Hollywood Projects [Archive] - Page 10

dragonsky

Mar 30, 2007, 1:49 AM

Santa steps up to save parade
Supporters of the canceled holiday event stage rally along Walk of Fame in Hollywood.
By Bob Pool, Times Staff Writer
March 29, 2007

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-03/28675072.jpg

It was only a week ago that Hollywood leaders announced that there would never be another Hollywood Christmas Parade.

But there Santa Claus was Wednesday, parading down the boulevard's Walk of Fame with a ragtag band of supporters behind him.

"Save the Hollywood Christmas Parade!" they shouted during a three-block march as tourists snapped photos and locals stared.

"This is a grass-roots effort to get the community to launch a campaign that can save the parade," explained organizer Greg Durfee, a Hollywood resident. "Adults need to slow down. The parade doesn't have to be canceled."

Executives with the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which staged the parade for 75 years, disclosed March 21 that they had reluctantly decided to cancel the annual Thanksgiving weekend event. The 2006 parade was the final one, they said.

"We're disappointed and sad. But we're out of the parade business," said Jeff Briggs, chairman of the chamber's board of directors.

Briggs and other leaders of the business group said the chamber had lost about $100,000 staging the 2006 parade. Financial projections indicated that losses would be double that if a 2007 parade were held, he said.

The parade cost about $1 million to produce. Most of its expenses were covered by television broadcast fees tied to a percentage of TV ad revenues, grandstand ticket sales and various sponsorships.

Durfee said his campaign would focus on finding major sponsors willing to underwrite the parade, preferably for a 10-year period.

"We're not taking any donations. We want people to e-mail companies like Coca-Cola and Paramount Pictures," said the 44-year-old Durfee — who described himself as an operator of a small production company and a fan of the Christmas parade since he was 7 years old. He asked that supporters e-mail savetheparade@yahoo.com for details.

Durfee climbed into a red Santa suit and attached a white beard to lead the march. A costumed character, "Norky the Peneagle," joined him. With the body of a penguin and the head of an eagle, the figure is a "goodwill character" from the North Pole, said Marina del Rey entertainment promoter Brady Farmer.

The pair were quickly joined by several backers carrying hand-printed signs. By the time they walked from Las Palmas Avenue to Highland Avenue, about a dozen others had fallen in behind.

"It would be great to have another Christmas parade," said marcher Luciano Rauso, 11, of Burbank.

"Yes, it's very crucial," agreed onlooker Tom White, 29, of Los Angeles.

Near the Kodak Theatre, Santa and Norky began encountering Hollywood's other characters — the costumed actors who pose for tourist pictures near Grauman's Chinese Theatre. One of them was dressed like a "Pirates of the Caribbean" buccaneer.

"Johnny Depp! Help save the parade," shouted one marcher.

"I've always wanted to be in a parade," replied Capt. Jack Sparrow look-alike Thomas Fox.

"This is a parade. Join us," Farmer said.

"I'm kind of on a break right now. I can't," Fox said.

The sidewalk in front of the Chinese Theatre was blocked off for the premiere of the movie "Blades of Glory," so the marchers crossed Hollywood Boulevard and briefly continued on. But they stopped before reaching the Chamber of Commerce office next door to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

"We don't want to get into anything political," said Durfee. "I don't want to say anything negative about the Chamber of Commerce. They've done a great job for 75 years."

Briggs and chamber President Leron Gubler could not be reached for comment late Wednesday afternoon.

But a spokesman for Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti, who represents parts of Hollywood, said Garcetti is anxious to learn more about the save-the-parade campaign. "That's an interesting development, and our office looks forward to learning more about their efforts," said aide Josh Kamensky.

As for Durfee, he plans to parade down the boulevard in a Santa suit each Wednesday — until a way is found to return Santa in a real Christmas sleigh.

dragonsky

Mar 30, 2007, 2:33 AM

This is Hollywood? Hell yes.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=457467

Urban Sky

Mar 30, 2007, 2:38 AM

This is Hollywood? Hell yes.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=457467

thanks for the link. theres some good ones in there. hollywood hills...:yes:

hesed

Mar 30, 2007, 8:30 AM

Does anyone have any recommendations for a resturant near the Pantages Theatre?

LAMetroGuy

Mar 30, 2007, 9:09 PM

Last updated: March 30, 2007 08:04am
$160M, 400,000-SF Office Project Launches
By Bob Howard

http://www.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek06/0428/0428red1_b.jpg

http://www.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek06/0428/0428red2_b.jpg

http://www.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek06/0428/0428red3_b.jpg
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA-Developer Charles S. Cohen of New York City broke ground Thursday for the long awaited “Red Building,” the third and final phase of the Pacific Design Center at the corner of Melrose Avenue and San Vicente Boulevard. The $160-million, 400,000-sf class A office building will join two others, known as the Green Building and the Blue Building, on the 14-acre campus.
Cohen, who is the head of Cohen Brothers Realty Corp., says that demand for office space on the Westside of Los Angeles, one of the region's tightest office markets, was one of the driving factors in the decision to start the new project. He notes that the office portions of the PDC’s Green and Blue buildings are fully leased.

Recent market reports show the West Hollywood office market as one of the tightest submarkets in an overall Westside L.A. office market where demand remains extremely strong. The direct vacancy rate in West Hollywood stood at about 4.5% at the end of 2006, with only a 5% overall availability.

Among the amenities planned for the new building are a valet motor court with elevators to its two sky lobbies, concierge service at the lobbies, and a landscaped area called Palm Court sitting six stories above the Pacific Design Center plaza. Other features at the design center include an on-site fitness center, two restaurants created by chef Wolfgang Puck, a branch of the Museum of Contemporary Art and a screening facility known for celebrity events such as Oscar Night parties.

Like the two before it, the Red Building is being designed by architect Cesar Pelli. The executive architect for the project is Gruen Associates, with Area Design Inc. as interior architect and Thomas Balsley Associates as landscape architect.

The Red Building's 400,000 sf of office space is expected to be available for occupancy in 2009. In addition to its office space, the Pacific Design Center is one of the West Coast's leading showroom facilities for the design industry, with more than 130 showrooms representing 2,100 product lines.

With 1.2 million square feet, the PDC is home to the area’s top decorating and furniture market, with showrooms, public and private spaces, and an outpost of the Museum of Contemporary Art. Developer Charles S. Cohen says the Red building should be completed within 24 months. During its gestation, Red has evolved to become a 400,000-square-foot structure with two state-of-the-art office towers—six and eight stories high respectively—sitting atop seven levels of enclosed parking for 1,500 cars. The building will accommodate a variety of office floors ranging from 14,000 to 36,000 square feet. “Because we have divided the building in two, we are able to create a very high sixth-floor level courtyard, which will be just a terrific space to be in, with palm trees and phenomenal views of the Hollywood Hills. You will feel as if you can touch the hills.”

ozone

Mar 31, 2007, 12:19 AM

I'm really excited about the PDC expansion. Hanging out in the park across the street from PDC and taking in the whole scene is one of best "architectural moments" anyone can have in LA. It's one more improvement that clearly proves that LA is out to challenge NYC as the design/culture capital of this country. :tup:

dragonsky

Mar 31, 2007, 2:20 AM

Brush fire erupts in the Hollywood Hills
By Tony Barboza, Andrew Blankstein and Rong-Gong Lin II, Times Staff Writers
5:51 PM PDT, March 30, 2007

A brush fire erupted this afternoon in the Hollywood Hills near the Oakwood apartment complex, darkening the sky with thick plumes of smoke visible through much of the city.

At least five helicopters and about 200 firefighters rushed to battle the blaze, reported about 12:50 p.m. around the 3600 block of Barham Boulevard, near Universal City, said Ron Myers of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Two teenage males from Illinois suspected of setting the fire turned themselves in to authorities, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said at a news conference. A witness observed the teens, ages 16 and 17, starting the fire, he said.

"They were old enough to know what they were doing," the mayor said.

Fire officials said at an earlier news conference that they will send arson investigators to probe the cause of the blaze, which burned at least 150 acres by 4 p.m.

For more than 90 minutes, the fire chewed through thick, dry vegetation, threatening apartments, the Warner Bros. Studios, even the iconic Hollywood Sign.

But by around 3 p.m., Myers said it appeared that officials had made significant progress.

"Fortunately, right now, it looks like the fire is turning in our favor and we're very happy about that," Myers said. "We do not have full containment of the fire at this time; however, we are gaining the upper hand, it appears."

Although freeways remained open, the smoke could have an effect on tonight's rush-hour commute. Some local streets were shut to help firefighters.

Given the record lack of rain, fire officials said they feared today's fire was just the first of what will likely be a series of brush fires around Southern California.

Initially, today's fire threatened the Oakwood, often used by aspiring entertainers as a temporary home while they sought their fortune.

The flames came within 50 feet of the parts of the Oakwood parking lot. Apartment maintenance workers helped wet down the hillside while managers switched on sprinklers on the roofs of the apartment buildings and on the hillside.

Many residents stood in the parking lot watching the blaze. Some shot video, others snapped photos.

Two students from the New York Film Academy were filming a drama at one of Oakwood apartments when a member of the crew announced the fire.

Moments later, one of the students, Victorino Lee Sanghee, went outside to check the fire and noticed it was now engulfing the hillside and was quickly moving downhill.

"Everyone was sort of freaked out," Sanghee said. "Still, we filmed the whole thing with our camera."

By 3 p.m., the fire had moved away from the buildings into open terrain, said Los Angeles Fire Capt. Antoine McKnight.

The fire, fed by heavy vegetation turned into tinder by the lack of rain, poured out smoke that could be seen from the San Fernando Valley to Hollywood.

The main roads nearby, including the 134 and 101 freeways, were open, though some of the local streets were closed because firefighters were using them. Parts of Forest Lawn Drive and Barham Boulevard were shut.

"Any time there is heavy smoke like this, we really ask that any drivers be extremely cautious," Myers said.

No structures have been damaged and no injuries were reported, Myers said.

There was no immediate cause of the fire, but the dry conditions and lack of rain were factors in its rapid spread. Los Angeles has had slightly more than two inches of precipitation this season, rather than the 13-plus inches normal by this time.

About 200 firefighters, from the city, county and other communities including Burbank, were on the scene, and at least six helicopters were dropping water and foam on the blaze.

No evacuations have been ordered by fire officials, but Myers noted that residents should take the usual precautions of gathering valuables and records.

The Oakwood has 1,151 apartments. One of the about 20 buildings at the site was evacuated, according to a spokeswoman for Oakwood Worldwide, which manages numerous such complexes used for corporate housing.

Joy Scruton, 20, a hostess at Mistral, a restaurant about three miles away on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, said she and some customers went outside and saw flames and thick black smoke mushrooming over the southeastern San Fernando Valley.

"Everyone was looking at it for a minute and went back to their conversations," Scruton said. "People weren't making that big a deal out of it."

The venerable Smoke House in Burbank lived up to its name this afternoon when the thick smoke blanketed the area toward the tail end of the lunch hour.

"At first we could see smoke coming from behind the hill," said manager Israel Aviles. "Then 20 minutes later, the flames started coming over the hill and we started getting more concerned."

Most of the 80 diners didn't realize what was going on, he said.

But the smoke was so thick that employees turned off the air conditioner and closed the doors.

"It was real thick, you couldn't see the hill anymore," Aviles said. "It was down to ground level. Some of the employees were coughing. Everybody's eyes were watering."

Times staff writer Jesus Sanchez contributed to this report.

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-03/28711098.jpg
http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-03/28711099.jpg
http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-03/28711101.jpg
http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-03/28711105.jpg
http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-03/28711106.jpg
http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-03/28711107.jpg

dragonsky

Mar 31, 2007, 8:14 PM

Hollywood Blvd. @ night
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=369910

Westsidelife

Mar 31, 2007, 8:25 PM

^Dragonsky, while we all appreciate your contributions to these threads, I think it's time to give it a rest. Those links you provided have nothing to do with Hollywood projects.

colemonkee

Apr 2, 2007, 5:54 PM

^ You have to admit, though, those pictures are awesome.

ThreeHundred

Apr 5, 2007, 5:09 PM

A bit o' good news: The entire lot that the W on Hollywood and Vine is fenced off. By entire I also mean those 2 little buildings on Vine and Selma are fenced in as well.

citywatch

Apr 6, 2007, 2:34 AM

^ good to know! And I should hope what you're describing finally is taking place, since the groundbreaking for the proj occurred several wks ago. As it turns out, that ceremonial start up was purely symbolic. But however long it takes to get rid of that or any other deadzone in the city, the more of them that are wiped out, the more everyone should:

:cheers:

ThreeHundred

Apr 6, 2007, 3:30 AM

godblessbotox from SSC posted this pic yesterday. But when I was there last night, the lot was encircled in green construction fence. So I don't know how old this pic is. Mabye a week? In any event, it's good to know that a massive deadzone in Hollywood is gone.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/185/446764449_8d787cb784_b.jpg

ocman

Apr 6, 2007, 5:38 AM

^^^ This is why I hate palm trees, or moreso their context in LA. So freakin pointless popping out of the cement.

dragonsky

Apr 12, 2007, 3:57 AM

New operator plans to renovate Palladium
Live Nation will invest millions in top-to-bottom upgrade of the Hollywood landmark, which is to reopen in September 2008.
By Valerie Reitman, Times Staff Writer
April 12, 2007

The Hollywood Palladium, the 66-year-old Art Deco palace on Sunset Boulevard that has hosted legends from Frank Sinatra to the Grateful Dead, will get a top-to-bottom renovation by a new operator and reopen next year.

Live Nation, the Los Angeles-based live music company, said Wednesday it plans to invest "millions" in a more than yearlong renovation as it enters a 20-year lease on the concert hall.

City officials said they were thrilled.

"Live Nation's restoration of the Hollywood Palladium synthesizes the best of Hollywood's past, present and its future," said City Council President Eric Garcetti, who represents the area, as the deal was announced Wednesday. "Hollywood's next golden age is here, and the Palladium will be the first stop to watch it up close."

The theater opened Sept. 23, 1940, with performances by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and Frank Sinatra. Over the years, it has played host to the Emmy Awards, the Grammy Awards, the Rolling Stones, James Brown, Led Zeppelin, Madonna, Barbra Streisand and hundreds of others.

Live Nation said it would renovate the 4,000-capacity live music venue and reopen it in September 2008. It plans a major upgrade to the stage infrastructure to accommodate larger productions and an overhaul of interior and exterior areas to bring the hall up to date while preserving its "original aesthetic integrity."

Other improvements include doubling restroom facilities and putting them in more easily accessible locations, modifying the auditorium to provide better views from all areas, doubling the amount of back-of-house space, and increasing the number of beverage sale counters.

"When you look at the inside and the outside, we expect it to be every bit as beautiful as when it opened in 1940," said John Vlautin, Live Nation spokesman.

Live Nation owns or operates 160 theaters worldwide, including the Wiltern on Wilshire Boulevard, the House of Blues on Sunset and the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine.

The last concert at the Palladium was performed by Wolfmother in December.

Alan Shuman, president of Palladium Investors Ltd., the privately held group that has owned the theater for 22 years, said he decided to stop operating at the end of last year and lease it out to others to operate.

Last August, a deal fell through to sell the theater to a Beverly Hills developer, Combined Properties Inc., which planned to retain the concert hall but develop the adjoining parking lot, possibly with stores and homes.

Vangelist

Apr 14, 2007, 4:02 PM

What is the historical building that was just torn down across from the 101 Coffee Shop on the southern sde of Franklin Avenue, just west to the Scientology center?

All I remember is that iit was historic and relatively peasant to look at while in the coffee shop, and now it's gone. Why do they keep razing history in Hollywood?

dktshb

Apr 14, 2007, 9:22 PM

KarLarRec1

Apr 14, 2007, 9:49 PM

Don't tell me they razed that!

DJM19

Apr 14, 2007, 10:11 PM

Its not the hollywood tower, you would have heard a LOT of news about it if it were.

dktshb

Apr 14, 2007, 10:31 PM

:previous:

I hope not... but I went by the other night and saw the vacant lot and being somewhat alarmed thinking to myself that a nice building used to be there. I forgot about it until Vangelist's post so I went back and looked at some of my old pictures. I can't say for certain that it is the Hollywood Tower and I don't want to needlessly alarm anybody if it's not. I will try and verify for certain tomorrow.

Vangelist

Apr 14, 2007, 11:04 PM

Oh it's definitely NOT that Hollywood Tower building. It was something much smaller, but also from that same time period. It's weird, we don't always notice things around here until one day when..they're gone

citywatch

Apr 16, 2007, 12:50 AM

What is the historical building that was just torn down across from the 101 Coffee Shop on the southern sde of Franklin Avenue, just west to the Scientology center?
Based on this aerial photo (http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=pphsxx545qv9&style=o&lvl=2&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=6892200&sp=Point.ppht2h545qkw_101%20Coffee%20Shop%2C%206145%20Franklin%20Ave%2C%20Los%20Angeles___&encType=1), I'm guessing you're referring to what appears to have once been a house or apt bldg, possibly a group of them?

Tanster

Apr 16, 2007, 2:08 AM

does the hollywood tower of terror excist

DJM19

Apr 16, 2007, 3:32 AM

does the hollywood tower of terror excist

Its at California Adventure! But its based on the real building in hollywood.

Vangelist

Apr 16, 2007, 4:49 AM

I couldnt open that link citywatch, but yes, it was a historical home I'm pretty sure

dktshb

Apr 16, 2007, 5:16 AM

Well fortuntely it wasnt the Hollywood Tower Apartments but I can't recall what was there before:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a28/dktshb/CaribbeanDKT072.jpg

Interesting:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a28/dktshb/CaribbeanDKT076.jpg

LA/OCman

Apr 16, 2007, 12:48 PM

I know a couple of people who are with Alliance (the developer). They also bought the Hollywood Tower and will be refurbishing it as well. I am not sure if they are going to be condos or apartments. Alliance is also refurbishing a very generic office building on Hollywood Blvd and converting them into lofts. That building is on the south side of Hollywood Blvd...near Sycamore/Orange. The buiding is ugly but I am sure Alliance will do a great job converting it.

citywatch

Apr 18, 2007, 2:13 PM

I couldnt open that link citywatch, but yes, it was a historical home I'm pretty sureAssuming your browser & internet connection are OK, go to www.local.live.com & key in "1101 Coffee Shop, 6145 Franklin Ave, Los Angeles."

This is official word on what will happen to the site next to the apt bldg, although I don't know exactly what the house or apt bldg that was torn down looked like----the aerial image of that isn't close & clear enough:

Historic Hollywood Tower Gets Sold For $34.5 Million

By Roger Vincent, Times Staff Writer
April 18, 2007

The faux French-Normandy style Hollywood Tower apartment building in Hollywood, a familiar sight to drivers on the Hollywood Freeway, has been sold for $34.5 million to a Phoenix landlord that plans to build more units next to it. "It has been a major landmark since it was built," Hollywood historian Marc Wanamaker said. "Even before the freeway, it was a landmark on that hill."

The tower at 6200 Franklin Ave. is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is often cited as an inspiration for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride at Disney theme parks. The building was sold by Los Angeles real estate investor Jack Dell, who said it still attracted the Hollywood crowd. "It has bachelor and single units that people who first come to town are often looking for, and it's close to the studios," he said.

The buyer, Alliance Residential Co., plans to renovate the 52-unit building, which includes three penthouses, and build an additional 146 units on adjacent land that was part of the deal, said real estate broker Adrienne Barr of CB Richard Ellis Group.

The V-shaped apartment building designed by architects Cramer & Wise was called La Belle Tour when it was completed in 1929. It was a luxurious option for entertainment industry employees during Hollywood's Golden Age but fell into disrepair during the neighborhood's economic decline in the 1970s and 1980s. The Hollywood neighborhood's fortunes have improved substantially in recent years with billions of dollars of residential, retail and office development completed or underway.

Among the most desirable buildings now are those built years ago in the French-Normandy style or other distinctive architectural fashions . The blocks around Franklin and Argyle avenues were home to several castle-style mansions that the Hollywood Tower reflected, Wanamaker said.

dktshb

Apr 20, 2007, 3:46 AM

04/15/07

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a28/dktshb/CaribbeanDKT119.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a28/dktshb/CaribbeanDKT001.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a28/dktshb/CaribbeanDKT006.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a28/dktshb/CaribbeanDKT003.jpg

BrighamYen

Apr 20, 2007, 4:13 PM

^ Nice, looks like that'll be done sometime around 2009. Can't wait!

LAMetroGuy

Apr 21, 2007, 12:20 AM

Sunset & Gorden Mixed Use Project

Not sure if this has been posted here...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/rpulido/GrdonSunset1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/rpulido/GrdonSunset2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/rpulido/GrdonSunset3.jpg

LAMetroGuy

Apr 21, 2007, 1:12 AM

FYI, in the last picture above.. that white building with the columns is the Old Spaghetti Factory on Sunset.

Westsidelife

Apr 21, 2007, 1:54 AM

Nice. Infill is always welcome. I counted 21 floors.

dktshb

Apr 21, 2007, 2:13 AM

Very cool... that area is so bleak right now so this project will be a great addition. Thanks for the post!

Westsidelife

Apr 21, 2007, 2:21 AM

LosAngelesSportsFan

Apr 21, 2007, 2:45 AM

its 23 stories according to CurbedLA.

Westsidelife

Apr 21, 2007, 3:05 AM

From Curbed LA:

http://www.hollywoodchamber.net/newsletter/GerdingEdlenSW%20Perspcp.jpg

CurbedWire: On top of Spaghetti

HOLLYWOOD - The Hollywood Chamber reports that the Gerding Edlen (http://www.gerdingedlen.com/) project proposed for the area surrounding the Spaghetti Factory (http://www.yelp.com/biz/K76WcsFPlJCro0JDB8x_-Q) on Sunset is moving forward. Via the Chamber: "The multi-faceted mixed-use project includes a 23-story residential tower with 301 for-sale condominiums, 40,000-sq.ft. of creative office space, 13,500-sq.ft. of ground floor retail space, and a new half-acre public park for the neighborhood. In addition, the existing Spaghetti Factory building would be preserved. A total of 508 parking stalls are proposed. Of particular interest is that about 60 of the units would be targeted at the under served mid-market segment, such as teachers, police officers, firefighers, and entry level professionals. The company has just begun the entitlement process for the project." Also from the Chamber, the Hollywood Garfield (http://la.curbed.com/archives/2007/04/monday_morning_23.php) project has been approved by the City and will move forward. [Hollywood Chamber]

dktshb

Apr 21, 2007, 4:10 AM

That portion of Sunset Blvd. is in serious need of some pedestrian-friendly developments. This project is a block away from the Columbia and Palladium which are also being upgraded.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/33/50677281_dac318fef4_b.jpg
From Flickr, by Snap Man

Unfortunately it's such a wide, fast (when not stopped with traffic) street which makes it less pedestrian friendly; La Brea is like that too.

DJM19

Apr 21, 2007, 4:51 AM

its not that wide a street, but the sidewalks certainly arent either

Westsidelife

Apr 21, 2007, 5:11 AM

Unfortunately it's such a wide, fast (when not stopped with traffic) street which makes it less pedestrian friendly; La Brea is like that too.

It's only like that BECAUSE it's not pedestrian friendly. The more pedestrian friendly a place is, the more exciting it is. And the more exciting it is, the busier it gets. Old Town Pasadena would be just another fast lane if it were not bustling with people all the time. People like to go where the people go.

BrighamYen

Apr 21, 2007, 9:52 AM

^ manhattan has a lot of wide streets, but that doesn't make manhattan pedestrian unfriendly!

dktshb

Apr 22, 2007, 5:17 PM

On the west side of Hollywood there is a development coming along nicely at 7959 W. Sunset Blvd. I think the project is named for its aforementioned address and will include street level retail with three or four floors of condos above... looks to me like one more floor is going up so I guess four is the correct answer.

From W. Sunset Blvd:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a28/dktshb/CaribbeanDKT015.jpg

From N. Hayworth:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a28/dktshb/CaribbeanDKT048-1.jpg

ozone

Apr 22, 2007, 6:40 PM

I love the fact that the old CBS building is still there on Sunset..it's a classic.
I love all the new projects in LA.

To make Sunset Blvd. more pedestrian friendly don't you need more people living on or very close to it? More projects like 7959 W. Sunset Blvd. It could use more little retail/public spaces that are not orientated to the car -but how do you do that and make money when most people drive? It all goes back to the need for more housing.

Do you think that because Los Angeles has so much underdeveloped space that it could spend the next 50 years building new infill and still not be built-out?

I was wondering if LA has height limits?

colemonkee

Apr 23, 2007, 10:22 PM

^ Height in most areas of LA is controlled by FAR limits (if I'm not mistaken), not specified height limits. I think LA did away with it's height limits some time ago, though there may be some areas where limits are still listed in feet and not FAR.

ozone

Apr 24, 2007, 3:32 PM

:previous:
gotcha thanks

WesTheAngelino

Apr 25, 2007, 12:57 AM

FYI, in the last picture above.. that white building with the columns is the Old Spaghetti Factory on Sunset.

Aha.....So that's what they're going to do with that. Been waiting tables there and knew they sold the property but didn't know what was going to happen to the lot. The close date for OSF is June 21.

LAMetroGuy

Apr 26, 2007, 10:59 PM

OC Buyer Plans to Restore Palladium
By Bob Howard

http://www.globest.com/newspics/los_hollywood_palladium.jpg

HOLLYWOOD-Orange County-based Newport Capital Advisors has acquired the 66-year-old Hollywood Palladium and plans to renovate the 60,000-sf, 4,000-seat hall at 6215 Sunset Blvd. to return it to its use as a music concert venue. Newport Capital, based in Newport Beach, bought the property from Palladium Investors in a joint venture with Connecticut-based Commonfund Realty.

David Zak, a principal of Newport Capital, says that live music specialist Live Nation will book performers into the venue once it is restored and adds that the owners have sent a letter to Hollywood stakeholders in which they “vowed to work with them on the addition of future uses to the property.” Besides its live music venue, the property includes adjacent storage facilities and a public parking lot, covering 3.5 acres in all.

Zak cites the history of the Palladium as a “legendary Hollywood nightspot” that has been the site of performances by the world's most celebrated entertainers over the decades. It opened in September 1940 with a concert by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra featuring Frank Sinatra.

Newport Capital has entered into a long-term lease with Live Nation, the world’s largest live music company, to operate, manage and book the Palladium. The millions of dollars in renovations to the Palladium are expected to be completed next year for a reopening that is tentatively scheduled for September 2008. According to Bruce Eskowitz, Live Nation’s chief executive officer of North America Music, the company will continue the Palladium tradition of booking “many of the biggest names in music” at the storied venue.

After about 20 years as a concert venue, the Palladium became a television studio in 1961 and during that time served as the location for the Emmy Awards, the Grammy Awards, the NAACP Awards and the Country Music Awards. In the 1970s the venue returned to its musical roots, hosting many of the biggest names in rock music.

Terms of Newport Capital's acquisition of the property were not disclosed, but the new owners are believed to have paid in the high $60 million range for the Palladium. The buyers were represented by Paul Ramsey and John Tronson of Ramsey-Shilling Commercial Real Estate Services Inc., with the seller represented by Timothy Bower of CB Richard Ellis.

Newport Capital Advisors, which has entitlement and development projects throughout California, has concentrated recently on mixed-use and adaptive re-use projects in the Los Angeles area. The joint venture between Newport Capital and Commonfund Realty, which is an investment manager, was established to acquire properties in the Hollywood area.

LAMetroGuy

Apr 30, 2007, 5:08 PM

April 27, 2007 – Financing Notes

Full Story:
The Dallas office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler (HFF) arranged the huge $258 mil construction loan for the much lauded W Hollywood Hotel and Residences luxury mixed-use development at the intersection of Hollywood and Vine in Hollywood. The W Hollywood Hotel and Residences will feature a W Hotel tower, a W Residences condominium tower, 16k sf of street-level retail, a three-level, 600-space underground parking garage and 19,500 sf of advertising signage rights. It is the latest, and perhaps greatest, project in an area that has seen more than $1.5 bil of development in the past four years, including mixed-use projects Hollywood & Highland and Sunset & Vine, as well as renovations to the Egyptian Theatre, Cinerama Dome and the Capital Records building.

The hotel will feature 305 luxury guestrooms on 11 floors, which will include suites and two specially designed guestroom floors to cater to Hollywood's film, television and recording press junket business. Amenities will include a signature restaurant with outdoor terrace, W Living Room (lobby bar), W Cine (outdoor lounge), rooftop nightclub, rooftop pool with an outdoor lounge, business center, meeting rooms and banquet facilities.

The W Hotel will also features a Bliss Spa® and fitness center with 10 treatment rooms, a sauna, steam room, and 10 specially designated guest rooms. Scheduled to open during the third quarter of 2009, the W Hotel will be managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.

The W Residences will be connected to the hotel on the lower levels but constructed as a separate tower containing 143 studio, and one-, two- and three-bedroom residential units with views of the Hollywood Hills. In addition to having separate entrances and private elevators, the W Residences will cater to buyers looking for upscale modern living with first class amenities.

HFF Senior Managing Director Trey Morsbach arranged the financing for the borrower, a joint venture between HEI Hospitality and Gatehouse Capital Corporation, to secure the four-year construction loan through the New York branch of HSH Nordbank AG. HEI Hospitality is a hotel investment firm that has acquired an interest in 30 hotels through the United States in the last three years. Gatehouse Capital Corporation is a Dallas-based boutique real estate development and advisory services firm that has developed W Hotels in Silicon Valley, San Diego and Dallas as well as Kimpton and Hyatt hotels.

KarLarRec1

May 9, 2007, 7:28 PM

Okay guys, I'm almost certain this article is talking about the really nasty building across the street from Hollywood & Highland. If so, then FINALLY!!!

------

From Globe Street...

CIM Signs Zara for Vintage Building

May 9, 2007

By Bob Howard

6904 Hollywood Blvd. HOLLYWOOD-The CIM Group has signed fashion retailer Zara for a 17,000-sf store at CIM's redevelopment of the 55,000-sf 6904 Hollywood Blvd. building, across the stret from CIM's Hollywood & Highland project. Zara, a 990-store chain that is one of a group of companies owned by Spain’s Inditex, will become the latest in a series of national and regional boutiques that have opened their doors in Hollywood as part of the revitalization of the area's commercial districts in recent years.
According to Shaul Kuba, principal and co-founder the CIM Group, Zara will occupy half of the first two floors of the three-story 6904 Hollywood Blvd. building, which is the latest in a series of Hollywood-based CIM Group's acquisitions there. Kuba adds that Zara is among a handful of top apparel retailers being courted by retail developers across the country.

Kuba says that the CIM Group plans a full renovation of the 6904 Hollywood Blvd. building, which was built in the 1920s and is adjacent to the restored El Capitan and the historic Masonic temple. The CIM Group will strip the 6904 building to its original façade and will complete what Kuba calls “significant structural upgrades” to convert it into two floors of modern retail space topped by 22,000 sf of class A office space.

Zara is expected to open in summer 2008 near retailer H&M, which CIM signed for a 10,000-sf store at 6914 Hollywood Blvd. that is set to open this fall. Both retailers are directly across the street from CIM Group’s Hollywood & Highland Center, which features 387,000 sf of national and local fashion and luxury retailers, along with clubs, restaurants and the 3,400-seat Kodak Theatre.

Also at Hollywood & Highland, the CIM Group recently signed two other popular fashion retailers, Guess and the new XXI concept from Forever 21. Jeff Kreshek, a principal at CIM Group, says that the new retailers underscore Hollywood's emergence as one of the fastest growing commercial districts in Los Angeles, with major retailers investing in the area, abundant clubs and restaurants, new housing and steady demand for office space.

citywatch

May 10, 2007, 1:19 AM

Okay guys, I'm almost certain this article is talking about the really nasty building across the street from Hollywood & Highland. If so, then FINALLY!!!
Based on westsidelife's post at SSC (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=13086014&postcount=89), of the same article but with an image that apparently went with the report, yes it is. And not a second too soon.

http://www.globest.com/newspics/los_zara_building.jpg

dragonsky

May 10, 2007, 2:26 AM

http://www.hollywoodfreewaycentralpark.org/wp-content/uploads/fwypark.jpg

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is proposing the “Hollywood Freeway Central Park,” a freeway park deck from Bronson Avenue to Wilton Place above the 101 Freeway in Hollywood, California.

The Hollywood Central Park will provide direct benefits to the public, is precedent-setting example for new land use in the region, will create positive environmental impacts, will promote more active and healthy lifestyles, and will encourage the use of mass transit through transit-oriented development.

The 101 Freeway at the proposed location (Bronson Avenue to Wilton Place) is below street level, with the proposed park deck creating a brief tunnel for vehicular traffic while affording a street-level park for pedestrians. This specified location of the park would also provide a nexus between East Hollywood and Central Hollywood–alleviating the strain on the community from the initial creation of the freeway through this section of Hollywood.

In addition to the many obvious benefits of creating new park space, by placing a “cap” over one of the world’s most congested freeway system, the necessary ventilation system would be required to clean the air before re-circulating it back into the environment - creating a positive improvement in the air quality in Los Angeles.

This park will create an unprecedented 24 acres of new green space in Hollywood, directly adjacent to a high school currently under construction. Currently, the resident to open space ratio is the lowest of all of the City of Los Angeles. In fact, taking the City of Los Angeles as a whole, there is approximately 0.012 acres of open space per resident. Within the community of Hollywood, this figure is only 0.005 acres of open space per resident.

The Trust for Public Land conducted a study in 2003 and found that two-thirds of children in Los Angeles do not live near a park, playground, or other safe place to play. By comparison, New York City’s parks are much more equitably distributed with more than 91 percent of its children living within walking distance of a park. The Trust for Public Land state:

The case for new parks in Los Angeles is perhaps the most compelling of any American metropolitan area. More than 1.5 million children in Los Angeles County do not live within walking distance of a public park, and existing park space is disproportionately concentrated in the region’s wealthy neighborhoods. As a result, studies based on U.S. Census Bureau data show that Latino, African-American, and Asian Pacific Islander youth are dramatically less likely than their White counterparts to enjoy access to open space, playgrounds, and other exercise facilities.

The 80,000+ residents including approximately 21,000 children that live within one-mile square mile in this neighborhood will benefit from the promotion of a more active and healthy lifestyle. With local transit, individual transportation, or simply by walking to the park, the population that will benefit from this park is innumerable. To give a sense of the demographics of the area, the region of Los Angeles, Riverside, and Orange County combined rank 43rd in the nation with a median household income of $45,913. The median income for this one-mile area is $23,481 - nearly half the region’s median income level. In addition, 75.2 percent of this one square-mile population is non-white minorities according to U.S. Census bureau statistics with 53.3 percent of Hispanic ethnicity.

Also, utilizing the air space above the Hollywood Freeway where it is below-grade is not only an exemplary illustration of efficiency and an alternative form of land use, but it is also financially prudent. Preliminary costs to plan and construct the Park are estimated to be less than the cost of purchasing the raw land in the surrounding neighborhood.

To both the east and west of the proposed location, there are Metro Red LineTM subway stations within walking distance and several transit stops nearby, making this a transit-oriented development.

Locally, there is a strong local base of support for this project quoted in every local major media outlet; with all four neighborhood councils endorsing this plan; and with the strong support of elected officials and several government agencies. The Hollywood Central Park Coalition, comprised of these supporters meets bi-monthly to discuss the progress, address questions from the community, and/or develop solutions related to Hollywood Central Park.

http://www.hollywoodfreewaycentralpark.org/

BrighamYen

May 10, 2007, 9:34 AM

^ They need to do this for Downtown LA as well. They need to tie together both Chinatown/El Pueblo/Union Station to the rest of Downtown and City West by capping the 101 and 110.

This is fantastic for Hollywood! Hollywood is really becoming the next best thing for an urban area next to Downtown LA!

tujunga

May 11, 2007, 4:49 AM

There is a mini version of that idea over the 210 fwy as it passes through La Canada just before the 2 fwy. It works although the trees are rather smaller in size.

BrighamYen

May 11, 2007, 10:48 AM

^ Here's a visual of that for those who like that kind of thing. ;)

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/3500/untitled1ex0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/5865/16164608oc9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

KarLarRec1

May 12, 2007, 12:05 AM

Update on 6904 Hollywood Blvd.:

I passed by today and I noticed that all 3 (or was it 4?) souvenir/T-shirt stores on the ground floor of the building were CLOSED! This, on a Friday at about 1 or 2pm! The metal screens/covers were closed and everything. This can only mean the renovations are about to begin, if not already underway!

BrighamYen

May 16, 2007, 10:21 AM

^ Also, Tesco's Fresh & Easy underneath the Galaxy at Hollywood/Sycamore is actively under construction! It'll probably be done by summer's end is my guess. How exciting for Hollywood! :)

regboi21

Jun 7, 2007, 10:16 PM

I like the concept of a park above a freeway it would make the area a little nicer.

http://reggie21.ld.net

LAMetroGuy

Jun 11, 2007, 10:13 PM

Deutsche Bank Provides Financing Package for 375 Apartments

By Kelly Sheehan, Online News Editor

JUNE 11, 2007 -- Hollywood, Calif. -- Deutsche Bank Berkshire Mortgage (DBBM) recently provided a $465-million financing package for the acquisition and development of Hollywood and Vine, a 400,000-sq.-ft. mixed-use apartment development project in Hollywood, Calif. The project will be developed by Legacy Partners Affordable Housing Fund (LPAHF).

The financing package includes three components:

A $180-million Fannie Mae new construction forward credit enhancement originated and closed by DBBM. The bonds being enhanced are a new issue low-floater tax-exempt bond issued by the Community Redevelopment Agency of the city of Los Angeles.

A $135-million senior secured construction facility. Deutsche Bank acted as sole-lead arranger and sole-book running manager.

A $150-million Capital Commitments Facility for the Legacy Partners Affordable Housing Fund. Deutsche Bank acted as Administrative Agent and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. acted as sole-lead arranger and sole book manager. This facility is backed by unfunded capital commitments and will not be secured by the real estate.

Hollywood and Vine will be part of a larger 4.65-acre, transit-oriented, mixed-use development. This larger community will ultimately include an MTA Transit Plaza, with a stop for the Red Line subway and connecting buses; a 305-room W Hotel; a 143-unit W Residences condominium tower; 48,700 square feet of street-level retail; and parking areas. The borrower will own a leasehold interest on the property, with a 99-year ground lease agreement with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The Legacy portion of the project consists of 375 luxury studios and one-and two-bedroom units. Seventy-eight units will be set aside as affordable housing, with 75 of those apartments reserved for very low-income levels. Other features of the project include interior landscaped courtyards with fountains, fire pits and intimate seating areas, a resident clubhouse, a fitness center, a pool and spas.

fridayinla

Jun 12, 2007, 9:48 PM

Madrone @ Hollywood/La Brea is rising above ground level now.

Today's view from the webcam (http://www.livemadrone.com/webcam.html):
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL144/5090918/13911382/259257973.jpg

Project Rendering:
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL144/5090918/10396790/209430721.jpg

ThreeHundred

Jun 13, 2007, 6:11 PM

There is a piledriver on site of the W.

Westsidelife

Jul 4, 2007, 6:20 AM

According to Curbed LA, The Clarett Group's BLVD6200 project has been approved. BLVD6200 will sit directly across from the W Hotel/Legacy Apartments at Hollywood and Vine and the Pantages Theater. So excited to hear this news, for it assures us that Hollywood is on the comeback!

From Curbed LA:

CurbedWire: Developments
Friday, June 29, 2007, by jwilliams

http://la.curbed.com/2007-06-blvd6200-2.jpg

HOLLYWOOD - We were at a Planning and Land Use hearing this week where the Pantages redevelopment project (http://www.blvd6200.com/) by Clarett Group was approved. Everyone, and we mean everyone, came out to support it, except one cranky NIMBY. That being said, a reader wonders if the rest of the area, just west, is due for some developer love. "Walked around before a "Wicked" performance and was dismayed that the real estate between Vine and to about Musso and Frank continues to be so taudry. Will there ever be an effort to re-hab the old Pacific (Warners) Theater? I would think it would be a good anchor to get further activity going." [CurbedWire Inbox]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a278/Imyurdada/ned6.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a278/Imyurdada/HollyVineAerial.jpg

dragonsky

Jul 6, 2007, 2:21 PM

Site of Hollywood gems eyed for development
By Roger Vincent, Times Staff Writer
July 6, 2007

http://www.latimes.com/media/mapimage/2007-07/30992659.gif

Two Hollywood landmarks, the Magic Castle and Yamashiro restaurant, are poised to be sold as the pace of development in the once-gritty neighborhood continues to sizzle.

The family that has owned the properties since shortly after World War II has been flooded with offers from developers that want to add structures to the 10-acre site, which is just above Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Hollywood & Highland and other attractions.

The terms of any sale will stipulate that Yamashiro and the Magic Castle, a private club for magicians, continue to operate as they have for decades, according to the properties' manager. Also on the 10 acres are the less recognizable Magic Castle Hotel, Hollywood Hills Hotel & Apartments and Magic Castle Park apartments, which could be redeveloped by the buyer.

The owners are 11 descendants of mid-century landlord Thomas O. Glover, who bought Yamashiro for $150,000 in 1948. They're ready to give up day-to-day control, said Andy Ulloa, Glover's stepgrandson. The key vote was cast by Ulloa's stepfather, Glover's son Thomas Y. Glover, who has helped run the complex for about 50 years.

"He is interested in divesting his interest and establishing security for himself," Ulloa said. "It's a good time to move on."

With Hollywood in the midst of a building boom, the property is highly sought after and bids have surpassed $70 million, people familiar with the situation said.

A mostly undeveloped site with panoramic views "is unheard of in the Hollywood Hills," said broker Marc Renard of Cushman & Wakefield, who represents the Glover family. "We see phenomenal interest in this site."

The Magic Castle is an Edwardian manor with French and Gothic elements built in 1908 by Rollin Lane, a Redlands financier and orange grower, and his wife, Katherine. By the '60s it had become a maze of small apartments.

Glover and his partner, television writer Milt Larsen, turned it into a clubhouse for magicians in 1963, and today it serves as headquarters for the Academy of Magical Arts Inc. Magicians perform for guests of the academy who have to know the password to unbolt a sliding bookcase in the lobby and gain entrance. (It's not a secret password; it's been "open sesame" for decades.)

As for Yamashiro, a replica of a palace in the Yamashiro Mountains near Kyoto, Japan, it was completed in 1914 by the Bernheimer brothers, who wanted a mansion to house their Asian art collection and brought hundreds of craftsmen from Asia to build it. The grounds were elaborately landscaped and what is probably the oldest structure in California was imported: a 600-year-old pagoda.

During the '20s the mansion was an exclusive social club for the Hollywood elite, including such actors as Lillian Gish and Ramon Navarro. After World War II began, Yamashiro was mistakenly rumored to be a signal tower for the Japanese and was vandalized. It went on to become a boys military school and then an apartment building. Glover restored it and turned it into a restaurant in 1960.

For local residents, the concern is that new buildings on the site will spoil the neighborhood's old-Hollywood ambience and add congestion to heavily burdened streets.

"We have been told there is room for 200-some condos," said Malcolm S. McNeil, president of Hollywood Heights Assn., a local homeowners group. There is already more than enough traffic in the area, he said. "Have you been to the Hollywood Bowl lately, especially on a Friday or Saturday night?"

McNeil said he hoped that the property would be acquired by someone "who cares about the neighborhood as much as Andy's family has over the past 40 years."

Ulloa said he was undecided about what the best additions to the property would be, although he thought that office buildings wouldn't be appropriate. And "given that condos are being built all over the place," he said, "we would like to do something more unique."

That suggests further hotel development. City approval for stores and other retail uses might be hard to come by because the land is zoned for residential use. Some observers expect to see a proposal for new condominiums, which have been profitable for developers in other parts of Hollywood.

Shaul Kuba, one of Hollywood's leading landlords, said land in Hollywood was becoming so expensive that buyers were at risk of overpaying. If a developer pays too much for land, he may find that he is not be able to build at all because his final costs would be too high to make a profitable return, said Kuba, whose company, CIM Group, owns the Hollywood & Highland shopping and entertainment center and several other commercial properties.

To make a profit from the Yamashiro and Magic Castle site after paying $70 million or $80 million, a developer would have to build 500 to 800 condominiums, Kuba said. "Is this going to be a project that the community is willing to accept?"

Real estate attorney Jerry Neuman of Allan Matkins agreed that rising prices were pushing Hollywood toward increasingly dense development.

"Eventually there is a point where you can't get enough density to support the land prices," Neuman said. "Are we getting close to that? It's possible. Whether Yamashiro falls into that category is uncertain."

Preservationist Robert Nudelman of Hollywood Heritage Inc. said the steep slope of the hilly site would help protect it from overdevelopment. "The geology limits what you can do," he said, "unless you build on stilts."

A buyer will probably be selected by the end of the year, broker Renard said.

Ulloa said he hoped to reinvest some of his profit in the new owner's development as he continues to help oversee operations of the Magic Castle and Yamashiro, which would be the new owner's tenants.

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-07/30989227.jpg
http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-07/30989269.jpg

fridayinla

Jul 6, 2007, 4:54 PM

LAsam

Jul 6, 2007, 5:39 PM

^What an incredible history (and location)! I'm on the fence with this news b/c I'm pro-development/growth, but Hollywood does have a magical (sorry for the pun) history and I feel this is a big chunk of it soon to be gone. I suppose these things are inevitable. If you're going to tear down a landmark, replace it with something worthy!

I believe the article states that the Magic Castle and Yamashiro are protected in the terms of the sale of property, and will continue to operate as usual. So no need to fear! :yes:

colemonkee

Jul 6, 2007, 9:32 PM

My concern is that they will try to build something in between the two. Part of the allure and charm of Yamashiro are the gardens and the sweeping views of the city. It's a calm retreat in the middle of the city and should stay that way. If they build anything there, it needs to be in the same architectural class as the Getty Center that doesn't take away the views of Yamashiro.

dktshb

Jul 12, 2007, 3:59 PM

Well there is a big open air parking-lot on Franklin Ave next to the Magic Castle and that is the only place I would be happy to see being developed. I can't imagine where else they could develop without messing with the charm of how the 2 developments compliment each other now.

fridayinla

Jul 16, 2007, 6:10 AM

Hollywood + Vine Project
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1011/814501714_ceee0e6f91_b.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1046/813621621_293b23abb5_b.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1362/814499480_5100049ca2_b.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1203/814496440_1844ff862c_b.jpg

Preserving the facade of historic Herman Building
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1084/813618243_1feea29fc4_b.jpg

PaliHouse Hollywood - near Hollywood/Vine
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1205/814495570_a501927966_b.jpg

The Hollywood - condo project
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1292/813613699_250247000b_b.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1370/813612527_62d094d5a6_b.jpg

Hollywood Terrace Hotel (Addition/Renovation) - Highland Avenue north of Franklin
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1364/814493884_7ea224639c_b.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1065/814494786_b490a25c52_b.jpg

citywatch

Jul 17, 2007, 4:40 AM

Hollywood + Vine Project
That's the first photo I've ever seen of the site of the H&V proj under actual construction. Thanks!

LosAngelesSportsFan

Jul 17, 2007, 7:28 AM

how ridiculous does the Bernard Luggage store look. i cant believe people fought for that damn thing to stay up. they should have torn that building down first.

LosAngelesSportsFan

Jul 17, 2007, 8:53 PM

Huge Hollywood apartment complex approved
The L.A. City Council clears the way for 1,000 rental units in seven buildings to rise on parking lots around the Pantages. It's the largest residential project in the resurgent area.
By Roger Vincent, Times Staff Writer
12:51 PM PDT, July 17, 2007

Hollywood apartment complex approved
Photo Gallery
Hollywood apartment complex approved
In another boost for Hollywood, the Los Angeles City Council today approved a major new apartment complex with 1,000 rental units in seven buildings that will rise on sprawling parking lots around the historic Pantages theater.

After decades of being considered seedy, the Hollywood business district has been on a growth spurt since 2001, as many new commercial and residential projects are turning the area into a more sophisticated urban locale.

The complex would be the largest residential project among more than 2,500 upscale condominium and apartment units that have been built, are under construction or planned just on blocks around the famous intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street.

The $400-million development "continues the incredible momentum we have seen in Hollywood during the past five years," said City Councilman Eric Garcetti, who represents the area. "It's a picture of what the future of Hollywood will be as well."

The project is called Blvd6200 for its Hollywood Boulevard address. The council unanimously approved a zoning change that will allow construction to begin by early next year on the long-planned project on both sides of Hollywood Boulevard at Argyle Avenue east of Vine. It would also include shops and restaurants at street level.

Developer Veronica Hackett said she was attracted to the project in part because she believes the elements of a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood are coming together around it.

"One of these days, people are going to walk in Hollywood," said Hackett, who worked as a developer on the revitalization of Times Square in New York in the 1980s.

During that process she became acquainted with the Nederlander family, which owns several theaters for live performances, including the Greek Theatre and the Pantages in Los Angeles.

Hackett is managing partner of the Clarett Group, which has a 99-year lease with the Nederlander Co. for control of more than 7 acres around the Pantages that the family owns and planned to develop for many years.

The land is now mostly parking lots serving the Pantages and other businesses. Chairman James Nederlander said he supports the Clarett project.

Blvd6200 would house 2,696 parking spaces underground or concealed behind stores on the first floor. "We had to get everything inside so we don't have ugly parking garages," Hackett said. "They're not inviting to walk by."

More than 650 spaces will be reserved for the Pantages on event days, and a portion of those will be available for public transit users on days when no performances are scheduled.

The project is within a block or so of the Hollywood and Vine subway station. That fact helped Clarett get city approvals to develop 140 units per acre, which makes Blvd6200 one of the densest projects in Los Angeles. It would take as much as two years to complete, Hackett said.

Neighborhood groups support the project, said Orrin Feldman, vice president of the Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council.

"This is one of best success stories in the Hollywood redevelopment era," he said. "This is a great achievement the community needs to keep the Pantages viable."

Roger.Vincent@latimes.com

fridayinla

Jul 17, 2007, 10:01 PM

[/b]
Nothing better than to see one more deadzone sent packing!

:dancing: :banana: :cheers: :banana: :dancing:

These are the pics that went with the article:

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-07/31240918.jpg
A computer rendering showing the plaza area of the massive apartment complex to be
built around the historic Pantages Theater in Hollywood. The Los Angeles City Council to-
day approved plans for the complex which will include 1,000 rental units in seven build-
ings. (Van Tilburg, Banvard & Soderberg)

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-07/31240920.jpg
The Hollywood business district, which will house the massive complex, has seen a steady
surge in growth since 2001.

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-07/31240922.jpg
The $400 million dollar development will also include shops and restaurants at street level.

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-07/31240919.jpg
A computer rendering of one of the buildings in the Hollywood apartment complex. The
complex would be the largest residential project around the famous intersection of Hol-
lywood Boulevard and Vine Street.

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-07/31240921.jpg
A computer rendering showing one of the seven buildings to be erected as part of the
apartment complex.

Love the design.

fridayinla

Jul 17, 2007, 10:18 PM

edit

citywatch

Jul 17, 2007, 11:16 PM

^ One important thing about this proj, based on an aerial image (http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=pph792545nf7&style=o&lvl=1&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=6892255&encType=1) of the site, is that some very visible parts of both the north & south sides of Hollywood blvd, bounded by Argyle to the west & El Centro Ave to the east, will be cleaned up & replaced by the 8 bldgs in this proj. Mainly parking lots will be wiped out, but also 3 bldgs sitting east of the Pantages, along the north side of the blvd & across 2 streets from the theater. One of those 2 streets look like it will be eliminated for the devlpt.

http://www.blvd6200.com/images/projectmap_12.gif

LosAngelesSportsFan

Jul 17, 2007, 11:38 PM

i love this pace in Hollywood. Almost that whole areal Pic area will be redeveloped in the next 3 - 4 years. The two lots on the bottom left are also major projects, the CBS Lot (which i believe had a 40 story tower in the plans) as well as the Palladium lot which will be fixed up and developed!

DJM19

Jul 17, 2007, 11:59 PM

I like that its being built in separate buildings with their own identity. Too many projects these days look like just one big clump with a mash of styles.

BrighamYen

Jul 18, 2007, 10:54 AM

The Lofts @ Hollywood and Vine: Hollywood's First Adaptive Reuse Project Makes History by Welcoming Inaugural Residents to the Iconic Intersection

Urban Loft Living Debuts in Hollywood

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., July 17 /PRNewswire/ -- For the first time,
residents are moving to the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine
Street as Hollywood's first adaptive re-use project is now complete. :tup: Developed as residential urban living by Palisades Development Group, the building was constructed in 1929 at the northeast corner of the historic intersection. The former Equitable Building is one of Los Angeles'
authentic architectural treasures and is now an elegant, distinctive
residential landmark: The Lofts @ Hollywood and Vine.

Created by Palisades Development Group, a company highly regarded for
its innovations in contemporary urban place-making, The Lofts @ Hollywood
and Vine embody a vision for a new L.A. lifestyle that thrives on the
energy of a burgeoning street culture. Utilizing the innate style and
elegance of a landmark building and an exceptional location in the heart of
resurgent Hollywood, Palisades has created a collection of singular urban
residences for people to whom personal style, sense of design and a lust
for life are essential. The Lofts @ Hollywood and Vine consists of 60
luxury residential loft condominiums and 5 commercial spaces totaling more
than 100,000 square feet.

"There's something inspiring about being in an iconic building -- you
feel a connection to the past, like you're a part of history," observes Avi
Brosh, founder and president of Palisades Development Group and an emerging
arbiter of style in Los Angeles. "Hollywood is the emerging epicenter of
nightlife and culture. What you are going to see is the emergence of the
most dynamic corner in the city. If you're an urban person, this will be as
good as it gets."

Sleek and minimal, each residence at The Lofts @ Hollywood and Vine is
a study in contemporary urban elegance. From epoxy floors to unadorned
columns and exposed beams, the lofts have a clean, gallery-inspired
aesthetic. Residences are highlighted by lofty ceilings; unimpeded city and
mountain views; original window fixtures; linear, one-wall kitchens
featuring a suite of Viking appliances; and luxurious bathrooms accented
with Ann Sacks tiles. Other building amenities include 24-hour valet
parking and a private landscaped roof garden, the highest vantage point on
the intersection for a new view of L.A.

Two well-known Los Angeles designers, Kenneth Brown of HGTV fame
(http://www.kennethbrowndesign.com), and Pamela Shamshiri of Commune design firm (http://www.communesite.com), were enlisted to decorate four
individual lofts (two each). Each is designed with a specific contemporary
urbanite in mind: an environmentally conscious female fashion designer and
a European ex- patriot art collector (Shamshiri); a single web designer
from New York and a hip, young, mixed-race family (Brown). These lofts are
singular statements about the creative individuals and families that will
make this building their home.

When the original building was completed at the end of 1930, it was
occupied by a bank on the ground floor with various tenants, including
Hollywood agent Myron Selznick, in the upper floors. Selznick's agency
represented a "who's who" of Hollywood stars including Vivien Leigh, Gary
Cooper, Laurence Olivier, Boris Karloff and Henry Fonda. Hollywood trade
publication Daily Variety occupied offices on the ground floor from 1934 to
1947, marking the intersection of Hollywood and Vine the true hub of
Hollywood life. The building's gothic-deco design includes exterior
artwork, hand carved gargoyles, floral designs and twisting rope trim, some
of which had been covered over and is now revealed maintaining the
architectural integrity of the building's original design. The building has
also been listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its
contribution to the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment
District.

A leader in the design, development and management of exceptional
residential, mixed-use and hospitality properties, Palisades Development
Group employs new construction and adaptive reuse to create spaces for
people to whom personal style and sense of design are essential to the way
they define themselves.

For more information, please visit
http://www.palisadesdevgroup.com or
http://www.theloftsathollywoodandvine.com

----------------------------------------------------

Beautiful! :cheers:

http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/4088/untitled7do4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/9232/untitledvn2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/3086/untitled2wz1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/979/untitled3tk0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/1479/untitled4cx5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/8492/untitled5iv8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/6933/untitled6yu7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

BrighamYen

Jul 18, 2007, 11:57 AM

http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-pantages18jul18,0,1730792.story?page=2&coll=la-headlines-pe-business
From the Los Angeles Times

REAL ESTATE

Hollywood's latest star: urban living
A project that includes 1,000 apartments is one of several that will have people living near a landmark intersection.
By Roger Vincent
Times Staff Writer

July 18, 2007

Making over Hollywood is no longer nip and tuck.

Look no further than the neighborhood around Hollywood and Vine to see a major urban transformation underway.

The city Tuesday cleared the way for a $400-million development with 1,000 apartments next to the Pantages Theatre. Across the street, an upscale W Hotel is being built — just one part of a $600-million complex that also includes more apartments, condominiums and stores.

Across Vine Street from the W site, finishing touches are being put on a $70-million condo conversion of the former Broadway department store.

Condo buyers are moving in to the $55-million conversion of the Equitable office building across Vine, and the same developer recently broke ground across the street on a $50-million condo and apartment complex.

When it's all done, about 2,500 upscale condos and apartments will remake this Hollywood corner.

More construction is underway nearby, and some officials say the result will offer a look into Los Angeles' future.

It is an urban vision heavy on density, development and diversity with new emphasis on subway transportation, "green" construction techniques and the hippest of shops and nightclubs around one of Los Angeles' most storied crossroads.

It was a gateway to the San Fernando Valley in pre-freeway Los Angeles and had been a draw for the movie industry from the very beginning.

Later, radio and then television stations set up operations in the neighborhood and KFWB-AM announcers chirped often that they were broadcasting "from Hollywood and Vine," historian Marc Wanamaker said. "It was considered the downtown of Hollywood."

Such mass appeal was a distant memory by the 1980s, when the neighborhood fell prey to such activities as drug dealing, prostitution and panhandling.

The 1,000-unit apartment complex, considered the most ambitious, privately financed, large-scale redevelopment project in Hollywood, got the go-ahead Tuesday from the Los Angeles City Council. The eight-building complex is called Blvd6200 for its Hollywood Boulevard address.

"By casting the legendary Pantages Theatre as the centerpiece of this major project, Blvd6200 will bring a dynamic mixed-use community into Hollywood while respecting the area's heritage," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in a statement Tuesday.

"The addition of new retail and dining opportunities will also be pivotal in the transformation of Hollywood Boulevard," he said.

The development "continues the incredible momentum we have seen in Hollywood during the past five years," said City Council President Eric Garcetti, who represents the area.

"It's a picture of what the future of Hollywood will be as well," he said.

Some neighbors have expressed concerns about the project's potential effect on area traffic, but Garcetti said there has been little community opposition to the project. "That's pretty rare."

Construction is expected to begin early next year and be completed within four years.

After decades of being dismissed as seedy and unsafe, much of Hollywood's business district has been on a growth spurt since 2001, as many new commercial and residential projects are turning the area into a more sophisticated urban locale.

The latest project is located on property leased from well-known Nederlander Organization Inc., which owns several venues for live performances including the Pantages and another Los Angeles site, the Greek Theatre.

Theater mogul James Nederlander Sr., whose family business dates to 1922, endorsed the project and said in a letter that it had been a long time coming.

"We believed in Hollywood when many people did not," he said. "I think it's great for the city."

The project is located next to a Metro Red Line station. The developers hope their apartments will appeal to young professionals who might take the subway to work downtown or in the San Fernando Valley.

"People aren't necessarily going to commute that way every day of the week and nobody is going to give up their car to get to the beach on the weekend," said developer Veronica Hackett, managing partner of Clarett Group. "But we think it will help subway ridership."

Clarett Group signed a 99-year lease with the Nederlanders for control of more than seven acres around the Pantages that the family owns. The land is now mostly parking lots serving the Pantages and other businesses.

Blvd6200 will house 2,696 parking spaces that will be underground or concealed behind stores on the first floor.

"We had to get everything inside so we don't have ugly parking garages," Hackett said. "They're not inviting to walk by."

The project includes some low-income housing, which helped Clarett get city approval to develop 140 units per acre, which makes Blvd6200 one of the densest projects in Los Angeles.

The Pantages was completed in 1930 by Alexander Pantages, a colorful theater mogul who got his start selling risque dance hall entertainment to miners in the Yukon.

Pantages opened his Art Deco outpost in Hollywood as a combined movie palace and legitimate stage. From 1949 to 1959, it was the site of the Academy Awards. It received a $10-million restoration and upgrade in 2000 and is now home to the musical "Wicked."

The large scale of the apartment development threatens to add to the congestion on Hollywood streets, local resident Paul Woolsey said.

"There is going to be a lot of traffic impact," he said. "It's going to cause traffic problems around that part of Hollywood Boulevard."

Neighborhood groups support the project, said Orrin Feldman, vice president of the Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council.

"This is one of best success stories in the Hollywood redevelopment era," he said. "This is a great achievement the community needs to keep the Pantages viable."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
roger.vincent@latimes.com

fridayinla

Jul 27, 2007, 5:50 PM

This view of the entrance to the residential area has had observers remark on its similarity to the famed Spanish Stairs.
http://wehonews.com/z/wehonews/archive/images/walgreens3.jpg

Artist concept of the rooftop public space.
http://wehonews.com/z/wehonews/archive/images/walgreens2.jpg

A Model showing the development from the northeast.
http://wehonews.com/z/wehonews/archive/images/walgreens8.jpg

This view is from the northwest
http://wehonews.com/z/wehonews/archive/images/walgreens10.jpg

This artist concept looks east on Santa Monica Boulevard.
http://wehonews.com/z/wehonews/archive/images/walgreens4.jpg

This aerial view show the rooftop public/private space, as well as the topiary.
http://wehonews.com/z/wehonews/archive/images/walgreens1.jpg

Walgreens Unveils Mixed Use Project

July 26, 2007 – By Ryan Gierach, West Hollywood

The developers of the Walgreens At Crescent Mixed-Use Project, Walgreens and Pacific Development Partners, put on a series of meets and greets recently to introduce the surrounding neighborhood to its new design, almost 18 months in the making.

The architect and developer themselves attended, answering questions and concerns raised by the neighbors. Neighbors’ reactions varied, but most found consensus on the beauty of the design.

Redesigned after adverse community reaction to their plans’ original iteration - a non-descript Walgreens store with boxes of apartment built atop it – the new architect made a point of providing a building for West Hollywood worthy of the city’s reputation as the creative city, he told WeHoNews.

Lorcan O’Herlihy heads an architectural firm that has designed a few award-winning buildings in West Hollywood over the past two years. “When I had the chance for this project, I wanted to throw my all into it and create something very special, unique, for this site,” he said.

“The corner is naturally pedestrian friendly,” Mr. O’Herlihy told WeHoNews. “We wanted to keep the feeling of the store open and receptive. That’s why the glass on three sides.”

For Walgreens, glass walls stands as a radical departure in their retail strategy. Retailers usually wish to maximize their shelf space by lining the walls with shelving and infilling with aisles.

Glass require a radically different in-store design, something that Walgreens had to come to grips with before signing off on Mr. O’Herlihey’s plans.

Mr. O’Herlihey also spoke to the main residential entrance, a broad flight of stairs that swoops to meet the street, bounded by glass walls that allow visitors and residents alike to peer into the shops to the east and the Walgreens to the west.

The 15,000 square feet of retail, 28 apartment units and approximately 123 parking spaces, says the developer, Ron Recht, are all just what WeHo needs. “We recognize that the city faces a real rental housing crunch, so we’re glad to be able to supply 28 additional rental units – six of them permanently affordable senior housing apartments – in this project.”

He pointed out that, unless a long-term commitment were made to the land and to the city, building rental units in today’s real estate market does not ‘pencil out,’ or make any money, a disincentive to move forward.

“We’re here with Walgreens, who owns the land and is unlikely to give it up, for the long haul,” he said. “Another reason we sought so hard to answer and address the community’s concerns about the original design."

Chief among those initial concerns was the loss of the ten neighborhood-serving business that have long existed in the strip mall, Crescent Square, some for three decades.

Neighbors felt that another pharmacy in the neighborhood was one too many if it cost them their cleaners, donut shop, printers and beauty supply store. The developer added retail shops, totaling three, in response.

Others felt that the 44 apartments in the original plan was far too many, so the plans changed to build 28 units. Mr. O’Herlihey said that it gave him an opportunity to offer more open space for the tenants, along with privacy by creating passageways to front doors more akin to crooked nooks and crannies.

Much thought has been given, likewise, to traffic – another neighborhood beef. Concerns raised over the intersection at Crescent Heights and Santa Monica Boulevard and its often gridlocked condition have been mitigated by setting the building back away from Crescent Heights a few feet and installing an additional ‘slowing’ lane in the area around the only customer entrance.

The freight, according to the models, will move one way, from Havenhurst off Santa Monica Boulevard into the freight garage and through out of the Crescent Heights exit.

Mr. Recht, the head of Pacific Development Partners, made it a point to express his primary goal: to be a good neighbor by building the project without zoning variances and to mitigate any potential problem that his building might have on the neighborhood.

“We did our own traffic study to determine how to address the additional traffic flow at this corner,” he said, “and we have the privilege of paying for another, independent, traffic study done by the city. We will do whatever it takes to make this development work without asking the city for favors.”

In a novel twist, the tops of the apartments will sport four large billboard-shaped and sized topiary and steel statues.

“We wanted to spend the civic fine arts set aside money on site, and this is the first time ever that the top of a building has been designed with such a living art component,” said O’Herlihey.

According to Mr. Recht, the frames for the vine growths will be steel and visible through the growth. “We’ll be using seasonal foliage, so the colors will change from season to season, several times a year,” he said.

John Chase, the City’s Urban Designer, told WeHoNews that this will be the first time such an art piece will be integrated into an urban building. “It’s a first time, yes,” he said, “It really costs them a lot of extra money to do all these things.

“The way the corridors are set back to give privacy but also to provide for semi-public space are non-living space they could be getting rent from if they built it traditionally,” Mr. Chase said. “On one hand, I’m sure there will be people who dislike it, but we are the Creative City and this is a very creative set of plans.”

A quick polling of attendees uncovered a begrudging acknowledgment that the project is greatly improved on several points, including the beauty of the structure.

Irena and Esmerelda, a pair of sisters who live on Laurel, told WeHoNews as they exited the meeting that they thought it would be an improvement.

“We’ve lived right over there now for almost 40 years,” Irena said, “and we’ve seen it all change in that time. This will be very nice for the neighborhood. Especially replacing this old mall,” she said, swatting at the window next to her.

Opponents of the project were not swayed, however, by what one of them disparaged as a “dog and pony show.” Norma Kemper, one of the organizers of the Havenhurst Neighborhood Association, which is fomenting opposition to the development, said, “The scope is still too big for the block. It will still take away from the community feel.

“You can’t put that many housing units in place without it affecting the community,” she said. “But we want to be fair, so we’re waiting for the traffic study to come out.”

BrighamYen

Jul 27, 2007, 8:18 PM

^ I like it a lot actually. It looks very modern and something that is even more progressive than usual for even WeHo. This is a place I think I would even want to live in (just basing on the renderings). I hope the traffic studies will be favorable to the project's approval.

interloper

Jul 28, 2007, 12:22 AM

They used a Jenga set for the model???? How Hip!

Steve2726

Aug 1, 2007, 9:40 PM

I don't recall this being mentioned previously and I'm not sure what to make of it.-
From today's Wall St Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118590609659883644.html?mod=todays_us_marketplace

PLOTS & PLOYS

Hollywood Hotspot
August 1, 2007; Page B8

One of the world's premier spots for movie premieres is about to change hands. Final bids are in for the purchase of the property beneath Grauman's Chinese Theatre in the heart of Hollywood. In true Tinseltown fashion, the deal holds allure but considerable risk.

Grauman's theater itself, which is one of Los Angeles's top tourist attractions because of the footprints and handprints of celebrities set in cement in the front courtyard, isn't part of the package. Not immediately, that is. The buyer will have to wait until 2023 for the theater's 99-year ground lease to expire. Then the historic landmark building -- and whatever profit potential remains in its single screen -- will pass to the owner of the land.

In the meantime, the new landlord will receive rent from the cinema's current operator, the Mann Theatres chain. Real-estate executives and participants in the auction say that the rent is below market value because of a historical legacy that links the lease to the price of gold. Like some long-term leases that date from the early 20th century, they say, Grauman's theater has paid rent based on a multiple of the value of gold, and it is lower than comparable retail rents, which today can include a percentage of sales.

Eastdil Secured is handling the sale for two charitable foundations that inherited the property from the theater's builder, empresario Sid Grauman. Eastdil declined to comment on the process, which participants said was winnowed down to a group of finalists and could fetch $13 million, or more. Some real-estate executives predict the ultimate winner will be CIM Group, a big Hollywood developer that owns a shopping complex abutting Grauman's theater. CIM declined to comment.

LAMetroGuy

Aug 1, 2007, 10:52 PM

I know this topic has been posted before but I think this article adds new info??

August 1, 2007 – Ambitious Hollywood Mixed-Use Project Gets Green Light from LA City Council
Article Date: 08/01/07

http://www.rentv.com/news_images/7788.gif

Full Story:
By Allen Wolfsheimer

If anyone had doubts as to whether or not a full-blown renaissance is underway in Hollywood, news of this latest mega-project should put an end to that question. The Clarett Group, out of New York, recently received unanimous approval from the LA City Council to proceed with Blvd6200, a 1.1 msf mixed-use development situated adjacent to the historic Pantages Theatre.

The $400 mil project, planned to address many important objectives set out by the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and the Los Angeles City Council, will cover a seven-acre site that spans both sides of Hollywood Blvd at Argyle Ave, east of Vine St. It is slated to consist of more than 1,000 residential units, 40k sf of live/work space, 175k sf of retail/restaurant uses, 12k sf of open/public plazas, and adequate underground parking for all planned uses, including the Pantages Theatre. The housing will be market-rate rentals, of which 10% will be set aside for affordable units.

Designed by Santa Monica-based Van Tilburg, Banvard & Soderbergh (VTBS Architects), Blvd6200 will feature a diversity of architectural styles that will combine to create a dynamic urban streetscape. The environmentally sustainable (LEED qualified) development is expected to serve as a model for an interactive lifestyle within the heart of the city.

Commenting on the impact of this project, LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said, "By casting the legendary Pantages Theater as the centerpiece of this major project, Blvd6200 will bring a dynamic mixed-use community into Hollywood while respecting the area's heritage. The addition of new retail and dining opportunities will be pivotal in the transformation of Hollywood Boulevard. Moreover, the developer's commitment to adhering to the City's green-building initiatives will serve as a model for other projects that follow.”

Adjacent to the Hollywood/Vine Metro Rail Red Line Station, Blvd6200 will also offer MTA promotional plans to its tenants, as well as include parking for 10 Flex Cars, which will allow for the sharing of cars among numerous residents. Tenants who own hybrid vehicles will receive preferential parking.

The seven-acre development site for Blvd6200 is owned by the big theater owner, The Nederlander Organization, headed by James Nederlander, Sr. The land assemblage was completed without eminent domain or displacement of any residential tenants. Nederlander also owns the Pantages Theatre and recently completed a full-restoration of the cultural and historical landmark that some view as LA’s version of "Broadway."