

"This will be a real opportunity for the community to get a close look at the initial stage of our LRDP planning," said Frank Zwart, UCSC's associate vice chancellor for physical planning and construction.

Within the UC system, LRDPs are drafted to support the academic goals of individual campuses; they also take into account projected statewide enrollment demand.

Upon their completion, the long-range plans define a building program and a land-use map that serve as a comprehensive planning framework for capital construction, infrastructure, and land-use programs. LRDPs, however, are not implementation plans, Zwart said, and adoption of an LRDP does not constitute a commitment to specific projects, construction schedules, or funding priorities.

The process that began this past fall will produce UCSC's fifth Long Range Development Plan, following plans that were adopted in 1963 (two years before the campus opened), 1971, 1978 and 1988.

A major influence on the new LRDP will be ideas that emerge from a parallel campus planning effort: the work of UCSC's Strategic Futures Committee, charged with identifying the range of academic and research programs that may emerge in the campus's future.

UCSC officials decided to use the year 2020 as the end of the planning horizon because that time frame will be aligned with the city of Santa Cruz's comparable planning document, its General Plan, also soon to be updated.

According to a schedule that has been developed by campus officials, during the current academic year the campus's academic vision will be updated and LRDP public workshops will take place. In the 2004-05 year, a draft LRDP will be completed and work will begin on a draft Environmental Impact Report for the LRDP. In the 2005-06 year, the draft EIR will be presented to the public for comments and the LRDP and EIR will be submitted to UC's Board of Regents for final consideration.

No Ho Commons: Construction Starts on $43 Million Residential Project

NORTH HOLLYWOOD -- Groundbreaking ceremonies were held Jan. 29 for the $43 million NoHo Tower in North Hollywood, a residential structure that is part of a mixed-use transit village.

Located in the NoHo Arts District, not far from Universal Studios Hollywood, the 15-story tower will have 191 units in 17,000 sq. ft. When it is completed next summer, the building will be the tallest residential high-rise in the San Fernando Valley.

"Bringing housing and jobs to the Valley are top priorities of mine, and this project does both in spectacular fashion," Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn said at the groundbreaking ceremony. "NoHo Tower not only gives working families a dramatic place to live, but constructing

such an impressive project puts a lot of people to work," the mayor added.

The tower is situated adjacent to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Red Line station.

Developed by Santa Monica-based JSM Construction Inc. -- which also is the builder -- the project will include 14 units for low-income tenants. Santa Monica-based DE Architects is the design firm.

Craig D. Jones, president of JSM said the project would generate about $450,000 a year in property tax revenues. The area is already zoned for high-density development and has a considerable amount of vacant and under-utilized land and is in close proximity to Hollywood studios and production facilities, Jones said.

NoHo Tower will incorporate sustainable building products specified in the LEED (Leadership in Energy and

Environmental Design) program, said architect Don Empakeris, a DE principal.

Dramatized by a convex glass curtain wall, the building will be built over a recreation deck, including a large landscaped area, pool, spa and gym located six stories above the street. Highlighted by floor-to-ceiling window walls, the one-, two and three-bedroom apartments with private balconies will have mountain views.

"The exterior material will reflect the building's underlying contemporary statement through its utilization of floor-to-ceiling glass, patterned wall panels and metal handrails," the architect said.

The 750-acre North Hollywood Redevelopment District is in the eastern part of the San Fernando Valley. The NoHo Arts District has 22 live theaters and several art galleries, restaurants and cafes.