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In recent years, UCLA students have watched many businesses leave Westwood, shopping choices become more limited, and the college town character increasingly fade into history. In light of these trends, the recent project approval of Palazzo Westwood apartments and retail center will have major consequences for Westwood.

The decision to approve this Casden-Glendon development project will clearly take Westwood in the wrong direction, further destroying Westwood’s few claims to being a college town. The construction will only aggravate the many problems our section of Los Angeles has faced in recent years.

The Casden-Glendon project reminds us that Westwood is at a crossroads. Actions taken now will shape our remaining college experience as well as the experiences of future UCLA students.

The Palazzo Westwood apartments are a $100 million undertaking that will result in the construction of 350 apartment units as well as businesses, particularly retail stores, within the complex. This monstrosity will be constructed and managed by the Casden-Glendon real estate and development firm, which is run by Los Angeles developer Alan Casden.

The construction of Palazzo will result in the destruction of an artifact of local history, the Glendon Manor, which is the last of 34 buildings built during Westwood’s founding to remain.

This complex will also result in considerable inconveniences for Westwood residents and businesses in terms of both pedestrian and vehicle traffic, and has the potential to harm businesses in Palazzo’s path by deterring commerce due to transportation and travel inconveniences.

Yet neither Casden nor the city of Los Angeles, which is recommending the approval of this project, has promised compensation for these hardships during construction. Furthermore, the increased numbers of residents through this development will lead to even more overcrowding than currently exists. This will also increase traffic, harm business, and detract from the rest of Westwood.

The problems that this development project will bring should not be understood as isolated or unrelated to the larger problems facing Westwood residents and businesses, especially UCLA students. In recent months, we have seen big retail stores such as Wherehouse Music and Gap close their doors due to lackluster sales, as well as smaller places like Beyond The Wall.

Many businesses that remain, such as California Pizza Kitchen and Chili’s, faced poor sales last summer as compared to previous years, indicating that other businesses might lose interest in Westwood in the future.

Even more troubling is that smaller, more localized outfits like Don Antonio’s pizza restaurant have closed their doors in recent months.

The reasons why so many businesses have had difficulty surviving and succeeding in Westwood are varied. Some blame student fee hikes, which tighten budgets and lead to less spending at frequently overpriced Westwood shops and restaurants. A difficult parking situation can also be blamed for much of the difficulties businesses face, as anyone who has driven to Westwood recently will agree that parking, especially north of Wilshire, can be inconvenient at best and horrible at worst.

There are not nearly enough parking spaces for an area as often teeming with people as Westwood. The lots that do exist are often so grossly overpriced that many, especially students, will be deterred from driving to Westwood for food or entertainment and may simply choose to frequent other neighborhoods. Movie premieres frequently disrupt business by increasing traffic and making parking in lots even harder. All of this hurts Westwood business.

Even more troubling than business closures is that for a town near a university, Westwood’s atmosphere is hardly that of a college town. Small business and thrift shops, with the exception of Oakley’s barbershop and Penny Lane CD and DVD shop, are few and far between. Bookstores that specialize in intellectually stimulating but hard-to-find works are virtually nonexistent in Westwood. Madison’s Bar and Grill has been closed and is being revamped, so thus ends much of the student party life in the area. Much of what defined Westwood as an area close to UCLA has been eliminated as a result of these various developments.

This difference sharply contrasts the area surrounding UC Berkeley or New York University, equally prestigious campuses with an urban center that adds even more flavor and character to the campus. As several proprietors pointed out, Westwood is comparatively commercialized. In a large part, this is due to the fact that there is a substantial presence of non-students in Westwood. But still, the thin presence of the traditional markings of a college town, such as independent bars and restaurants that truly cater to a lively student atmosphere, detracts from Westwood immeasurably.

In addition to the difficulties with parking and overcrowding discussed above, Casden-Glendon will snuff out any remaining sense of Westwood being a college town. The presence of a large number of stores in one location, as this project provides for, will eliminate many smaller businesses and prevent Westwood from retaining any individual character. How will places like Oakley’s Barbershop survive if more hair salons are opened in this new complex? A bar like Maloney’s, the last remaining outpost of Westwood nightlife, may find itself on the auction block when faced with the stern face of big-business, corporate America, as represented by this project. As an area that should largely cater to students and provide a university atmosphere, such developments would be detrimental. Westwood is at a transition point. Which way will it go?

Bhaskar is a third-year political science student. E-mail him at sbhaskar@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint @media.ucla.edu.