By NOLA L. SARKISIAN

Staff Reporter

A vibrant mural of Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom and prosperity, is painted on the entrance to a jewelry and African artifact shop on Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood.

Believed to remove obstacles, the god might just have made its impact felt on the once-troubled thoroughfare itself.

“My sales have doubled since I’ve been here in the past two years,” said Aklia Chinn, owner of Aklia’s, where the god’s portrait is painted. Sitting among her wooden masks from Zaire, conga drums and hand-crafted sterling-silver toe rings and bracelets, Chinn said: “The street has gotten busier and when people come here, they come back.”

That’s quite a contrast to a few years ago, when the area was plagued by crime, homelessness and drugs. Cahuenga Boulevard, which cuts through the core of Hollywood, is now in the midst of bustling office and retail activity, thanks in part to nearby, high-profile developments such as TrizecHahn Corp.’s Hollywood & Highland project and Pacific Theatres’ Cinerama Dome Entertainment Center.

Long known for its hip nightclubs, from the Catalina Bar & Grill to the Burgundy Room, the area has begun to shine during the day as a center of enterprise rather than a hotbed of transients.

Three cornerstones of the changes are a new television commercial production studio, a supper bar and club, and a photography store. Those projects alone account for a combined investment of at least $10 million in the three-block stretch of Cahuenga from Sunset Boulevard to Yucca Street. Other nearby improvements include the construction of a Sav-on drug store, a new Greyhound bus station and a fire department museum.

The infusion of capital comes following the creation of the Cahuenga Corridor Coalition, which was formed by local merchants less than three years ago.

Some 25 business and property owners attended monthly meetings to foster a sense of community and watchfulness. Many had been operating on the boulevard for years, including the owners of Copy Master, Huston’s Pit Bar-B-Cue and Chan Dara.

The group worked with the city in getting alleys gated alleys that were often used as toilets by the homeless. After a small fee was assessed to each merchant, enough money was collected to pay for a group of queen palm trees, which were planted along the boulevard to create a better streetscape.

The area also falls under the jurisdiction of a new business improvement district, known as the Hollywood Entertainment District, which provides security patrols.

“The confidence of redevelopment is seeping down,” said Roxana Tynan, Hollywood economic director for Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg’s office. “It really helps that this group has gotten organized and motivated attention from city officials.”

The efforts were aided by the fact that violent crime in Hollywood has fallen by 65 percent since 1994. In addition, a homeless shelter that had been located on Cahuenga shut down last year, leading to a drop in the transient population.

“It was pretty dismal when we first moved here,” said Nureet Druyen, who along with her husband Michael relocated their company Certified Printers to Cahuenga five years ago. “Homeless people were sleeping in the driveways and doorways. When we got here in the morning, we had to tell them to leave. We weren’t thrilled.”

Once located in a bank building on Sunset, the couple wanted their own property, so they purchased the space for $425,000 and spent another $300,000 building a two-story, 8,000-square-foot store. “We’re starting to see the fruits of our labor,” Druyen said.

A far bigger investment is coming from Silverman Productions, which is spending $5 million to create what he calls a “miniature DreamWorks,” a 22,000-square-foot commercial production facility complete with sound stage, offices and a photography studio. Jay Silverman, who has been located on Citrus Avenue in Hollywood for 18 years, needed room to expand, and the former home of Alexander Stationery suits him fine.

“Hollywood remains a Mecca of resources for me this is a move of convenience,” he said. “There’s also a feeling there that something significant is transpiring, more than palm trees. I feel like a pilgrim.”

The owners of Freestyle Photo Supplies, in business in Hollywood for 52 years, decided to relocate to Cahuenga to take advantage of the growing foot traffic in the area.

“We feel that there will be an overflow of foot traffic from the surrounding developments,” said Lenore King, a partner with the company.

King and partners are building a stucco 46,000-square-foot structure, more than three times the space of their former location on Sunset and Normandie Avenue. Facilities will include a classroom, a demonstration darkroom, a warehouse and the retail shop.

“I just feel like I’m in the right place at the right time,” King said.

Nightclub owner Chris Breed has the same attitude. He is building the Sunset Room on Cahuenga, a $2.5 million venue that will offer live entertainment and dining. Breed, who opened the famed Roxbury on the Sunset Strip, said his approach to the new endeavor is the same as he took on the old one.

“We opened on Sunset when the strip was down and out. We got there early, signed on to a $1-a-square-foot lease, and watched the area explode,” he said. “Now, it’s hard to get in there for under $5 per square foot.”

Breed is also paying $1 a square foot per month at his Cahuenga location. Though lease rates are rising, prices are still a bargain compared to the Strip and elsewhere.

What went for a $1 a foot one year ago is now commanding about $1.25, said Steve Tronson, associate broker at Ramsey Shilling Commercial Real Estate, who said retail and office vacancies hover around 10 percent, compared with 30 percent 18 months ago.

“As the market matures on Hollywood Boulevard, it’s starting to spill over on side streets. There’s been a reawakening on Cahuenga Boulevard and the market is headed toward multiple offers,” he said.

What’s more, land values are rising.

David Gadja, owner of the mustard-colored Hollywood Media building and instrumental in forming the Cahuenga Corridor Coalition, said he has received three unsolicited buyout offers for his building, one more than triple the price he paid three years ago.

The property, which was 95 percent vacant when Gadja bought it, is fully occupied with office and retail tenants including a talent agency, two recording companies and a party planner. That’s a far cry from when he first took on the building, when it had broken windows and was filled with homeless squatters.

“In retrospect, we took a huge chance and it’s paid off,” said Gadja, owner of Hollywood Software, a provider of computer software to the entertainment industry.

Of course, prosperity does come at a price. One result of the economic improvement is a lack of parking. Tynan said city officials are exploring ways to add more spaces along the street.

And for all the improvements, Cahuenga is still by no means squeaky clean. There are two adult bookstores and a needle exchange called Clean Needles Now. Although a movement was afoot to close Clean Needles Now, the organization’s lease at the Hollywood Media Building runs for another three years.

“We’re not here to drive business away from Hollywood we’re here to help the area’s overall public health,” said Ken Vail, director of outreach, prevention and education for the facility.