Jerry Snyder gives up on Valley Plaza

The L.A. developer has handed over the 23-acre North Hollywood site to iStar, a commercial lender and investment trust. Here's a cautionary tale on urban makeovers: Snyder acquired the property more than a decade ago with the idea of transforming the gloomy shopping center. Then the economy tanked, and Snyder proposed bringing in movie studios and sound stages. That didn't work either. From Curbed L.A.:

Today, numerous storefronts remain vacant with the exception of a few stores, including a Wells Fargo, a movie theater (which only recently re-opened) and the headquarters for Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. "It's not great being in the midst of an area where there's no other tenants and no business going on," said Victor Viereck, president of Universal City North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

Valley Plaza was developed in the 40s and pretty much peaked out in the early 70s. By the time I moved to the Valley in the early 80s, it was pretty decrepit - and the place has only gotten worse over the years.