Rodeo Drive Committee Supports Wilshire/Rodeo Subway Stop

Plans for a Metropolitan Transportation Authority subway stop at Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive as part of the has piqued the interest of area merchants.

The Rodeo Drive Committee, a membership-only group of 75 landowners, retailers and hoteliers with a Rodeo address that began in the 1970s, expressed support for a station at the golden triangle shopping district's doorstep.

"It's very important to have a subway stop between Beverly or Rodeo in this vicinity," said Jim Jahant, RDC president and general manager.

Jahant likened Beverly Hills' need for a subway connection to the recent revitalization of downtown Los Angeles with developments such as L.A. Live, a proposed new football stadium as well as the area's several large hotels.

"Many of the tourists that come into town are going to want to be able to get around, and many of the tourists from all over the world are used to taking the subway," Jahant said. "It's important to have that ability to get as many tourists that will be at L.A. Live up into the Beverly Hills area."

Jahant acknowledged concerns about construction hassles and other opposing stances taken by people in the surrounding business community.

"There are always going to be some that might feel 'Oh, they're going to tear up the street and my business will be bad for a year or two years,' but they truly need to see the big picture as where is this going to put us down the road in the future," Jahant said.

Bill Wylie, general manager of the upscale retail strip Two Rodeo, located just off of Wilshire, said he was concerned about construction but stood by the RDC's unified stance on supporting an adjacent subway stop.

At the committee's monthly meeting in August, the nonprofit group issued a statement reflecting steep majority support for the subway from RDC members.

Mark Tronstein of Rodeo Drive Associates owns commercial property on Rodeo and is vice president of the RDC. He discussed possible pros and cons of the issue.

"In the long term, [a Rodeo Drive station] will probably have net positive economic impact to the street and the area," Tronstein said. "Other major cities around the world expanded their subway stations into luxury retail areas."

He said that the cons deal with concerns about "design, security [and] the construction part of it."

Tronstein called for careful vetting of the project when it becomes more imminent. 

"As a landlord in conjunction with a lot of the folks on our street, we're certainly looking forward to adding our input and insight into how this all kind of gets done," he said.

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