A man suspected of breaking into a North Hollywood home on Wednesday was shot in the legs by a house sitter during a confrontation, police said.
Officers responded to the residence in the 4300 block of Willowcrest Avenue around 6:30 p.m. after a suspect forced entry into a home by breaking either the front or side door, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The person inside the home was housesitting for a family member, said police. According to police, the victim confronted the suspect, which led to a physical confrontation.
During the altercation, the suspect reportedly threw an e-bike at the victim. The victim then shot the suspect in the legs with a .40 caliber firearm, police said.
About 20 minutes later, after the first burglary call, officers responded to another call to a nearby location about a person who had been shot. Here, investigators confirmed the individual was the suspect from the break-in.
Details about the suspect were not immediately released.
Police are warning women in the Studio City area of a man involved in what officers describe as “suspicious behavior.”
Several social media reports of a middle-aged man asking women for help moving boxes into his vehicle have been flagged to the Los Angeles Police Department, it said in a statement on Friday. The department described the behavior as a “scam” and warned women to call police if they come into contact with him.
A detailed description of the man in question was not provided.
“Trust your instincts and remove yourself from situations that feel uncomfortable,” LAPD said in a statement. “Stay cautious of unsolicited approaches—scammers and predators often appear friendly, helpful, or overly urgent. Never feel pressured to make quick decisions, and always remain alert.”
LAPD added that detectives are investigating the matter and have met with women who’ve been targeted by the man.
Anyone else who believes they’ve been targeted is asked to contact LAPD’s North Hollywood Division at 818-754-8300.
SWAT officers descended on a North Hollywood neighborhood early Friday morning to carry out a search warrant at a home.
Details about the investigation that led to the operation at about 1:30 a.m. on Kling Street near Riverside Drive were not immediately available. NBCLA has reached out the LAPD for details.
Officers appeared to be focused on one house in the neighborhood. An officer could be heard telling someone to come out with their hands up.
At least one person was detained, but details about how the person was connected to the investigation were not immediately available.
SWAT members, a K9 team and other officers left the area before dawn.
The North Hollywood icon sprawls across 17 acres and is set to be demolished
Colorized photo of Valley Plaza in the 1950sPhoto: Photo by NzimpferViewing the new signs at Valley Plaza in 1957 are, left to right, Norman Caldwell, manager of May Co., Bob Symonds, realtor; John Hawkins, manager of Sears Valley store; Miss Anita Gordon, honorary mayor of Valley Plaza, and Verne Tullberg, manager Alexander’s Market.Photo: Courtesy Valley Times Collection/Los Angeles Public LibrarySears Valley Plaza shortly after construction in 1951Photo: Courtesy Valley Relics Museum
The Los Angeles Board of Building and Safety voted this week to declare the Valley Plaza shopping center in North Hollywood, a “public nuisance” in the hopes of demolishing the buildings and redeveloping the site. The iconic outdoor mall, one of the first of its kind in Southern California, sprawled and expanded throughout the 1950s and 60s and eventually filled a reported 100 acres. Today, the site encompasses some 17 acres along Laurel Canyon and Victory Boulevards. Some elements, including the 9-story Wells Fargo bank tower (built by architects Honnold and Rex in 1960) will remain.
Valley Plaza under construction in the 1950sPhoto: Courtesy Valley Relics MuseumValley Plaza during construction in the 1950sPhoto: Courtesy Valley Relics museum
Efforts to modify and update the center’s vast array of disparate properties have risen and fallen for decades. Today, the mishmash of abandoned, forlorn and barely hanging on storefronts attract the poor and homeless – and film crews looking for post-apocalyptic landscapes. Only six properties on the site were identified by the councilmember in his testimony, but it appears that the entire site is set to be revamped.
Julie Adams, fresh from starring in “The Creature From the Black Lagoon,” cuts the ribbon at Hartfield’s at Valley Plaza in 1955Photo: Courtesy Valley Times Collection / Los Angeles Public Library
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It was a great big, beautiful tomorrow 75 years ago when a new Sears store was proposed for the San Fernando Valley. The new “Valley Plaza” shopping center would grow to become one of the largest of its kind in the west, eventually adding more department stores, multiple supermarkets, a movie theater, and amenities like its own helicopter station. An automotive repair shop once boasted that it alone could accommodate 4000 vehicles. When future president John F. Kennedy made his whistle stop campaign tour through Los Angeles in 1960, he cruised by Valley Plaza in his convertible Ford Skyliner.
Grand opening of Campbell’s Valley Plaza in 1956Photo: Courtesy Valley Times Photo Collection/Los Angeles Public Library
The heart and soul of the center was always Sears. The massive, modernist retail giant dwarfed the mom-and-pop retailers that had long clung to the rural roads of the agricultural version of the San Fernando Valley. This one provided parking for thousands of shiny tailfinned cars that had come to consume! consume! consume! The roaring economic boom of the decade after World War II that transformed American cities and saw the rise of suburbs took place largely at brand new shopping centers.
Sears at Valley Plaza, seen in 1957, was designed by architect Stiles O. ClementsPhoto: Courtesy Valley Times Collection /Los Angeles Public Library
Valley Plaza was one of the myriad of entirely new suburban designs that were auto-oriented, sanitized and corporatized. These stores were brand names you might have seen on television – or at least they took out lavish advertising spreads in the newspaper. McDaniel’s market even had a little Scottish character chiding you to save money. The corner market could never offer that.
McDaniel’s Market at Valley Plaza in the 1950sPhoto: Courtesy Valley Relics Museum
If you squint hard enough, you can still see the sleek lines of Stiles O. Clements 1951 Sears store hiding behind the Ross Dress for Less that has occupied its hollow husk for the last half decade. Gone are the modernist lines and flat planes of Sears. The Utah stone, marble panels and Roman brick are all hiding under beige stucco. Clements’ signature twin Sears palm trees still blow in the wind, in scale with the original façade, now about three sizes too big for little Ross. They have a little help from Target in trying to fill out the north wing. The long, sad downfall of Sears deserves its own eulogy, just as the iconic store’s Burbank location, the chain’s final outpost in Southern California, closes at the end of this month.
1965 officers of the Valley Plaza Merchants and Professional Association Photo: Courtesy Valley Times Collection/Los Angeles Public LibraryA 1964 strike at Thriftimart in Valley PlazaPhoto: Courtesy George Brich/Valley Times Photo Collection /Los Angeles Public Library
“We are ready, willing and able to go forward and demolish these buildings,” Fred Gaines, an attorney for property owner Charles Co. said at the city meeting. The Los Angeles Times reports that Charles Co. is owned by Mark and Arman Gabaee, the paper noted that Arman Gabaee was sentenced to four years in prison for a bribery case in 2022.
Dedication ceremonies for North Hollywood postal station at Valley Plaza in 1960Photo: Courtesy George Brich/Valley Times photo collection/Los Angeles Public Library
City Councilmember Adrin Nazarian, who represents the neighborhood, blamed the owners for the deterioration and indicated that would like to see new housing and retail replace the aging shopping center.
A fire in 2022 destroyed shops along Laurel Canyon BoulevardPhoto: Courtesy Chris Nichols
For the moment, there are a few old-time holdouts at the mall. Tandy Leather still attracts crafters, folks drop off mail at the post office, and the North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has an office next to the abandoned movie house. I wonder if they still have all those groundbreaking golden shovels and grand opening oversized scissors from Valley Plaza?
Neon from a former Van de Kamp’s coffee shop in Valley Plaza was salvaged by the Valley Relics Museum before the building burned in 2022Photo: Courtesy Steve Devol
A man was taken into custody Wednesday after using a baseball bat to vandalize cars in North Hollywood, Los Angeles police said.
Police received several 911 calls at about 9 a.m. Wednesday about a man hitting cars with a bat. The man also unsuccessfully tried to carjack someone, police told NBC4 Investigates.
Police found the man nearby, still in possession of the bat, the LAPD said. After a short chase, police used a stun gun and took the man into custody.
He was transported to a hospital to be evaluated for injuries. Police said he will be booked on suspicion of felony attempted carjacking.
On Tuesday, another man caused thousands of dollars in damage to dozens of cars after smashing their windows in North Hollywood, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. He was arrested for felony vandalism after damaging 29 cars.
GPI Companies paid $92.5 million for the 292-unit Lofts at NoHo Commons, further bolstering the real estate investment firm’s presence in the L.A. market.
The purchase price, confirmed by an industry source, pencils out to nearly $317,000 per unit for the property at 11179 Weddington Street in North Hollywood.
The company nabbed a deal on the property. KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT II and MWest Holdings paid $102.5 million for the asset in 2016 before renovating it the following year.
The property is hard to miss from the street, with the exterior bearing the art of Berlin artist Thierry Noir, who was commissioned by MWest to paint a 15,000-square-foot mural stretching from an alley at 11136 Chandler Boulevard to 11135 Weddington Street. The work, named “Freedom Boulevard Wall,” represents Noir’s largest-ever mural and was unveiled in 2017 as Los Angeles and Berlin rang in their 50th year as sister cities.
Lofts at NoHo Commons offers studio, one-bedroom and live/work units. Apartments have 11- to 14-foot ceilings, track lighting and in-unit washers and dryers, while community amenities include an Olympic-size pool and screening room.
The building’s occupancy has averaged 94 percent over the past decade, according to GPI.
Greystar was tapped to manage the apartment building.
GPI’s North Hollywood acquisition is the latest move in the area for the Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm.
The company recently completed its West Hollywood apartment building, called Nine Thousand One, at 9001 Santa Monica Boulevard. GPI’s also in construction on the six-story, 201-unit Overland & Ayres, located at 2455 South Overland Avenue. GPI and Nahla Capital are also developing the upscale Beverly Hills condo project Rosewood Residences.
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A fired bullet went completely through an apartment wall in Valley Village and struck a next-door neighbor dead, according to a police report.
On Monday around 9:30 p.m, patrol officers in the North Hollywood area responded to a radio call of “shots fired” in the 5600 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. When they arrived, they found one person inside an apartment suffering from a gunshot wound.
Paramedics later pronounced the person dead at the scene.
LAPD homicide detectives were called in and discovered that a bullet fired from the apartment next door had pierced the wall and struck the victim.
No additional information about the shooting has been released, and authorities are withholding the victim’s identity until their next of kin has been notified.
Anyone with information about this shooting is urged to call LAPD’s Valley Bureau Homicide Division at (818) 374-9550. Those wishing to remain anonymous should call L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477, or send information via the website.
LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Communities surrounding a couple of freeways in North Hollywood are getting a makeover.
Landscaping is already underway. That’s part one of a $2.1 million beautification project along stretches of the 170 and the 101 freeways.
“If you’re a native of the Valley, you’ll always hear the same rhetoric ‘what about the Valley, don’t forget about the Valley’ and I’m thrilled we’re investing in this,” said State Senator Caroline Menjivar, who attended Thursday’s groundbreaking at Valley Plaza Park.
Caltrans touted all the improvements that will be made at Valley Plaza Park, including removing graffiti, fixing fences and adding artwork to the pedestrian bridge just south of Sherman Way.
For those involved, it’s not just about making it look pretty.
“This project is more than just an aesthetic enhancement, it’s a testament to our communities, commitment to sustainability and inclusiveness,” said Nick Wright, President of the North Hollywood West Neighborhood Council.
The beautification is part of the governor’s $1.2 billion dollar Clean California initiative, with this project taking aim at the 170 Freeway from Victory to Roscoe and the 101 Freeway interchange at Lankershim.
Those who live near Valley Plaza Park, like Denise Vega, say they’ve been waiting forever for a project like this.
“It’s nice they’re going to we’re going to have something pretty to look at, maybe some nice landscaping along the freeway, clean up the homeless,’ said Vega, who has lived in the area with her husband for 37 years.
Unhoused people living along the freeway on these stretches aren’t being forced to leave, but they’re notified about the project. As improvements occur, people previously living in those parks don’t often return.
Capt. Warner Castillo, LAPD’s commanding officer in North Hollywood, says it’s called crime prevention through environmental design, and says that he has seen it work.
As the park improves, and neighbors pack those areas, others find somewhere else to live.
Nearby residents hope the security fencing, plus all the landscaping and art, make the entire area more welcoming.
“I think green space and open space in L.A. city are under attack, so what green space we have should be preserved,” said Ron Bitzer, who heads the Valley Plaza Advisory Board.
The work will continue through the summer and the project is slated to be completed by late fall.
A woman who allegedly grabbed and then tried to run off with a 4-year-old boy from an L.A. Target store earlier this week is now in police custody.
The unidentified woman was found and taken into custody shortly after 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in North Hollywood near the intersection of Magnolia Boulevard and Tujunga Avenue, the Los Angeles Police Department announced on X.
On Sunday, a woman allegedly tried to kidnap the child — grabbing the boy forcibly from behind and carrying him out of a Koreatown Target store, according to the LAPD.
She put the boy down outside the store after his parents confronted her and then ran away.
The incident is under investigation, and the suspect’s name has not been released. As of early Wednesday evening, she had not yet been arrested but remained in police custody, according to the LAPD.
As part of an ongoing Metro effort to build housing and community around transportation hubs, a new mixed-use development dubbed District NoHo is coming to North Hollywood’s Metro station.
The Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to approve the 15-acre project, greenlighting a massive development that will include 1,481 residential units as well as office, retail and restaurant space.
A quarter of the units will be rent-restricted, more than double the ratio required for the city’s density bonus.
“District NoHo will be a transformative project for this city,” City Council President Paul Krekorian said in a statement. Krekorian represents Council District 2, which includes North Hollywood.
“This is a truly transit-oriented development that will enable hundreds of Angelenos to live, work, study, shop and enjoy recreation without driving, parking or riding in anything other than zero-emission public transportation,” he said.
The project will also bring to the area 750 parking spots reserved for Metro customers, and two acres of open space for the public as well as three shopping plazas. The North Hollywood station is Metro’s third busiest.
District NoHo is one of Metro’s several joint development projects, which are real estate collaborations between Metro and private developers built on Metro land to create more housing around transit.
The project will feature improvements to North Hollywood’s Metro station, including a new entrance to the B Line subway on the west side of Lankershim Boulevard, improvements to the G Line busway terminus, and new internal streets and walkways to break up the large development site, a city report said.
Metro has made the ambitious commitment to build 10,000 housing units in Los Angeles County by 2031, “with the goal of contributing to solving Southern California’s housing crisis,” the agency said in a news release in July. Half of the units are intended to be rent-restricted for lower- to moderate-income households.
While District NoHo will include 366 rent-restricted units, some community members say the project isn’t doing enough to create affordable housing. Reimagine District NoHo, an effort driven by the nonprofit NoHo Home Alliance, has been fighting for the inclusion of more affordable units.
“The government’s obligation is to do the most good for the most people,” said Desmond Faison, with Reimagine District NoHo. “I think that it misses the mark. … We’re building a monolith to capitalism.”
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Faison said that only the most wealthy North Hollywood residents would be able to afford to live in District NoHo’s market rate units. Glenn Block, another North Hollywood resident who is involved with Reimagine District NoHo, said the 15 acres the development will be built on could be put to better use.
“This project fails on every level,” he said.
The property will have nearly 100 more rent-restricted units than the original proposal, according to Metro project manager Marie Sullivan. The number of affordable units is limited because funding for the units comes from many different sources, all of which have restricted budgets.
“There’s only so much affordable housing funding that comes from federal, state and local sources each year,” Sullivan said.
Metro is also using income from the market-rate units to fund other aspects of the project, including a park and shopping plazas, she said.
“We need the revenue from market-rate homes to fund a lot of these public benefits,” she said.
District NoHo will also boost the community by creating roughly 10,000 jobs during construction, according to a city report, and an additional 2,500 jobs through property operations. Construction is expected to generate $1 billion.
The development of the property includes the demolition of nearly 50,000 square feet of surface parking lots and industrial space.
The project, which has been in the works since 2015, “provides a model of sustainable development for the whole region,” Krekorian said. “This is a game-changer for the Valley.”
Two people were found shot to death Friday night in North Hollywood in a possible murder-suicide, Los Angeles police said.
Officers responded to reports of shots fired in the 6500 block of Riverton Avenue about 7:45 p.m., said Officer Melissa Ohana, an LAPD spokesperson.
Officers who arrived at the scene found a 48-year-old woman dead from gunshot wounds, she said. Nearby, they discovered a 46-year-old man with “apparent self-inflicted wounds” whom the police are investigating as the suspect in the woman’s death.
LAPD’s Valley Bureau Homicide will determine whether it is a murder-suicide, Ohana said.
KTLA-TV reported that police had said the woman was found inside a running SUV, and the man was found two houses away from the vehicle. Ohana said she could not confirm those details.
