Skip to main content

A Banner Year for Northridge and Northridge Vision: a recap of newsworthy events




Whether it was new building projects, or infrastructure improvements, or good old fashioned volunteer elbow power, 2016 was a good year for Northridge and creative and sustainable development.

The second-annual Matador Day of Service found approximately 400 CSUN students and volunteers taking to the streets on Sept. 10 in a school-wide effort to clean the campus and neighboring communities.  Matador volunteers spread out around campus and the surrounding community after gathering at Bayramian Lawn.  The event, which was designed to clean up campus and the neighboring Northridge community, was a huge success and much bigger than in 2015, said co-event organizer Don Larson.

A new design for the Parthenia and Reseda median area, including the installation of a new illuminated flag pole, has been in development since early fall.  The median will be landscaped with drought-tolerant plants, improving its appearance and saving water.  The project is currently two thirds towards completion, with its dedication planned for early 2017.

Tackling the local homeless issue was the goal of a program which highlights the cooperation of Northridge Sparkle and the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission. The program involved getting homeless volunteers to help clean the Great Street stretch of Reseda Blvd, thereby creating a sense of dignity and responsibility through volunteer service to the community.  The first cohort of homeless volunteers recently completed an eight-week course of training, work and job education.  The project proved to be a great success and was the first of a series of eight-week work trainings planned for the new year.  The long-term goal of the project is to better integrate the homeless into the local community through interaction with local volunteer activists.   Northridge Sparkle, CD 12 and the Rescue Mission are creating a new model of homeless intervention, which may prove to be an inspiration for the entire city.

Besides volunteer projects, an infrastructure project under development is Prop O Aliso Creek - Limekiln Creek Restoration Project, which designed to improve the quality of winter water runoff, as it makes it way to the sea.  Many years, a heavy rain is followed by the closing of one or more LA beaches due to toxic overflow.  The Limekiln project will create a more environmentally friendly overflow space including bio swales, additional drought tolerant plantings and a water control system which can be programmed to water the environs between Vanalden Park/Wilkinson Center and the Northridge Metrolink Station as needed during drought times, or control the flow of water during heavy rains.   

Other milestones include the following new projects in the planning phase:

  • Nordhoff and Shirley, Shea Homes Northridge Project “The District”, mixed use with retail, rental and townhomes.
  • 18401 W. Nordhoff Street (NW corner of Nordhoff Street and Darby Avenue) mixed use with retail and rental.
  • 9534 Reseda Blvd., Northridge (Post Office Site) mixed use with retail and rental.
  • 8350 N. Reseda Blvd Northridge (Cadillac Dealership site) mixed use with retail, rental and townhomes.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Northridge Metrolink Station Relocation Study Made Available to the Public

Metro’s long-awaited Northridge Metrolink Station Relocation Study was made available to community members at the end of September.   The study was based on community input taken last spring at a community meeting, as well as through email and online comments.   The study takes no official position, rather it details the various costs, community concerns, and environmental factors that would be involved in either the upgrading of the current station, or in the moving of the current station to the corner of Reseda and Parthenia. Both study alternatives aimed to identify potential opportunities to enhance transit connectivity throughout the community and region. Alternative 1: Station Relocation, relocates the existing Northridge Metrolink Station to the intersection of Reseda Boulevard, Parthenia Street, and the Ventura Line.   Alternative 2: Existing Station Enhancements, upgrades the existing Northridge Metrolink Station into a multi-modal transit ...
4 comments
Read more

Sherwood Forest Home Owners Association Works to Make Northridge a Better Place to Live

On January 18th, the Sherwood Forest HOA will hold a stakeholder meeting at the Dearborn Elementary Charter Academy, at which there will be a presentation on the Clean Streets, Clean Starts program, which seeks to find work, counseling and housing for North Valley homeless.   Guest speakers will include Don Larson and Laura Rathbone, coordinators of this revolutionary approach to tackling homelessness. Homeless issues are important issues in the community, no less in the well to do and idyllic Sherwood Forest neighborhood.   Overnight parking of recreational vehicles and cars has become a daily occurrence in the neighborhood.   Other issues, such as large scale development and growing traffic strains are increasingly on the radar of the community and the Sherwood Forest Home Owners association.    Homeowners and the SFHOA find the need for advocacy in the community more than ever.   This increased advocacy has been reflected in ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Northridge’s Community Sponsors Support Beautification and Homelessness Projects

Much of the good work that has been done in our neighborhood over that last few years has been because of the many volunteer hours donated free of charge.   However, volunteer labor often needs materials, money and expertise to make a project smooth running and successful.   Currently, two examples of these projects, the new “Northridge Stampede” mural on the Catalina Paint Building at Gresham and Reseda, and our ongoing “Clean Streets, Clean Starts” homeless project, both rely on the generosity of individuals, local businesses and non-profits.   The Northridge Beautification Foundation, a 501.c3 nonprofit, has been able to expand their community service projects with a much-needed infusion of money and expertise. In the case of the “Northridge Stampede” mural, currently underway, the overwhelming generosity of the Northridge Sharkey’s, which donated a sizable percentage of their Labor Day Weekend profits, totaling an amazingly generous $3,148 dollar, ...
1 comment
Read more