CSUN Mini-Mall Plan Attracts Opposition

Cal State Northridge officials consider it “a good, steady stream of revenue.”

But some students and campus-area residents call it quick cash in return for space intended for educational purposes.

The plan at issue would turn 20 vacant acres of state-owned property on Devonshire Street between Zelzah and Lindley avenues on the north edge of campus into a cluster of upscale stores.

Proponents say MarketCenter would contain six retail stores, but no fast-food outlets or bars, and would be designed in an architectural style consistent with the rest of the campus. They project rent revenues for CSUN at between $850,000 and $1 million a year and the creation of 300 to 350 jobs.

At 7 p.m. Monday and again Feb. 6, the university Student Union will host information sessions about the project. Public hearings will follow February’s expected release of the draft environmental impact report.

“It’s going to be much more than a mini-mall,” said Frank Wein, a consultant for CSUN who teaches urban planning at USC. “There will be pedestrian walkways and outdoor entertainment, much of it provided by students.”

Despite those details, Wein said the goal of the development is mainly financial.

“Given the declining revenue from the state and the increasing needs of students,” he said, “we need a good, steady stream of revenue.”

In letters and phone calls, many residents have labeled the plan an inappropriate use of university land, according to Ross Hopkins, head of a mall task force created by the United Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley.

“The vast majority of people we’ve spoken with have been opposed to it,” he said. While the task force has yet to state a position on MarketCenter, Hopkins said it appears there is “pressure from the president’s office for quick revenue instead of holding off.”

In a report to be presented to the full United Chambers in two weeks, the task force will also address the mall’s possible threat to the competitive retail balance in Northridge.

Wein isn’t deterred by the concerns. He said he remains “confident we can get more and more people to feel comfortable about the place.”