When Dan and Jaqueline Armand heard the proposed East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project would run through Pacoima near their growing family-style restaurant, they thought their location, along with seven years of hard work, sweat, and money, would finally pay off.
Their eatery, El Pollo Peru, 13273 Van Nuys Blvd, is adjacent to the proposed Van Nuys Blvd and San Fernando Valley Road station, a key directional turning middle point on the proposed line between its connecting to the Orange Line in Van Nuys and its end point in Sylmar.
That is, until they received a Feb. 14 letter from the City’s Economic and Workforce Development Department (EWDD) informing the couple the city is interested in buying the property for a proposed mixed-use housing project and their business may be displaced.
“Please note that there are currently no defined plans for a potential Project. Any such plans are expected to take between 18 months and three years to develop. The City and its consultants will keep you informed of the City’s discussions regarding a potential Project to ensure you have complete information on which to base your business decisions,” the letter stated.
The letter notes that it was not a notice to vacate the premises and that if their business is displaced, they may be eligible for relocation assistance and payments. However, the letter also noted that it was not a notice of relocation eligibility, leaving the Armands concerned because of its ambiguity.
“For us, we spent all that time and years trying to build the business, and now there’s uncertainty about where we’re going and the customers we’ll lose. It’s very hard to take,” said Daniel Armand.
According to City documents, City Council Member Monica Rodriguez (D- Sylmar, Mission Hills, Pacoima, North Hills, Sunland-Tujunga, Lake View Terrace, Shadow Hills, La Tuna Canyon) is the driver behind the mixed-use housing project with the support of Mayor Karen Bass. Dubbed the Pacoima Lifestyle Center Acquistion Project, the city’s property acquisition has been in the works since July 2024.
This culminated in the City Council approving a roughly $4.9 million allocation in February to purchase the property from the landlord, Calabasas-based Agora Reality and Management. Angora is a large real estate development company with properties across multiple states, including the 28,000-square-foot Pacoima property.
After the purchase, the City is retaining Agora to manage the existing property, including collecting the rents of multiple tenants on the property, from which they will collect their fees.
According to the pre-council vote report, Rodriguez uses district discretionary funds to pay a relocation consultant. The consultant provided formal General Information Notices (GINs) to each tenant in February 2025.
“The consultant is preparing a Relocation Plan, which will ensure City staff follow all applicable laws and regulations regarding the purchase and management of an existing commercial property,” the report states.
The city will issue developers a Request for Proposals (RFP) to redevelop the property as a mixed-use housing site. The RFP requires the city to prepare a scope of the work. This scope could state the number and income level guidelines of housing units and a commercial component, which could, in theory, be grandfathered in the Armands’ eatery, El Pollo Peru.
Los Angeles City EWDD spokesperson Wendy Quintanilla said via email that no RFP has been issued yet, and there is currently no construction happening at the site. Environmental assessments took place in December 2024, and an environmental remediation process will begin in 2025, she said in the email.
“The City of Los Angeles and the property management company will work with businesses to determine the impacts of the remediation, if any,” stated Quintanilla in an email. “If a redevelopment of a portion of the site takes place, and if that redevelopment affects existing businesses, the City will work with the businesses to manage the impact.”
Rodriguez’s office did not return several emails with answers or comments about the project at post time.
