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Updated March 15th, 2007
Groundbreaking Ceremony
Inaugurates Town Center
Celebrating the groundbreaking of the La Cañada Flintridge Town Center last Saturday are (from
left) developer Darren Mattix, Sport Chalet CEO Craig Levra, Irene Olberz, Sport Chalet founder
Norbert Olberz, grandson Markus Olberz, La Cañada Properties CFO Eric Olberz and Karl Olberz.
By JANE POJAWA
LCF Outlook
“Dreams come true” was the
theme Saturday as dozens of La
Cañada Flintridge residents, business
people and dignitaries gathered
for a groundbreaking ceremony to
inaugurate construction of the new
Town Center development.
Participants were handed spades and
hard hats and encouraged to dig a
symbolic shovel of dirt on the site of
the future shopping center. The
11.73-acre development, the largest
in the history of LCF, was in the
making for many years and welcomed
by all who attended, many of
whom were directly involved in the
planning and approval process.
Darren Mattix of Mattix
Development Partners welcomed all
attendees, including members of the
City Council, Chamber of
Commerce and Planning
Commission, representatives from
the fire department and U.S. Bank,
State Assemblyman Anthony
Portantino and residents who live
near the development.
“We join to witness the beginning,” Mattix said, citing the historical
relevance of the development for
LCF. “You will always be able to
say, ‘I remember what it looked like
before the Town Center was built.’”
The history of the Town Center
development is inexorably linked
with the history of LCF and Sport
Chalet. LCF entrepreneur Norbert Olberz acquired the land for the
development starting with a
$4,000 ski shop purchased in
1959. Over a 30-year period, he
purchased approximately 30
houses and businesses in the area
between Foothill Boulevard and
the 210 Freeway with hopes of
someday developing the area into
a major shopping center.
However, prior proposals were
rejected by the community. In
2005, Mattix approached Eric
Olberz, son of Norbert and Irene
Olberz, with a new plan for the
area’s improvement. The Town
Center was the first proposal to
receive wide acceptance in LCF,
largely through the combined
efforts of Mattix Development
Partners and city agencies to comply
with the standards established
by the Downtown Village Specific
Plan, a building regulation code
enacted to create a cohesive look
and feel for downtown LCF
development.
Sport Chalet, which became
the most successful business from
LCF, was privately owned by the Olberz family until 2005, when it
became a publicly traded corporation.
There are now almost 50
Sport Chalet stores in four states,
which generated combined sales
of $343.2 million last year. The
Olberz family still makes its
home in LCF, and the city will
remain the base for corporate
headquarters. Chairman and CEO
Craig Levra described the amenities
that the new flagship store
will feature, including a scuba
tank, climbing walls, prototypes
of merchandise, display concepts,
vector-image equipment for
measuring custom golf clubs, and,
of course, the quality services and
equipment that have built Sport
Chalet’s reputation. Levra jovially
commended LCF shoppers for
putting up with the crowded racks
and cramped dressing rooms that
have characterized the main Sport
Chalet location in recent years but
will soon be eliminated by the 45,000-square-foot superstore.
“No one loves La Cañada
Flintridge as much as Norbert and
Irene Olberz,” said Levra. “Thank
you for never quitting on us, and
may all your dreams come true.”
The new development will house
several other stores, restaurants and
offices as well as a large park. At a
special meeting last week, the City
Council decided to name the green
space “Olberz Park” in honor of the
family that donated the land to the
city. City Council Members Steve
del Guercio and Laura Olhasso
unveiled a large sign with the new
name as Mayor Greg Brown spoke
to the crowd. He said that the development
will be the “most significant
development in the history of the
city” and”will bring for the first time
a true center for the community.”
Brown commended “the vision of
the Olberz family” and said that
“when people think of our city, they
think of JPL, Descanso Gardens
and Sport Chalet.”
“The La Cañada Flintridge
Town Center represents a $52 million
dollar investment in the future
of our city,” Mattix said in his summary
statement. “We stand here
today grateful for the Olberz’s perseverance,
their generosity and for
their substantial contribution to the
hometown they love. Irene said to
me that you can’t look back — only
forward to the positive future.
Today, Norbert’s dream begins to
come true.” |
