[vodila]

and what about this one?

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/230/471498729_f35a301ae8_b.jpg



here it is. taken today.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3225/2437628475_6918495441_b.jpg

With all the lines coming together at an angle, I got slightly disoriented taking a picture of it :) The angle is quite prominent when driving/walking on Sunset.

Btw, now that I look at the old picture -- looks like they demolished the white building next to it. Never noticed that before.

[vodila]

And here's a photo of the Palihouse. As of 04/23/08:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2084/2438446190_42e52ce0ee_b.jpg

[Steve2726]

:previous:
Is the building in the first photo the new Technicolor headquarters?

[vodila]

Yes, it is. And they stayed rather faithful to the rendering, too:

http://www.hollywoodchamber.net/newsletter/Technicolor424D.jpg
From Hollywood Chamber of Commerce

Except for one thing: they are off by one palm on the Sunset side :)

[vodila]

The W Hotel in Hollywood update

Selma@Argyle:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2112/2439245764_cc4e419672_b.jpg

Hollywood@Argyle:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3262/2438433577_71c606b50a_b.jpg

[JDRCRASH]

Nice Photos!:tup:

Are there any news regarding the Hollywood Freeway Central Park or whatever it's called? It's been a while since I've read anything about it.

Are you talking about that park that will replace it will the freeway is a tunnel underneath?

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

good update! lots o changes. 6200 should start soon, right?

[Steve2726]

Wow Vodila, great stuff! Welcome to the forum btw.

[vodila]

Thanks, I feel welcomed :)

While I'm on a roll, here's a few more updates.

First, the lofts on Hawthorne across the Madrone (The Hawthorne Regency on the right, and a slightly newer The Hollywood Lofts on the left). Those were completed over a year ago, but I am not sure if they were ever mentioned here.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2154/2438873257_1f51159067_o.jpg

Second, "The Hollywood".

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3110/2439701194_9b2099d285_o.jpg

Finally, the Madrone update:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2391/2438873419_047ff2174e_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3176/2438873597_f5f0cd7c24_o.jpg

[vodila]

I should start consolidating the posts...

Anyway, Seventy-46 (has been leasing for a few months already):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2409/2438927385_e1a38e932d_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2395/2439751164_7622c0bbe2_o.jpg

The lounge on the ground level still hasn't opened, though.

The office building next door doesn't show any visible signs of progress. I think they cleaned it up, washed the windows, probably painted it. Anyone has any scoop on this one?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2315/2439764000_7290898aeb_o.jpg

That's how they would like it to come out. I don't see any resemblance yet:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2218/2438949805_60f2d60edb_o.jpg

H&M on Hollywood Blvd opened a week-two ago (where the Hamlet used to be). The building doesn't look like it's 100% done yet, though:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2391/2439782520_2cdc3e7ae7_o.jpg

Zara next door is still a ways off:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2005/2438981469_6c77c0cd9d_o.jpg

They are completely gutting the building (took a shot of the backside from the parking lot behind them. Couldn't get a clear shot, but this gives an idea of how extensive their work is)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2051/2439791278_71f80af4ab_o.jpg

[vodila]

All right, on to new construction.

The Jefferson.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2266/2438990769_7ded88178e_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3067/2439814968_438c623e78_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3144/2439815118_0b6867f223_o.jpg

Madame Tussauds.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2038/2439826930_c31ce6e6ca_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2199/2439827028_ebc454066b_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2010/2439003323_3fb19831a4_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2175/2439827400_421ef90d32_o.jpg

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

amazing job. you covered most of the projects in the area. Good job man.

[Echo Park]

this thread kind of died off. I had forgotten just about every project in hollywood except the major ones (6200, the W) and then BAM all these low rises pop up (had no idea the jefferson was even U/C!) . sweet update, vodila. hollywood is a boomtown of its own :) :)

[Westsidelife]

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2303/2441689618_0acdb3814e_o.jpg

ConstructionWatch: So Much Aqua Glass in Hollywood

By Dakota
April 25, 2008

As a follow-up to last week's discussion on that big new Hollywood development (http://la.curbed.com/archives/2008/04/columbia_square.php) Columbia Square, let's check in with two under-construction projects in the area: A new office building rising in the 6000 block of Sunset Boulevard and old friend Sunset and Vine (http://la.curbed.com/archives/2008/01/sunset_vine_is.php), the under-construction 59-unit apartment building that'll eventually have 7,000 square-feet of retail. That aqua rod is now boasting some side flaps---billboard holders? What are those things?
Construction Watch: Hollywood and Vine (http://la.curbed.com/archives/2008/02/construction_wa_43.php) [Curbed LA]

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2084/2441692398_fc20d19a5c_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3149/2441667680_6716289d2f_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2350/2441673612_2d43969eae_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2266/2441681198_77b3c878d0_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3051/2441662228_83b1da9359_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2010/2440816829_840bca95d9_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2231/2441643886_9141578ae7_o.jpg

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Curbed LA (http://la.curbed.com/archives/2008/04/constructionwat_18.php?o=0)

[DJM19]

Awesome updates! I really like a lot of the developments in Hollywood! They have a good scale for not being a downtown, but still being a very active center of the city.

[vodila]

Strolled around Hollywood&Highland today. They were doing a remodel of the Orange side for a while now, so I decided to check it out. Gotta say, it's still a ghost town in there! Anyway, here's the (very-very-very scary looking) outcome. It strikes me as odd, though... it looks more as a set of a horror film rather than an entrance to a major shopping and entertainment center. :shrug: Maybe it's temporary? Certainly took them a while to complete it...

Looking from the Orange side (western side):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2388/2449990273_65ce9f471e_o.jpg

Southwestern corner:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3153/2450815638_b7e7ca8ec8_o.jpg

Looking onto Orange (Northeast corner):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2037/2450815818_9d370fa112_o.jpg

Northwest corner:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2202/2449990701_e3bf81eabb_o.jpg



One more thing -- another perspective of the Madame Tussauds complex:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2358/2450816144_2044c0dec1_o.jpg

[DowntownCharlieBrown]

Do you think it was made to look that way so it can be rented out for filming? There are a lot of "back alley" "industrial" "horror" scenes that could use this look.

[BrighamYen]

^ Maybe it's meant to look a little "weathered" so it looks like it's been there for awhile instead of being all freakin' brand spankin' new? I actually like the look of it because it looks kind of gritty.

[sopas ej]

^ Maybe it's meant to look a little "weathered" so it looks like it's been there for awhile instead of being all freakin' brand spankin' new? I actually like the look of it because it looks kind of gritty.

I like the look of it too, it has that old warehouse look, something you'd see in a rust-belt city or in the older industrial sections of London or something.

It just doesn't match the rest of the complex, IMO.

[BrighamYen]

^ Going along the concept of having diversity in design and style in the same complex like the proposed BLVD6200 and even Rancho Cuchamonga's Victoria Gardens, I like how this section "doesn't match" the rest of the Hollywood/Highland complex. Again, it gives that side of the building a "weathered" look which makes the place feel more established.

In fact, this very same concept could have been applied to LA Live. We've been getting a bunch of complaints on this forum that LA Live looks TOO similar to Staples Center. Imagine the proposed REGAL cinema designed and built to look like an authentic classical theater? That's not impossible. Look at Downtown Chicago's public library - built in 1991.

http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/art/images/chicago_public_library.jpg
ucblibraries.com

[bjornson]

Oh goodness. I do believe that library has been lambasted by a majority of arch critics and chicagoans hate it...

[sopas ej]

^ Going along the concept of having diversity in design and style in the same complex like the proposed BLVD6200 and even Rancho Cuchamonga's Victoria Gardens, I like how this section "doesn't match" the rest of the Hollywood/Highland complex. Again, it gives that side of the building a "weathered" look which makes the place feel more established.

In fact, this very same concept could have been applied to LA Live. We've been getting a bunch of complaints on this forum that LA Live looks TOO similar to Staples Center. Imagine the proposed REGAL cinema designed and built to look like an authentic classical theater? That's not impossible. Look at Downtown Chicago's public library - built in 1991.

http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/art/images/chicago_public_library.jpg
ucblibraries.com

I had to look up pictures of Victoria Gardens as I've never been there; I know what you're saying about a mix of architectural styles, but I assume Victoria Gardens was designed that way for the same reason the soon-to-be-opened Americana at Brand in Glendale was designed, to give an ersatz "sense of place" (but in that Caruso/Grove way, of course, in the case of the Glendale project).

I like the weathered old look of that section of Hollywood/Highland, but I just don't think it matches the rest of the complex because, well, it doesn't. The rest of the place looks the way it does, and then that side of the complex was given that whole other look; it makes me wonder if it's in anticipation of something that might be built next to it, maybe somehow it'll fit in contextually once that future project is completed, I don't know.

That Chicago public library pic, the fact that it was built in 1991 kinda says it all to me, that was at the height (and beginning decline) of the post-modern trend. I noticed with some post-modern architecture, these revival styles sometimes come off as kitschy. But I like that the library has elements of older Chicago architecture. Though I'm no architect, and tastes in styles are totally subjective, I like the idea of historical context as well as architectural context. A neoclassical-style Regal Cinemas adjacent to Nokia Theatre and Staples would look horribly out of place IMO. I agree that the LA Live complex right now looks too much like the Staples Center, which IMO is mediocre architecture anyway. I'd rather they designed the complex to recall the scores of old apartment buildings they tore down to build that whole Staples/LA Live area... or something completely innovative and cutting-edge, hehe!

[BrighamYen]

What it all boils down to in the end when it comes to this whole Hollywood/Highland thing is that having a few buildings that stand out as being different from the rest of complex is a good thing in this specific case. I agree that it doesn't match with the rest of complex, but I want to stress that in this case, that's a good thing. The weathered look of the buildings give that side of the complex a more established vibe that would not be possible if they had only used stucco.

[vodila]

I think it's still a little too early to judge it. The H&H site (http://www.hollywoodandhighland.com/information_directorymap.php) refers to this area as "Orange Court" (which I always thought referred to the bus zone below it). The premises on the North and South sides have a location number 205 - "Orange" and it is listed as "coming soon". I guess we shall just wait and see what it turns out to be. Maybe it's a new night club?


On a new note.

How did the hollywood terrace hotel addition turn out?

this pic is from fridayinla and was takes in july:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1065/814494786_b490a25c52_b.jpg




Walked up Highland today. Took a pic of that "thing" they built. Gotta say, it's a building only the original architect could love

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3218/2453274734_271c28378b_o.jpg

[DowntownCharlieBrown]

LAB

I would have thought it a creative use of a delivery dock for the backside of the mall if it was intended to be used for filming. And I would have been OK if looked different then the rest of the mall. But to fake an old and weathered look, well, you're just begging for an "edluva" smack-down and it ain't gonna be pretty!

I'm getting outta the way....:runaway:

[BrighamYen]

^ I walked by the place and it actually really just looks weathered. It definitely doesn't look "fake" or contrived. Let's give this issue a rest. I like it, end of story.

[DowntownCharlieBrown]

If you like it, then I'll give you that much. :cheers:

[DowntownGymRat]

Pailhouse at Hollywood & Vine got sooooo lucky with the fire today. Check out kcal.com for some good video footage.

[dktshb]

Vodila:

Thanks for all the updates of the hood. You brought this thread back to life.

As far as the H&H update... I like the old industrial look over what was there before (the bland yellow wall still visible in some of the pictures). What was there before was a Burger King that quickly went out of buisness and a souvenire shop for the Grauman's Chinese theatre that went out of business shortly thereafter. There is no signage that indicates what is going to fill in the void. The space is too small for a restaurant or bar so I suspect it may be offices ... perhaps for the Madam Tussaud's?

[dktshb]

I was so happy when the ugly Hotel/Hostel was torn down but I must say it actually looked better than this: I do not understand why they chose these colors :rolleyes:


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3218/2453274734_271c28378b_o.jpg[/QUOTE]

[DJM19]

I think the worst part is just how prominent the parking entry and exit are. It takes up half the building,

[dktshb]

You're right about the parking. Also, the fact that it is above ground is disappointing too. One of the things I like about Hollywood is that most of the new developments have contained subterranean parking... unfortunately this one doesn't.

[StethJeff]

Is anyone on this forum following the ongoing construction at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA)? Every time I'm in the area I notice that they're adding to the complex.

Anyone have any details on this?

[sopas ej]

Is anyone on this forum following the ongoing construction at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA)? Every time I'm in the area I notice that they're adding to the complex.

Anyone have any details on this?

Hehe I always referred to Childeren's Hospital (of) Los Angeles as CHOLA.

But yeah, that hospital has always seemed like a perpetual work in progress for the past decade and a half that I started paying attention to it.

[vodila]

^ There's quite a treasure trove of information on the website of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles (http://www.childrenshospitalla.org/site/c.ipINKTOAJsG/b.3579293/#).

Here's the Live Webcam (http://buildingcams.rsconstruction.com/rsconst/view.php?index=369&license=OSV-MvqKm7&page=live).
There's also a 7.5-minute long video on their site.

--------


A New Hospital Building

Childrens Hospital Los Angeles is building a new, 460,000 square-foot inpatient facility. This New Hospital Building will transform the practice of pediatric medicine, benefiting our patients, families, and hospital caregivers for generations to come. When the New Hospital Building at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles is open in 2010, it will be the finest medical and surgical environment for seriously ill and injured children anywhere in the United States.
How will this building help patient care?
Child-Friendly Setting

* Ceilings will be decorated with cheerful images
* Lighting will be child-friendly
* Each floor will have a different design theme with soft colors for young children
* Chase Place Playrooms will be available on every floor of the hospital
* Gardens will incorporate a playground that is universally accessible to able and disabled children alike
* Semi-private rooms will be available for children who can benefit from social contact, often so important for children with chronic disease

Parents Integrally Involved in Recovery

* Two-thirds of patient rooms will be private so children can recover surrounded by their loved ones
* Patient rooms will incorporate a distinct "family zone" which will include space for parents to stay overnight
* Dining facilities on the ground floor will open onto spacious gardens
* A convenience store will offer healthy refreshments 24 hours a day
* A state-of-the-art Bill and Helen Close and Family Family Resource Center will provide Internet access, multilingual print and video reference materials and referrals to support groups
* Each floor will include a family lounge with spaces for quiet and reflection, as well as family alcoves

Vice President and Chief of Nursing, Mary Dee Hacker, comments on why integrating family members is so important for enhancing care for sick and injured children.
Cutting-Edge Technology & Testing New Treatments & Cures

* Patient rooms will be wired for computer workstations
* Electronic physiological monitoring equipment will provide ongoing tracking of a patient's vital signs that will be downloaded into the patient's electronic record in real time
* The entire facility will incorporate HEPA-filtration
*

Scientists at The Saban Research Institute will be able to test new treatments and cures on many of our patients at the bedside

Increased Services Where Our Patients Need Them Most

* Expanded Emergency Department services at a time when many Emergency Departments thoughout Los Angeles County have closed
* Forty percent of beds will be dedicated to critical and acute care
* Increased capacity in our Bone Marrow Transplant and Intensive Care Units, areas that are consistently at capacity
* State-of-the-art imaging facilities

Improved Seismic Performance

Replacing a 40-year old facility, the New Hospital Building will be able to withstand and remain fully operational after a major earthquake, complying with and even surpassing the seismic requirements for hospitals in the state of California.

To discuss making a gift to support the New Hospital Building, please contact:
Melissa Do Vale
Email or call (323) 361-1706

-----------

Steel Topping Off Ceremony

http://www.childrenshospitalla.org/atf/cf/%7B1CB444DF-77C3-4D94-82FA-E366D7D6CE04%7D/NHBSteeloverLA.jpg

The final beam for the New Hospital Building was lifted into place above the skyline of Los Angeles during a celebration ceremony on March 9, 2008. Painted in the hospital's rainbow colors, the beam was signed by thousands of patients and staff members, topped with an American flag and an evergreen tree to symbolize growth and good luck.

[vodila]

and this one?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/phattonez/DSC00967.jpg

Any renderings/info or new pics of these?

and this one:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a28/dktshb/CaribbeanDKT015.jpg

If I'm not mistaken, these two show the same project :) Here's the state of this project today:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3130/2459886663_1553ae232a_o.jpg

Notice that they installed a new light at the intersection.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2369/2459886785_2b8e41e1ed_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2333/2460722256_b052ee342c_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3064/2460722444_8c8bbdd20a_o.jpg

[citywatch]

Building Boom Gives Hollywood Pause

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2008-05/38535133.jpg
Construction cranes soar above the landmark corner of Hollywood and Vine. More than a
dozen multimillion-dollar projects have been announced, launched or just completed in
Hollywood that promise new stores, restaurants, apartments and towers of glass and steel.

Some worry that a proliferation of high-end projects will bury the charm of the storied area's golden past.

By Roger Vincent,
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 6, 2008

Construction cranes hover over Hollywood as the movie industry's historic home undergoes another sweeping -- and sometimes wrenching -- transformation. More than a dozen multimillion-dollar projects have been announced, launched or just completed that promise new shopping and restaurants, thousands of new apartments and condominiums and towers of glass and steel.

Glitzy clubs dot once-sketchy street corners. Residents swim atop the former Broadway department store at Hollywood and Vine. Construction projects cuddle up to Grauman's Chinese Theatre and are popping up in the shadow of the landmark Capitol Records tower.

The changes can be both impressive and alarming to those who know Hollywood best. Residents and business owners marvel at the improvements around them. Yet they prize the lingering charm of Hollywood's golden past and fear that the place they love is slipping away.

"My worst-case scenario is that it loses the special flavor that is unique to Hollywood," said neighborhood activist Cheryl Holland, who has lived there for almost 20 years. "We want some give and take" with planners and developers, she said. "Our streets are unique because we abut commercial property." But, she added, "this is a very historic neighborhood with streets that are quaint and charming."

The love-hate battle over development that is playing out in neighborhoods all over the Southland and elsewhere is amplified here. Every construction permit faces questions about parking, open space, blocked views, historic preservation and the stress on basic city services. To be sure, some outsiders may dismiss the concerns as grousing by people who don't appreciate how good they have it. After all, this is a neighborhood of growing affluence seeing an explosion of new entertainment venues and luxury housing and hotel rooms that would be the envy of much of Southern California.

http://www.latimes.com/media/graphic/2008-05/38544041.gif

Not just a neighborhood

Reinventing Hollywood is a challenge more daunting than most city centers ever face. "It's a place of dreams, a metaphor and not just a neighborhood," said urban expert Joel Garreau. People have so many different visions in their mind of what Hollywood is, he said, "you are going to get incredible culture clash, economic clash and political clash."

Since the days of Cecil B. DeMille, Hollywood has been larger than life and still holds a grip on people's attention and fascination with Southern California. Changes like those underway today come with protest, boosterism, second-guessing, excitement and angst.

With traffic already awful at many hours, fears multiply that congestion will make Hollywood truly unbearable if developers aren't reined in. Parking has become a fractious issue, too, as prices rise at a diminishing number of lots and local leaders debate whether to build more garages.

Between the traffic and parking difficulties, "it's not much longer that we are going to be able to come down there," said Hollywood Hills resident Daniel Savage. "There is a fantastic domino effect that happens when traffic backs up."

For many, it is all a mixed blessing. No one seems to miss the bad old days dating back to the 1960s, when the neighborhood started losing its luster as many prosperous residents decamped L.A.'s urban core for the suburbs. Entertainment industry businesses fled too as teen runaways, drug dealers and prostitutes populated the boulevard and traditional Main Street-style stores gave way to strip joints, tattoo parlors and touristy trinket shops.

The neighborhood's reputation was so bad by the 1980s, recalled honorary Hollywood mayor Johnny Grant in an interview shortly before his death in January, that "it was tough to get people to come accept a star on the Walk of Fame." Grant's boosterism was a source of amusement, he recalled. "The big sport was laughing at me because I kept saying that Hollywood was coming back."

Observers stopped laughing a few years ago as investment exploded in Hollywood. Nearly 5,000 condominiums and apartments have been built or are soon to be underway in the blocks around Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street, where a glitzy W Hotel is also under construction. Plans have been announced to add 10 stories of office space atop the historic Pantages Theatre to complete the original 1920s design. And nightclubs seem to be opening on every block -- there are, according to police, about 100 establishments in the core entertainment district licensed to sell liquor.

Meanwhile, crime in Hollywood is down 32% from 2003, said Capt. Clayton Farrell of the Los Angeles Police Department. "We don't have the endemic crime problems that Hollywood experienced in the '80s and '90s in spite of an increase in the number of persons coming to Hollywood for entertainment," Farrell said. "The nightclubs bring in alcohol and other issues but also a lot of affluence and people" who patronize other businesses.

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2008-05/38535136.jpg
With traffic already awful at many hours, fears multiply that congestion will make Holly-
wood truly unbearable if developers aren’t reined in.

'A little tawdry'

In the years after World War II, Hollywood was "a glamorous little town," said writer Milt Larsen, with chic nightclubs, elite restaurants including the Brown Derby and live theater. He enjoyed going from studio to studio to sit in the audiences of radio broadcasts by the likes of Jack Benny, Fanny Brice and Groucho Marx. Magicians still perform to crowds in the legendary Magic Castle that Larsen founded in Hollywood in 1963. But by then, he said, Hollywood Boulevard was "starting to get a little tawdry."

Now it's on the upswing again. In five years, the boulevard "will be a cross between Melrose Avenue and the Third Street Promenade" in Santa Monica, predicted developer Richard Heyman. He is working on a $12.5-million refurbishment of the Art Deco-style former Kress dime store that later became the flagship of racy lingerie seller Frederick's of Hollywood.

When the Kress opens in a few weeks, it will house a nightclub, restaurant, sushi bar, banquet room and rooftop bar. Owner Michael Viscuso also has acquired other property nearby, with plans to add more stores and to build a 15-story hotel-condominium. Viscuso said he had watched Hollywood for almost a decade but "the streets looked pretty rough." Around 2005 he could see change coming and wanted to get in on it. "It's amazing now."

The heady pace of that change -- more than $2 billion worth of development since 2003 with an additional almost $1 billion approved and ready to start -- is unnerving people like Hollywood Hills resident Savage, who is also president of the Hollywood Knolls Community Club homeowners group. "It's all going way too fast for me," said Savage, who fears that growth will overwhelm roads, mass transit and other public services. "I'm not a Luddite," he said. "I generally believe in the free market, but I think someone needs to call a timeout and let the infrastructure catch up."

Pendulum swings

Hollywood has long been known for low rents and as a destination for starving artist types such as actors and musicians as well as home to a large number of immigrants. Losing such residents would reduce some of the "economic diversity" special to Hollywood, says City Planning Commissioner Michael Woo, a former City Council member. "I anticipate more concern about gentrification and people being pushed out."

But there is probably no stopping it. Hollywood is going through a type of dramatic change that is sweeping many of the country's city centers, said analyst Christopher Leinberger of the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. "What we are dealing with here is the pent-up demand in this country for walkable urban places."

By Leinberger's reckoning, there are two models for real estate development: "walkable urban" and "drivable suburban." After more than 60 years of focusing almost exclusively on the latter, the pendulum is swinging back toward urban living in the United States, and the Los Angeles region is woefully short of neighborhoods where residents can work, shop and entertain themselves on foot, he said. "Great urbanism attracts people," Leinberger said. "Places that do have it are going to have overwhelming demand."

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2008-05/38535135.jpg
When owner Michael Viscuso opens the Kress — a $12.5-million refurbishment of the Art
Deco-style former Kress dime store — in a few weeks, it will house a nightclub, restau-
rant, sushi bar, banquet room and rooftop bar. Viscuso has assembled other property
nearby with plans to add more stores and build a 15-story hotel-condominium.

[dlbritnot]

I am yet to see or hear about the red line being overburdened by all of this new development. I also don't see how those surface lots ever really contributed to the neighborhood. Most of these developments are providing garages with much higher capacities. Granted, the streets are definitely congested almost 24 hours a day. That isn't a problem easily solved. Two years ago I took the redline from work in downtown to Hollywood for Halloween and I was very surprised at how packed the trains were. Granted that was a special event, but aside from the Halloween rush, the redline isn't full yet.

[dktshb]

Thanks for posting that article Citywatch. Hollywood certainly is a self contained 24/7 urban center and the subway only adds to the urban feel. I cannot believe how Hollywood has exploded in the last 5 years with new and updated developments. Unfortunately I work in the S.F. Valley so I still have to commute to work every day and, yes, driving in and out of Hollywood is a disaster and will only get worse when all the new residences are completed in the coming years. If you're able to live and work in Hollywood you'd never need a car... except to visit your friends that live all over the rest of the city. :rolleyes:

[LAMetroGuy]

Historical Note:

Did you know that this was proposed for H&H 10 years ago?


Yorkburry Development LLC Has Proposed a Marriott Hotel for Hollywood, CA

Three developers jockeying for project By Jullian Baily - HOLLYWOOD INDEPENDENT - July 29, 1998

http://images.google.com/url?q=http://www.hotel-online.com/Trends/HAS/yorkb2.jpg&usg=AFQjCNH9RWZ0XRb9_b47I_qLsC5TvT-ICg

In a scenario that would have been unpredictable 10 years ago, three entities are vying for the right to develop a property in the heart of Hollywood.

The project is the Hollywood Parkade, a Community Redevelopment Agency - conceived plan to establish parking and other consumer elements on a block bounded by Hollywood Boulevard on the north, Hawthorn Avenue on the south, Orange Avenue on the East and Highland Avenue on the west.

After sifting through the responses to a statement of interest the CRA issued last year to tenants and property owners within the project area, the agency has winnowed the field to just three proposals, said Ann Marie Gallant, deputy administrator of economic development for the CRA.

Gallant confirmed that one of the proposals comes from Yorkburry Development LLC, which owns the building located at the southwest corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue. The commercial and residential real estate company has submitted plans to replace a souvenir shop and other retail stores with a 21 -story Marriott hotel, shops and a 2,000-space parking structure.

TrizecHahn Corp. has also thrown its name into the CRA's hat, confirmed Gallant. TrizecHahn has already staked its claim across the street with the Hollywood Highland project, a $35 million entertainment - retail complex being built with the agency's support. This time out, the real estate giant has teamed with Jeff Rouze, senior asset Manager with CUNA Mutual Insurance Co., which owns El Captan, to establish either a combination retail-office development or a retail-hotel development - both with parking on Hawthorn Avenue. Because of on going negotiations, Hawthorn could not reveal the identity of the property owner who submitted the third proposal.

Yorkburry Development LLC has proposed this 21-story Marriott Hotel for the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue. Gus Sader, managing partner of Hospitality Asset Services, a San Diego based hotel management and consulting Firm which is acting as spokesman for Yorkburry and its principal Mazen Nazzal, said the time is ripe develop in Hollywood.
"Absolutely nothing was redeveloped or done regarding hospitality in the corridor for many years," said Sader, " and now because of the (TrizecHahn) project on the east side of our site and because of our economy and because of no new hotels in that area.. .we believe the time is right with this project."

David Malmuth, senior vice president of development for TrizecHahn agrees. "I think there's a big opportunity for hotel development in Hollywood," he said.

So big, in fact, that there is room enough for both the hotel he is proposing for the Hollywood Parkade and the 171-room expansion of the TrizecHahn - owned Holiday Inn Hollywood across the street. Malmouth explains that the Holiday Inn is being redeveloped as a four-star hotel while the proposed Hollywood Parkade hotel is envisioned as a three-star facility.

The retail component of the Parkade proposal also has synergy with the Hollywood - Highland project, explains Malmuth, a number of "large entertainment-oriented users" have indicated a desire to set up shop at the Hollywood-Highland but were passed over because of the space configurations. These companies could be accommodated in the Hollywood Parkade, he said.

Sader is unconcerned about the competition. "We presented our plans to the CRA [saying] this is our intention and this is what we like to do," he said.

Noting the CRA lost the power of eminent domain earlier this year, he believes that in the long run Yorkburry will be able to go ahead with the plans regardless of the agency's position. "They can be interested in anything but we own it clear and free, it is ours," he said. What's more, Sader points out that Yorkburry is seeking no city funds to build the $85-million hotel/parking development.

Gallant pointed out, however, that the Yorkburry property is located in the redevelopment district, which gives the agency the right to enforce "quality control" over what is built there by administering another level of land-use regulation in addition to the city's standard process.

Furthermore, she said that Yorkburry, which purchased its property in 1985, has been aware of the CRA's plans for the Hollywood Parkade since 1996.

While the CRA's right to eminent domain expired in May, and it has not yet reapplied for that right, the city is not precluded condemning a property to turn it over for public use, such as a parking lot.

According to Gallant, the finalist will be chosen in September, but that person is free to cobble together under components of their plan and any other applicants or entities.

"Once a finalist is selected for negotiations," she said, "it does not preclude that person from going back to the other property owners to say, "I want to do a deal with you."

[Echo Park]

It's kinda strange how I don't cringe when I think about H&H anymore. Upon its inception, the idea of having an insular shopping mall next to chinese grumans was weird. who would visit it, since no one ever went to hollywood? I cant believe how fast that area changed. H&H still isn't anything to write home about but we have to give it its dues. It jumpstarted the Hollywood renaissance and got some pretty decent development along hollywood and sunset. its the reason why i'm not entirely embarrassed over LA Live, cause while LA Live is an eyesore, developments like these have the potential to branch off more organic growth.

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2293/2477063784_7d47534720_o.jpg
from curbed

W hotel is gonna look great at night. I wish they included 6200 in this render to make it more alluring, like how models of LA Live included all the south park projects.

[DowntownCharlieBrown]

^I can't tell, but is the building in the lower right corner the Pantages with the additional floors added? And if it is, why didn't they include Blvd 6200 in the rendering instead of showing the huge parking lot, which completely detracts from the allure of living at "The W".

[LAMetroGuy]

No that is not the Pantages Theater with the floors added. I agree, 6200 should have been added.

[LAMetroGuy]

has this been posted here???

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2008-05/38926619.jpg
Photo Credit: LA Times

L.A. agency plans low-income homes, new offices for Hollywood

REVAMP: Vine Street Tower, an eight-story office building, is planned for Vine Street and Selma Avenue.

CRA commissioners approve a five-year revitalization plan for the area.
By Bob Pool, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

May 16, 2008

Denser, taller and less-pricey neighborhoods are ahead for Hollywood under a revitalization plan approved Thursday by the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency.

Agency commissioners voted unanimously to help finance a series of residential and commercial projects that backers say will add much-needed low-income housing and "first-class" office space to the area by 2013.

The five-year development plan will add 404 low- and moderate-income apartments for families that otherwise would be priced out of the housing market. It also provides space for programs that cater to the homeless and to young runaways who often flock to Hollywood Boulevard.

The approval came as some Hollywood residents complained of a looming lack of adequate parking for newcomers and others decried the growing nightclub scene, which has become an important element of the emerging "new" Hollywood.

But the clubs also are helping turn the area into what was described to commissioners as "Alcohollywood" and a growing site of mysterious arson fires.

There was largely praise for the five-year plan, however. During a two-hour public hearing held at one of Hollywood's clubs, the Music Box, a parade of supporters thanked the agency for its role over the last two decades in aiding the community's resurgence from half a century of decline.

City Council President Eric Garcetti, who represents a portion of Hollywood, said $2 billion in private investment already has been poured into the area, turning blighted parts of town into showcases.

He cited a $14-million mixed-use development at Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue as one of the successes. The CRA contributed $3.7 million to the project, which consists of 60 affordable rental units -- most of which are occupied by what the agency calls "very low-income households."

The Hollywood and Western corner "has taken away the stigma of affordable housing," turning what once was an eyesore into one of the city's "most dynamic" intersections, Garcetti told commissioners.

Low-income projects planned over the next five years include the $7-million Villas at Gower, which will offer 70 "very low-income housing units" along with supportive services for homeless families and what the CRA calls "transitional youths."

Part of the W hotel complex under construction at Hollywood and Vine Street will by 2010 include 375 rental units, including 74 classified as "affordable to low-income."

Four historic bungalow courts in Hollywood and 10 in east Hollywood will be rehabilitated. Several other sites labeled by the CRA as "blighted" will be used for 220 single-occupancy units for very-low income residents and for 87 market-rate rentals.

By 2011, an eight-story, glass-sided office structure called the Vine Street Tower is planned at Vine and Selma Avenue. "Blighted conditions addressed by this project include economic stagnation due to a shortage of first-class office space and space for entertainment uses," a redevelopment agency report states.

Representatives of social services organizations and nonprofit groups that have received assistance from the agency or that are in line to in the future praised the five-year plan. Several said the new projects represent "smart growth" and the dictum of "building up, not out."

But critics included longtime Hollywood activist John Walsh, who chided the agency. "Welcome to Alcohollywood. The CRA invented it," he said of what he complained is an over-concentration of nightclubs and alcoholic beverage licenses in the area.

"The CRA's Hollywood is the unsolved arson capital of the world," Walsh said, citing recent fires that have destroyed several clubs and a landmark church that a developer had tried to turn into a club.

Longtime Hollywood AIDS clinic operator Miki Jackson worries that not enough planning is being done for future parking needs. She suggested that the redevelopment agency has outlived its usefulness and that its estimated $726.3-million budget for the coming fiscal year might be better used to offset the city's fiscal deficit.

"There are times when you just don't make sense any more, and I think the CRA has arrived at that," Jackson said.

Ziggy Kruse, manager of a shop that was closed when the agency initiated eminent domain proceedings against 30 small businesses to clear the way for the W hotel project in 2006, said she still has not found a new job.

"I'm living proof your plan doesn't work," Kruse told commissioners.

The panel did not respond directly. But board member Alejandro Ortiz counseled CRA staff members to pay heed.

"A lot of times the criticism is harsh, but it's correct. So stay open" minded, Ortiz advised.

bob.pool@latimes.com

[dragonsky]

High-end popularity dramatically changes the landscape on Melrose Place
The shopping destination is in the midst of an upscale shift that has some feeling left out.
By Cara Mia DiMassa, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
7:22 PM PDT, July 11, 2008

The tree-lined block that juts out of La Cienega Boulevard just above Melrose Avenue is a bit of a retail oddity for Los Angeles: a quiet, quaint address in the middle of the bustling city.

And as such, Melrose Place -- not the fictional location of the television show with the same name but rather the cement-and-ivy street with nary an apartment building in sight -- has always been a destination for a certain kind of shopper, the kind of person who might employ a decorator, a stylist or both.

But what they are seeking has changed dramatically in recent years. Melrose Place, like so many parts of the city, is in the throes of an upscale shift that has some feeling left out.

Once a residential street, then a destination for high-end antiques and home-furnishing stores, Melrose Place has become, in recent years, a high-end fashion lover's mecca.

The transformation began, by most accounts, a little more than three years ago, when Marc Jacobs and Marni moved on to the block in quick order. They were followed by other upscale retailers, including Carolina Herrera, Sergio Rossi, Mulbery and Lambertson Truex.

But as the fashionistas swept in, many of the antique stores that had called the place home began moving elsewhere, some bemoaning the rapidly rising rents and others the loss of the quiet, chummy camaraderie they once enjoyed.

"I used to know everybody on the street, and people were friendly," said Rose Tarlow, who opened her first antique store on the block in 1976. "Now, I don't even go out the front door. It's very different." Tarlow has decided to move off the block and rent out the two buildings that she owns.

"It used to be beautiful," said Ahmad Ahmadi, the owner of Ariana Rugs, with a sigh. "It was all antique mom-and-pop stores, high-end interiors from floor coverings to furniture to fabrics. It was really a destination for a lot of international decorators."

Ahmadi said he was leaving the area after a decade on the street because his landlord had increased his rent from $4 a square foot per month to $25. "They are forcing me out," Ahmadi said. "The amount of money they are asking -- how can I afford it?"

* *

Melrose Place came of age in the 1960s and 1970s, said historian Marc Wanamaker, when the demand for retail space for high-end antique stores along La Cienega overflowed to the street. Because it was a little more isolated, Melrose Place became a cheaper place to buy into, said Wanamaker, and quickly, the area shifted to become a district all its own.

Antique stores along the street featured furniture and other home furnishings from the 18th and early 19th century, Wanamaker said: "The quality of their works of art was absolutely impeccable. . . . You could go in there and you could trust them. They were not going to rip you off. They would be catering to connoisseurs, not just someone decorating a house. From the 70s, to the 80s and 90s, Melrose Place would have that reputation."

Many of the original antique dealers were gay men or couples who retired, then died, and had no family members to carry on the business, said Wanamaker. After the first fashion stores moved in, other "owner-operators" chose to take advantage of surging prices along the street, sell their buildings and move their home furnishings business elsewhere.

"It just ended," Wanamaker said. "An era ended. That's how you can say that."

Michael Shabani, whose family has owned the building where Marc Jacobs moved in for more than two decades, said that much of the shift has been deliberate on the part of landlords, who "identify areas we feel fashion tenants will like. . . . This was just bound to happen," he said.

But some landlords and tenants say that the recent shift has been driven by the buying power of one organization: the Nasa Group, a collection of silent partners who claim they control 60% of the property on the block, either as owners or long-term leasers. Property records show that limited liability corporations tracing back to Nasa own seven buildings on the block.

Samantha Feld, a broker who does leasing, sales and acquisitions for Nasa, and acts as the company's spokeswoman, said that the fascination with Melrose Place began three years ago, when they purchased a building at 8428 Melrose Place. "We felt [it] was really charming," she said. "We had never been to the street before. But it has a unique feeling to it. All of the buildings have so much character."

Part of that building is now leased out to Bird, a fashion company that moved from Robertson two years ago for many of the same reasons.

Owner Wendy Vaughan said that Robertson was being increasingly frequented by celebrities, paparazzi and what she called "the T-shirt-and-jeans set." She said she considered moving to Malibu, Brentwood, "and all of the typical higher-end locations. I fell in love with this street because of its charm, and because it's kind of private in a way."

As big-name fashion companies have opened outposts on the street, Vaughan said, their top-shelf advertising budgets and marketing campaigns have also created a buzz for Melrose Place, separate from the TV nostalgia. "We see Carolina Herrera ads in Vogue with the Melrose Place address on the bottom," Vaughan said.

Still, that buzz also has given landlords on the street reason to raise rents on existing tenants.

"One deal gets done, and the next thing you know, three or four brands are competing for space," said Jay Luchs, a commercial real estate broker who has worked on the street.

The future of the block, in many ways, rests on the kind of issues that plague most urban transformations: walkability and parking.

"We just don't have the facilities to have tons of people walking the street," said Vaughan, of Bird. "It's just not happening. And I don't think it will."

Several of the new stores have brought in valets, and Feld said that plans are in the works for a nearby parking facility.

But that, too, has stirred the pot. Jim Genesta, owner of Bungalow Salon, said that his clients started encountering problems with parking soon after Marc Jacobs moved in. "Even though they weren't busy, they took up all the parking," Genesta said. "Valet guys were putting in metal files to rig the meters. . . . We lost a lot of clients because of that."

Bungalow has since moved to a new location on Beverly Blvd. "When we moved, clients said, thank God you got off that street," Genesta said.

Vincent LaRouche, creative director and vice president of Lafco New York, which owns the Santa Maria Novella store on the street, said that the shopping experience on the street has changed enormously in recent years. Shoppers, he said, "wanted that intimate experience, to wander down the street without being noticed. Now, they can't do that any more."

http://www.latimes.com/media/mapimage/2008-07/40920856.gif

[BrighamYen]

If accessibility is an issue due to a lack of parking, that just goes to show you a clear example of the classic case of the "LA development cap." All over the city, no matter what project it is, the number one problem seems to be parking (the lack of it). Why isn't it completely obvious to anyone that automobile transit is inferior in the context of a large, dense city? You just can't keep building more and more parking structures or lots to accommodate more and more developments. It's a lost cause.

Now if you had subways/light rail built extensively throughout the city (at least extensively in the West Central area), then businesses will automatically cluster closer to stations. This will undoubtedly create the kind of walkable environment that will boost the walking culture lacking in LA.

The issue here is the CULTURE of walking. Many Angelenos are literally handicapped without them even knowing it. They view the world they live in as a series of disparate experiences separated by driving. Constantly hopping from one island to the next island of activity. Even if the "next island" is only across the street because so many parking lots are privately owned and cater only to customers. What if you wanted to go to a museum after shopping? Well, you would have to drive your car across the street to the museum's parking lot or risk being towed. This kind of repeated scenario inculcates into the Angeleno's mind that they are tied one-in-one with their cars. It's a burden they must accept if they want to live here. And that's why people have that added stress that makes them view LA less favorably.

However, if someone were to take mass transit in LA for the first time after driving for some many years here, they will begin to notice soon after visiting different destinations how LIBERATING it is to leave your car behind. Unlock the ball-and-chain. Not only liberating, but view the entire day was one contiguous experience, as opposed to a choppy one tied in with driving. The issue becomes clear how important it is to expand mass transit and foster a culture of walking that will make issues regarding the constant/obsessive need for parking fade away as unnecessary.

[LAdude]

^^

I couldn't agree with you more LosAngelesBeauty. It was such a foreign experience to me the first time I took mass transit here in LA. I had never riden a subway outside of New York, and didn't even realize we had them here until just a few years ago. That's why I think Hollywood's future looks so bright. It has the Red Line right underneath all of it's attractions. This is only going to draw that much more investment into the neighborhood, and make it an even more exciting destination, and place to live. I can't wait to see what Hollywood will look like in 10 or 15 years... :)

[BrighamYen]

^ Yeah, the benefits Hollywood sees from the subway can be replicated in many other parts of LA, mostly along the Wilshire Blvd. corridor, but some other places as well. Not only do you have to have transit, but you also need the cooperation from the developers and politicians to push for the same common goal. Not every single station has turned into a walkable area.

Case in point, the Sunset/Vermont station could easily become one of the best walkable areas of LA if the developers would catch on and politicians would expedite any development that made that goal a closer reality. If you come out of the subway at Sunset/Vermont, there is A LOT of potential to make that area into a walkable neighborhood. Los Feliz is already up the street on Vermont, but before you get there, you have to pass by huge swaths of PARKING LOTS. Those parking lots need to be DEVELOPED into mixed-use projects with neighborhood amenities on the ground floor.

Also, Koreatown needs to start attracting businesses that can promote walking. Currently, as one of the most dense areas of the country, it doesn't feel that way on the streets. There should be activity day and night, with people walking to restaurants, stores, etc. But it's not dense enough with retail yet.

Making an area thriving AND walkable is a combination of transit, safety, and businesses.

[dktshb]

^ Yeah, the benefits Hollywood sees from the subway can be replicated in many other parts of LA, mostly along the Wilshire Blvd. corridor, but some other places as well. Not only do you have to have transit, but you also need the cooperation from the developers and politicians to push for the same common goal. Not every single station has turned into a walkable area.

Case in point, the Sunset/Vermont station could easily become one of the best walkable areas of LA if the developers would catch on and politicians would expedite any development that made that goal a closer reality. If you come out of the subway at Sunset/Vermont, there is A LOT of potential to make that area into a walkable neighborhood. Los Feliz is already up the street on Vermont, but before you get there, you have to pass by huge swaths of PARKING LOTS. Those parking lots need to be DEVELOPED into mixed-use projects with neighborhood amenities on the ground floor.

Also, Koreatown needs to start attracting businesses that can promote walking. Currently, as one of the most dense areas of the country, it doesn't feel that way on the streets. There should be activity day and night, with people walking to restaurants, stores, etc. But it's not dense enough with retail yet.

Making an area thriving AND walkable is a combination of transit, safety, and businesses.

I'm going to the Vista Theatre today and will take the subway to the Sunset/Vermont station. Los Feliz, and Sunset Junction are connected to the Red line too... I am just not sure if a lot of people there realize it. I wish a small connector of the subway would continue down Sunset connecting Silver Lake, Elysian Park Dodgers Stadium and Echo Park to Downtown and the rest of the Red Line.

[dktshb]

double post... so I will take advantage of it and add that we should load those Vermont stops with a shit load of TOD's. We may as well take advantage of the mass transit we do have by packing in the density as much as possible.

[BrighamYen]

Found these cool pictures from a reviewer on Yelp.com (http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-kress-hollywood#hrid:wjsTjl6epDeyEDC6bbzukw). This is apparently the next hottest location in Hollywood for A-list parties (used to be the Roosevelt). Justin Timberlake, Jessica Biel, etc. have already checked this new place out. I hope to go myself before it gets TOO hot.

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/3203/img0860oy3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Photo by me


http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/7793/10068714fj7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/1675/23945416ll0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/4313/50396265dg9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/7628/13675451is6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


Some pics of the food:

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/2320/96441242sr7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/3905/53442064sw7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[JDRCRASH]

Mmm, that looks pretty good.

[sopas ej]

From the LA Times:

Sky's the limit -- another high-rise comes to L.A.
4:33 PM, July 25, 2008

The Los Angeles City Council today approved a 23-story condominium tower on the site of the vacant Spaghetti Factory restaurant in Hollywood, including two billboard-size signs on the building’s south and west sides.

The 305-unit project was approved despite objections from neighborhood critics who argued that it had received too many exceptions to the city’s planning and zoning rules, from higher density to the location of the “supergraphics” –- signs stretched across vinyl on part the building’s exterior. Although the city’s code would have required 512 parking spaces, the developer was allowed to build 416, according to a report prepared for the council on the project.

“This project is drastically under-parked,” said neighborhood activist Ziggy Kruse. “This area already has a recognized critical parking shortage.”

Councilman Ed Reyes said the project is part of a larger effort to encourage residents to walk instead of using their cars. “This is a change in our culture,” he said.

Sunset and Gordon Investors LLC, which is developing the project, has received at least $13 million in financial help to build the project, which will include a park, restaurants and offices, according to city officials.

The developer of the project, Sunset and Gordon Investors LLC, intends to preserve the Spaghetti Factory building, which was built in 1924 and originally housed an auto dealership. Craig Lawson, a lobbyist for the developer, said the project would provide much-needed office space for Hollywood and said his company has a track record of building residential projects with “outstanding design” in Los Angeles.

Today’s vote comes two weeks after the council voted to approve a 16-story residential tower in Hollywood next to the Capitol Records building. Construction is already underway on a 305-room W Hotel at the corner of Hollywood and Vine.

-- David Zahniser

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2008/07/skys-the-limi-1.html

OK, so why does it have to have two billboard-sized signs?!?

[SamBronco]

Chamber Presented Overview of Millennium Hollywood Project


Chamber officials met with representatives of Argent Ventures and Millennium Partners last week for the first of what will be a series of community outreach meetings by the firms to explain their proposed development. The project, which will represent a $1-billion investment in Hollywood, would surround the Capitol Records Tower and occupy parcels on both sides of Vine Street. Phil Aarons of Millennium Partners described the project as an extraordinary opportunity to create a signature project for Hollywood that would provide a new gathering place for locals and visitors. The proposed design includes extensive open space and water features. The 4.5-acre project would have a 200-room boutique hotel, 100,000-sq.ft. of office space, a sports and fitness center and about 500 condominiums. Also included would be an observation deck. An 18-month entitlement process is anticipated before construction could begin. Chamber officials offered suggestions and invited the companies to go through the formal review process that the Chamber has established in considering whether to endorse projects. The Economic Development Committee is tentatively scheduled to review the project in October.

[StethJeff]

Chamber Presented Overview of Millennium Hollywood Project


Chamber officials met with representatives of Argent Ventures and Millennium Partners last week for the first of what will be a series of community outreach meetings by the firms to explain their proposed development. The project, which will represent a $1-billion investment in Hollywood, would surround the Capitol Records Tower and occupy parcels on both sides of Vine Street. Phil Aarons of Millennium Partners described the project as an extraordinary opportunity to create a signature project for Hollywood that would provide a new gathering place for locals and visitors. The proposed design includes extensive open space and water features. The 4.5-acre project would have a 200-room boutique hotel, 100,000-sq.ft. of office space, a sports and fitness center and about 500 condominiums. Also included would be an observation deck. An 18-month entitlement process is anticipated before construction could begin. Chamber officials offered suggestions and invited the companies to go through the formal review process that the Chamber has established in considering whether to endorse projects. The Economic Development Committee is tentatively scheduled to review the project in October.

Despite the close proximity to Griffith Observatory and other places in the park that offer better vistas than what any tower in Hollywood can provide, glad to see that a deck is in consideration. Our fine city is definitely lacking in the observation deck category.

[sopas ej]

From the LA Times:

The Hollywood Palladium gets a second wind

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2008-10/42730421.jpg

The regal concert hall has booked performers from Sinatra to Jay-Z.

Audiences will soon see if a thorough makeover kept it up to date.
By Geoff Boucher, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 5, 2008

SIXTY-EIGHT years ago this month, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and its new singer, a skinny 24-year-old New Jersey crooner named Frank Sinatra, welcomed a cheering crowd to opening night at the Hollywood Palladium. Dorothy Lamour was there to snip the ribbon, spangled with orchids, and as Jack Benny, Judy Garland and Lana Turner looked on, hundreds of couples danced the jitterbug on a 11,200-square-foot dance floor made of maple wood.

With its coral and chromium interior, Streamlined Moderne swoops and shimmering chandeliers, the Palladium that night must have seemed like a dreamy refuge in a world that was growing darker by the day. German bombs were falling every night in London, but beneath the searchlights of Sunset Boulevard, all the young lovers were swaying in a Hollywood champagne fantasy.

Still, when Sinatra sang the band's No. 1 hit, "I'll Never Smile Again," how many of those 3,000 couples held each other and fretted about the future?

That golden night might be difficult to envision for anyone who attended the last shows at the Palladium. Last October, British singer Morrissey planned to play 10 nights at the battered and creaky venue, but two of the shows were canceled after a water pipe ruptured and added to the building's already considerable dankness. The club was shuttered and a $20-million overhaul began.

"We ripped the roof off the joint, literally," said Rick Mueller, president of California operations for Live Nation, the concert promotion company that signed a 20-year lease and is handling the lion's share of renovation costs. "Our entire goal is to bring the building back to what it was like that first night but also to make it modern."

That back-to-the-future effort meant a meticulous revival of architect Gordon B. Kaufmann's original vision along with the installation of modern-day amenities -- recessed LED lighting with 20,000 possible accent colors, wheelchair ramps, a new concessions area, more bathrooms, a movable stage, steel rigging for elaborate concert productions -- that Mueller says will make the Palladium a nimble 21st century venue for concerts, television broadcasts and private bookings.

Restoring a legend

IT ALL begins Oct. 15 with a sold-out show featuring a 12-piece band fronted by rapper Jay-Z, who, with his East Coast roots and Chairman of the Board persona, channels a sort of hip-hop version of Sinatra's career aura.

"I wouldn't be surprised one bit," Mueller said, "if he does a Sinatra song." The promoter said that Tuesday while wearing a hard hat and shouting over the sounds of hammers and sanders. He was standing on the rim of the Palladium's dance floor, which he doubts will be refinished until after opening night. Above Mueller's head was a chandelier wrapped in plastic. "The rest of them are out back, we have a company restoring them, recasting the missing crystals. Everything has to be just right."

Cove lighting has been installed to highlight the Moderne details and the original marquee-and-pylon sign tower has been restored at the entrance and its large neon letters revived. (How careful is the revival? Architect Christopher Coe used old newsreel footage to match the lighting sequence to the original pattern.)

The renovation has not been entirely smooth. There was a union dispute that put a picket line out front, and there was consternation about the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency loan needed by Live Nation's landlord, Newport Capital Advisors, to pay for the exterior remodeling. But Mueller said that after the dust has settled, the Palladium will once again be a signature spot in the entertainment life of Hollywood.

"There was talk of demolishing the whole place, just knocking it down," the Live Nation executive said. "But if you know the history of the Palladium, that's an awful thing to even consider."

The history of the building is like the district around it -- long seasons of klieg-light glamour followed by years of a battered, low-rent life. "When the Big Band Era receded, Hollywood receded with it," said Dale Olson, a Hollywood publicist who worked with Spencer Tracy and Gene Kelly and used to dance at the Palladium. "Hollywood got seedy, and the Palladium did too. The last time I was there was at a TV show taping in 1996. Bob Hope and Dolores Hope were there, and Les Brown played. I couldn't believe how run-down the place was. If you had seen it before, it was sad."

A versatile room

THE PALLADIUM means different things to different generations. That happens when you have one building that houses concerts by Glenn Miller and Led Zeppelin, Barbra Streisand and the Who, Ray Charles and the Ramones; it was also the site of "The Lawrence Welk Show" during its hugely popular run in the 1960s. It was from the Palladium that Betty Grable purred to homesick GIs during her weekly wartime radio show and that Lucille Ball and Sinatra handed out Emmy Awards in the 1960s.

In the 1970s, the venue started to lose some of its luster, but was still the place where Paul McCartney, Willie Nelson, the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt all came to pick up their Grammy Awards.

The Palladium was also home to proms, glittery fundraisers and ballroom affairs, with John F. Kennedy and at least five other presidents or presidents-to-be passing through its doors to work the room in a very different sort of dance. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was feted there after he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 -- although that occasion had grim subplots including bomb threats and LAPD's same-day seizure of 1,400 pounds of explosives at a local apartment. The Palladium has been the place where fashion models strutted the catwalk, wrestlers jumped from the top rope and car-show exhibitors brought their sedans. "When it started, though," Olson said wistfully, "it was all about dancing."

The Palladium was the vision of movie producer Maurice M. Cohen, who aspired to open the largest dance floor in town and one that basked in the star power of Hollywood. The property, between Argyle and El Centro avenues, was the site of the original Paramount lot. Its top-notch talent made it a common ground for celebrities and tourists, the place that was regal enough for Rita Hayworth, Tyrone Power and Lana Turner but also cheap enough for their fans. In the 1940s, the cover was $1 and dinner cost $3.

"It was the Big Band Era and the Palladium was the magic place, the dance floor where everyone came together," said Hal Blaine, a drummer who played with Count Basie and recorded hits with Sinatra, Elvis Presley and the Beach Boys. "When I was a kid, my dream was to be on that stage, and I did play there with Jan & Dean in the early 1960s. It was a different place by then, though."

True, the grand old hall was getting scruffier. In 1964, a jazz festival turned ugly when the performers, angry with the promoter, stomped offstage right before the surly crowd started throwing bottles. It was a hint of the venue's edgier future. For rock and punk fans coming up in the 1980s, the Palladium was a bare-bones hub and the vintage chandeliers seemed as ironic as they would in a roller rink. Walking through the construction site, Mueller remembered coming for a Ramones show.

"The sound was bad, the security staff was way over the top patting people down, everything was beat-up -- and it was fantastic. Now we're going to take care of the sound and staffing problems and get back some of the tradition, but it will still be great for rock, in the way the Fillmore is in San Francisco."

Mueller pointed to the shows by Metallica and Tom Petty in that storied Bay Area venue as the model for the big-name, small-room shows that the gussied-up Palladium might expect. There's going to be a hotel, retail and residential complex adjacent to the venue as well, which Live Nation hopes will tilt some of the live-music scene back toward Hollywood after the opening of the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles by rival AEG.

There are 30 events slotted for the Palladium before Christmas -- including concerts by the Jonas Brothers, the Roots with Gym Class Heroes, and a three-day Halloween weekend with Rise Against -- and promoters are looking for splashy TV projects to put the venue back in the eyes and ears of America. Nodding toward the dance floor where Midwest tourists once jitterbugged with Oscar winners, Mueller grinned. "Wouldn't this be the perfect place for ' Dancing With the Stars'?"

geoff.boucher@latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/theguide/music/la-ca-palladium-2008oct05,0,7629928.story

[BrighamYen]

Took these yesterday. Random shots.

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/4763/img6409on5.jpg


http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/6091/img6405vu1.jpg


http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/6278/img6406qr7.jpg


http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/8025/img6407un3.jpg


http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/9660/img6408xn7.jpg

[JDRCRASH]

Nice pictures!

[BrighamYen]

Thanks! I'm really excited about Space 1520! Can't wait for it to open.

[dragonsky]

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2008-11/43153136.jpg

Clubs are hopping up in Hollywood
Behind those velvet ropes, they're huge, packed and increasingly being crowded out by new competition. Downturn? Here, they're partying like it's 1999.
By Chris Lee and Charlie Amter, The Los Angeles Times
November 2, 2008

It was past midnight on an unseasonably balmy Tuesday in Hollywood and the queue to enter the Avalon nightclub stretched nearly half a block down Vine Street, with would-be revelers clamoring to get into a charity benefit in honor of celebrity disc jockey DJ AM.

Nearby, a cluster of fashionistas in skintight get-ups thronged the velvet rope of the Vice Hollywood "ultra lounge." Similar scenes unfolded down the block at the swanky watering hole S Bar and the perpetually paparazzo-surrounded restaurant Katsuya. Available parking spaces were virtually nonexistent, and the streets pulsed with the hustle and flow of youthful carousing.

"It's getting insane," said Matt Colon, a night-life promoter who has been making the rounds here for the last decade. "It's gotten so packed."

Added electro-rapper Red Foo: "Hollywood is one of the hottest scenes in the world right now."

A generation ago, Hollywood was a no man's land after dark -- a wasteland of liquor stores, tattoo parlors and shuttered storefronts that offered few entertainment options.

Though that began to change in the early part of the decade, in the last nine months the neighborhood has seen a sharp rise in both its fortunes and its local reputation, galvanized by an influx of supersized nightclubs (like the Kress on Hollywood Boulevard), celebrity-filled restaurant-club hybrids and glitzy cocktail lounges.

Tinseltown, it seems, is riding high on night life, with developers coming in from New York, Las Vegas and San Diego to grab a stake in the new Hollywood. And the construction of flashy new venues doesn't look as if it's going to stop any time soon.

"People are bullish on Hollywood," said Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti, who, when he took office in 2001, got behind plans to transform Hollywood into a thriving entertainment district, pushing to encourage street life, reduce crime and foster new businesses.

"It's a feather in everyone's cap to have a place in Hollywood: people in the entertainment industry investing in nightspots, people who run clubs," said Garcetti, whose district covers much of Hollywood.

Especially on weekends, thousands of people under 30 pour into Hollywood from as far away as the Inland Empire, Orange County and the Central Coast. Many come in search of the glamorous lifestyles they see depicted on such TV shows as HBO's "Entourage" and the popular MTV reality series "The Hills," or the inebriated celebrity infamy that plays out on TMZ.com and the pages of Us Weekly.

"There are so many clubs in the Hollywood area. The landscape has changed dramatically," said veteran nightclub operator Ivan Kane, whose early ventures, such as Kane and Deep, began injecting life into the scene in the late '90s.

The current array of after-dark activities traces back to earlier urban renewal efforts in the area, notably the Highlands Hollywood nightclub. Launched in 2001 on the top level of the Hollywood & Highland retail complex, the 30,000-square-foot multilevel venue helped usher in an era of Las Vegas-esque "destination nightspots," clubs built with high-end amenities and overwhelming scale.

The Highlands never quite caught on with clubland's movers and shakers, but it certainly set the stage for Hollywood's upstart super-club the Kress. Since opening this summer, the 38,000-square-foot restaurant and nightclub has been the site of such VIP events as TV Guide's Emmy Awards after-party and a gala hosted by rap mogul Jermaine Dupri to honor the Black Entertainment Television Awards. Spread out over five floors, the Kress occupies a historic building formerly home to Frederick's of Hollywood.

Kress owner Mike Viscuso spent two years and more than $25 million refitting the building with an octagonal bar, refurbished marble walls, six $100,000 chandeliers, an ornate champagne lounge and a sushi bar. "There's nothing like it in L.A.," Viscuso said, gesturing at the club's panoramic view.

Viscuso, who is credited with helping transform San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter into a night-life mecca, is hardly the only club major-domo under the assumption that size matters. This winter, a glammed-out 13,000-square-foot mega-club called Playhouse is set to open at the site currently occupied by the Fox Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. It's the latest venture from night-life impresario Robert Vinokur, who operated similarly scaled venues in Miami and New York.

"We're going to blend the fun of Miami clubs with the sophistication of New York," Vinokur said. "But we're still working off the Hollywood theme in that we're ushering in a new era of Hollywood glam."

The Kress and Playhouse face stiff competition from established mega-clubs in the neighborhood.

The recently revamped Vanguard is 20,000 square feet, and the Avalon boasts 33,000 square feet of party acreage, including its just-opened lounge, Bardot.

Then there's the threat of recession, which has the potential to hurt larger clubs that depend on "bottle service" -- an expensive trapping of many upscale nightspots in which patrons can buy bottles of liquor instead of ordering individual drinks -- to offset operating expenses. (Entrance fees range from no cover to $25, depending on the venue and event being promoted.) But to hear it from civic leaders and club owners, even in an era when the Dow plunges below 9,000, people in Hollywood still seem to want to party like it's 1999.

The number of "47" licenses, classified as restaurant liquor licenses, issued in three Hollywood ZIP Codes by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has nearly doubled to 23 this year from 12 in 2007. And that's on top of the approximately 135 bars and restaurants already in the core area bordered by La Brea Avenue to the west, Vine Street to the east, Franklin Avenue to the north and Melrose Avenue to the south.

"Good economy or bad economy, I'm still buying in Hollywood," said the Kress' Viscuso. "Real estate is still selling for $800 to $1,000 a square foot. Downtown, it's less than half of that. And all the synergy from these major developments -- the W [hotel and residences], Cirque du Soleil coming to the Kodak Theatre, the lofts, the other hotels coming in -- it will keep Hollywood alive."

The next large-scale venue in Hollywood? A poolside rooftop club at the W Hollywood managed by one of Las Vegas' best-known night-life fixtures, according to a representative of Gatehouse Capital, a private real estate equity group involved with the W Hollywood project (set to open late next year or in 2010).

According to Garcetti, president of the City Council, the main challenge facing the neighborhood is having too much of a good thing after dark. "I announced a year and a half ago that we didn't want any more new clubs," he said. "You can only have so many, because they poach one another's clientele and all of them begin to suffer."

The city is now trying to encourage growth in non-night-life businesses -- retail, art galleries and more restaurants like Katsuya and the celebrity-owned Beso at Hollywood Boulevard and Ivar Avenue.

In other words, the kind of manicured establishments more typical in West Hollywood or on La Cienega Boulevard between Melrose Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard than the seedy Hollywood of a few years ago.

"To sustain a successful neighborhood, you can't be shuttered by day and have an explosion by night," Garcetti pointed out.

Such concerns weren't high on the priority list for Valerie Stead, a 25-year-old dressed in black spandex pants, a white shirt and a leopard-print bra. On a recent Tuesday, she hit the nightclub Les Deux with three friends.

"The music is always good here, and I like the open space," Stead said on the club's patio. "There are people from all over the place in Hollywood -- that's what makes it cool. We like the glamour."

Lee and Amter are Times staff writers.

[JDRCRASH]

Maybe they're partying because they realize that "Change" is just around the corner.

[dragonsky]

Plan for park atop Hollywood Freeway is praised
The project would cost about $950 million and could begin as early as 2012, feasibility report finds.
By Bob Pool
9:22 PM PST, November 19, 2008

Maybe they've just scratched the surface, those who want to cover over a mile-long section of the Hollywood Freeway and create a park on top.

But a group promoting construction of an airy, meandering promenade for local Hollywood residents isn't certain what its effect might be on motorists down below traveling through a serpentine tunnel between Bronson Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard.

A feasibility report years in the making concludes that the freeway-top park would cost $950 million in today's dollars. Construction could begin as early as 2012.

The freeway conversion, backed by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles redevelopment officials and local politicians, would turn the top of the freeway into a 44-acre "locals-first community park." It would serve what advocates say is one of the city's most parks-poor areas.

"It will be built," advocate Don Scott promised Hollywood residents as the 92-page report detailing its preliminary design concept was released Wednesday night.

A parade of local lawmakers declared their support for what backers call "Hollywood Freeway Central Park," which would be funded with a combination of state, local, federal and private dollars. A group of about 80 meeting at a newly built Hollywood high school adjacent to the freeway greeted the plans warmly.

Missing from the audience, however, were commuters who a few yards away were struggling in both directions through the end of the evening rush hour. More than 203,000 cars and trucks travel on the stretch of the Hollywood Freeway daily.

What would their experience be like if they were stuck underground up to an hour a day in traffic jams that regularly slow Hollywood Freeway traffic to a 2 mph crawl?

Feasibility study leader Mike Williams, a senior associate with EDAW Inc., the international design firm that prepared the report, wasn't sure.

"We didn't have a psychologist on board," Williams said after the report's unveiling.

Design consultants say the one-mile tunnel would be brightly lighted, under full-time surveillance by closed-circuit TV and fully ventilated by filtered vents that would be camouflaged as above-ground sculpture in the overhead parkland.

There would be emergency access for police and fire trucks, Williams said. The tunnel would have automatic gas detectors, emergency exit walkways and a fire detection and suppression system.

Its ceiling would be at least 17 feet high, providing more room for trucks that sometimes have little space to spare under freeway over-crossings that currently have less than 15 feet of clearance.

Williams' report cites Boston's Big Dig Park, Chicago's Millennium Park, Washington state's Mercer Island Lid Park and La Can~ada Flintridge's tiny 210 Freeway cap as precedents for freeway-top parks.

Hollywood's park would maintain existing streets' freeway crossings and add one new one. Fountain Avenue would be extended to create a four-sided plaza over the tunnel, according to the plan.

There would be room for a baseball field near Sunset Boulevard. Other areas would feature meadows, spaces for artworks and a section for a playground and family picnics. Since the mile-long park would be designed for nearby residents, no parking lots would be required.

Those attending the presentation at the new Helen Bernstein High School had questions about earthquake safety, the park's ventilation towers, the project's effect on the neighborhood gentrification and the safety of park users.

Frontage roads and an above-ground police substation at the tunnel's midpoint would help ensure safety, they were assured.

Hollywood-area Assemblymen Mike Feuer and Kevin de Leon and local City Councilman Tom LaBonge praised the freeway coverup plan. LaBonge said he also hopes to eventually see a freeway-top park linking the Olvera Street area with downtown's Civic Center.

A detailed environmental impact report will be required as the next step of the project, backers said. It would presumably include its effect on commuters and truckers.

"It has a big price tag, but it's a big project," said Scott, head of the chamber of commerce-backed committee that is pushing for the park. "It's going to be a long journey. I hope it only takes seven or eight years."

Pool is a Times staff writer.

http://www.latimes.com/media/graphic/2008-11/43487518.gif

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

if someone can post the pics from curbed that would be great. the before and after renders look very nice and this could be an amazing boom to the area. I hope its built and this is copied downtown over the 101 as well as the 110, as these parks have the potential to reconnect areas that were cutoff by these freeways and add to the cohesiveness of the city once again.

[BrighamYen]

The 101 cap park is probably the most important one of all. Nevertheless, I hope the one in Hollywood gets built.

[BrighamYen]

if someone can post the pics from curbed that would be great. the before and after renders look very nice and this could be an amazing boom to the area. I hope its built and this is copied downtown over the 101 as well as the 110, as these parks have the potential to reconnect areas that were cutoff by these freeways and add to the cohesiveness of the city once again.


From LA Curbed:


http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/1057/untitled2vg0.jpg
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http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/9590/untitled5jh0.jpg

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/8150/untitled6bm8.jpg

[edluva]

i hate the rendering. it appears to be just another huge lawn soon to be overrun with yellow-parched crabgrass, sun-baked dog shit and all manner of plastic refuse. i'm hoping they don't make this another spartan tree-challenged suburban park like orange county's mile square park. they should aim for a natural setting along the lines of central park or GG with tons of cool shade cast by dense groves of majestic conifers, sycamore, and aspen on nearly every square foot outside of those meadows, with running trails along the length of the park. of course there's not much room to work with this being the width of the 101 and all, but GG park's panhandle does quite well. our one chance to get a "big" urban park and if we decide to turn it into a giant version of some elementary school playground i'll pop a vein.

[ozone]

Not to be too cynical but do you guys know how many proposals to build something big over LA freeways there have been over the years? Lots and not one ever can to fruition. Oh I take that back. The Harbor Frwy transitway is the only one.

[dragonsky]

In West Hollywood, town houses chic and sheathed
Architect Lorcan O'Herlihy took a cue from the nearby Formosa Cafe and wrapped this 11-unit building in red metal.
By Catherine Ho, The Los Angeles Times
8:59 PM PST, December 5, 2008

When architect Lorcan O'Herlihy masterminded the color palette for the Formosa 1140 town houses in West Hollywood, he drew inspiration from Hollywood hot spot Formosa Cafe down the street.

He designed a metallic skin that wraps around the building in shades of red. The skin helps diffuse light and heat, provides privacy for outdoor walkways and gives the building a funky geometric look.

The town houses, which began construction 18 months ago and are set to open this month, are a short walk from the shops and restaurants near Santa Monica Boulevard and La Brea Avenue.

Units feature design elements that O'Herlihy saw in boutique hotels in Europe, including sliding doors for the powder room, all-white kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, and all-white countertops contoured into vanity sinks in the bathrooms. Floors are made of a recycled hardwood that resembles bamboo.

Ten two-story units have an open living, dining and kitchen area with a study and bathroom on one floor and two bedrooms and two bathrooms on a second level. The front unit extends three levels.

Each of the four upper-level units has a roof deck with views of the Hollywood Hills and downtown Los Angeles on a clear day. A pocket park designed by landscape architect Katherine Spitz lines the southern border of the building and will be open to the public during the day.

No units had been contracted to be sold as of last week.

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2008-12/43695046.jpg

[makoy731]

does anyone have updated pictures of the W?

[Bill Dings]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33277091@N08/

[JDRCRASH]

^ You have to type before the address, and after the address.

Oh, and welcome to the forum!!! :hi:

[Bill Dings]

thanks,
http://whollywoodresidence.com/email/Dec-08-08_HollywoodTopsOut/images/w-ToppingOff-PhotoSheet.pdf

[ATLssMania]

Does anyone have any updates on 1540 N. Vine (Whole Foods Development) and BLVD 6200? I can't find any news on when construction may start on either of these...

[BrighamYen]

http://bizzlebros.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/amoeba1.jpg
From bizzlebros.com

I thought this was an interesting article not only about JV, but how highly he spoke of Amoeba Music in Hollywood. I have actually NEVER gone inside before, but apparently it's got the greatest collection of vintage music all under one roof. And what's also interesting is how all the music he finds here helps him form his fashion empire as his passion is music.


http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2009-01/44427971.jpg
Carolyn Cole/ Los Angeles Times
SELLING AN IMAGE: New York-based John Varvatos, who hopes to go global, has long plumbed the rock ’n’ roll aesthetic

http://www.latimes.com/features/la-ig-varvatos11-2009jan11,0,3022673.story
From the Los Angeles Times

DESIGNERS

John Varvatos hopes to go global with rock-flavored menswear line
There's a rock god inside every guy, John Varvatos says. His thriving lifestyle label taps the fantasy.
By Adam Tschorn

January 11, 2009

Next week, when his men's collection hits the Milan runway, New York designer John Varvatos will be firing the opening salvo in a bid to make his rock-flavored label the next American lifestyle brand to go global. In nine years, he's managed to make fashion safe for men, invented the laceless Converse Chuck Taylor slip-on and turned New York's CBGB nightclub into a clothing boutique. To paraphrase the Talking Heads, who got their start in the same 315 Bowery St. space where Varvatos now sells suits, "And you may ask yourself: Well, how did he get here?"

The answer can be found amid the record bins at Amoeba Music on Sunset Boulevard. That's where the jet-lagged designer lingers on a late fall afternoon, elbow deep in the racks of records, wearing a leather jacket with a messenger bag slung across his chest. In the pause between his brand's launch in South Korea and a star-studded charity bash to mark his new Malibu outpost, the 53-year-old menswear designer is off the clock and on the hunt for vintage vinyl.

"This is the best record store in America," Varvatos says. "I get to Los Angeles about six times a year and try to get in here every time." One of his coolest finds came two visits ago when he snagged the original Columbia acetate and first pressing disc of Steve Winwood's "Arc of a Diver." "I got it for something like $150. It was ridiculous."

Varvatos is known to spend hours at Amoeba, and on occasion he's bought so much there that his West Hollywood boutique has had to box up the haul and ship it home to Manhattan. The passion that finds him flipping through racks of second-hand albums like "Mr. T's Commandments" and "Concerts for the People of Kampuchea" has done much more than build a collection of nearly 7,000 vinyl records, 15,000 CDs and 35,000 MP3 tracks.

He's made musicians and rock stars the core of his advertising campaigns, and the rock aesthetic is the foundation of his menswear. Last April, he added the ultimate piece to his music collection by opening in the former CBGB space, where his clothes are displayed among vintage books, high-end stereo equipment and a preserved wall of the original club, covered in tattered band fliers. Leveraging his love of music has helped him sell a reported $80 million worth of John Varvatos-branded clothes, shoes and accessories at retail last year alone, reaching an astonishingly broad base that reaches across generations from Zac Efron to Ian McKellen.

"His collection hits a really wide demographic," said Alex Carapetian, a buyer at Fred Segal Man in Santa Monica, which has a JV shop-in-shop. "From the younger kid who's not really snobby and doesn't really care what label he wears, to the old-school '80s-dude rock fans who come in here and reminisce about all the concerts they've been to."

By tapping into their inner guitar hero, Varvatos has managed to make runway fashion safe for regular Joes. The message is simple: You may not be a tuxedoed Alice Cooper kicking back on a Hollywood Hills couch with an anaconda on your lap, but you don't have to be. Let the rockers be the fashion leaders -- it's enough to be fashion-conscious and pick up a few style tips from them along the way.

"Every guy has a rock-god fantasy," Varvatos says from the Amoeba aisles. "I just dial into that." That's why Perry Farrell is the face of the current season, and indie Glaswegian rockers Franz Ferdinand will don John for the upcoming spring/summer campaign.

Varvatos is certainly not the first to leverage music into menswear, but his appeal lies in the deft way he layers the rock riffs, melding them with other inspirations (military, bohemian, Edwardian dandy) along the way. Instead of cartoonish leather jackets and shredded jeans, it's a subtle influence. The wide collars on a white, double-breasted jacket bring Elvis to mind; a black jacket with military braiding hints at Hendrix.

Suits can be rock-star slim or flare dramatically at the ankle. Chunky cable-knit sweaters sport horn toggle buttons. Otherwise staid-looking jackets kick it up a notch with asymmetrical closures. His color palette tends toward the neutrals -- blacks, browns, grays and dark greens -- and he works mostly in down-home fabrics: wools, cottons and scuffed, antiqued, broken-in leathers. The clothes are comfortable-looking and familiar, but with an air of "other" -- like the wardrobe of an older brother who went off to his junior year abroad and came back slightly cooler in a way you can't quite discern.

"His sense of style really speaks to men," says Tom Kalendarian, executive vice president of menswear for Barneys New York. "He thinks about the way a guy is going to react to his clothes. . . . John has had a big hand in changing the way men look at accessories. Look at certain categories like messenger bags or guys wearing scarves with jackets, or shoes. All those Converse sneakers."

"Those Converse sneakers" are the slip-on Chuck Taylor All Star Low Profiles that Varvatos developed in 2003 as part of his collaboration with Converse. It has since become a huge hit for both brands, and spawned countless knockoffs.

Varvatos, who hails from the Detroit suburb of Allen Park, Mich., says his style icon growing up was Steve McQueen. "Well, McQueen and all the rock stars. When I got into high school I wanted to dress like a rock 'n' roll dude. The first time I heard Led Zeppelin, I think I was 14, it changed my life."

His interest in clothing only came later, while he was working as a sales clerk to pay his way through college (he studied education at the University of Michigan). In 1983 he joined Polo Ralph Lauren, leaving in 1990 to join Calvin Klein (where he helped launch the men's collection and came up with a little something called the boxer brief). He returned to the Polo fold in 1995 as head of menswear design. Four years later he founded his eponymous label, debuting his collection for fall/winter 2000.

It should come as no surprise that, having learned the ropes at Lauren, he now draws on his own history and the faces, sounds and memories of his rock pantheon to evoke a nostalgia and build an entire lifestyle around them -- much the way Ralph Lauren taps an idealized past with his Polo Ralph Lauren.

"You can really tell John started off his career at Ralph," says Kevin Harter, vice president of men's fashion direction at Bloomingdale's. "Very few designers have been able to pull off that unique of a range. He does a great job of differentiating his labels and his point of view, but still keeping it all one lifestyle. That's a unique talent."

So he can sell $2,295 four-zippered lambskin jackets and $395 shoes in his high-end John Varvatos collection, $1,095 leather lambskin blazers and $1,095 three-piece suits in the younger-skewing Star USA line and $395 zip-front cashmere hoodies and $95 canvas slip-on Jack Purcells in the Converse by John Varvatos line, which also includes women's shoes, clothing and accessories.

If there is anything keeping the Varvatos fashion juggernaut from achieving full Ralphian critical mass, it's the lack of a full-fledged, high-end women's collection under his nameplate. A women's line he launched in fall of 2004 was shelved a year later. But in 2008, Varvatos launched his first women's fragrance, a second one is planned for 2009, and he says that although a women's collection is not on the current business plan, it's something he thinks about.

Still, the economy being what it is, that's for another time. "It's important now to strengthen what we've already built," he says.

That means focusing on the existing business, which industry sources say could do $140 million wholesale this year when all the co-branded Converse merchandise and the fragrances are factored in. (Notably, Varvatos' businesses reported double-digit increases in the tough third quarter of 2008).

So, as Varvatos steers his label into its 10th year, he's decided to permanently relocate his runway show from New York to Milan, despite the recession. He says it is part of the plan to grow business abroad this year. "Eighty percent of our business comes from the U.S., so there's significant growth opportunity in Europe and Asia."

And if all goes according to plan, 2009 will be the year Varvatos goes beyond global. The designer is finalizing a deal to host a monthly music show for Sirius Satellite Radio called "Born in Detroit," which would connect him to as many as 19 million listeners. That would technically make him an extraterrestrial lifestyle brand.

Which totally rocks.

adam.tschorn@latimes.com

[edluva]

^wow, yet another a new yorker approves of something in LA. we are more relevant than ever!

[sopas ej]

http://bizzlebros.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/amoeba1.jpg
From bizzlebros.com

I thought this was an interesting article not only about JV, but how highly he spoke of Amoeba Music in Hollywood. I have actually NEVER gone inside before, but apparently it's got the greatest collection of vintage music all under one roof. And what's also interesting is how all the music he finds here helps him form his fashion empire as his passion is music.


Hehe I'm actually surprised that you've never been to Amoeba. I've gotten out-of-print CDs and DVDs there, it's an amazing place. Better than the ones in SF and Berkeley.

[edluva]

yes, amoeba is big cultural asset for LA. i'm there at least monthly. there's no other place with a comparable selection of vintage music/paraphanelia anywhere.

[BrighamYen]

Vegas, baby: Hollywood is getting a Sin City-style makeover
The recession has forced many clubs to scale back or go out of business. But new faces are rushing in, some with Sin City connections.
By Charlie Amter

March 20, 2009

Don't look now, but in the middle of a recession, night-life players are doubling down, Vegas style, on Hollywood's return.

Despite a brutal winter that forced some smaller area lounges to shut their doors (see Play, S Bar and Hush Lounge) and pushed several others to open fewer nights per week, several operators -- some from out of town -- are betting that Hollywood's season of discontent might be coming to an end soon. They're positioning new venues to catch the crowds if indeed things turn around.

So what will Hollywood look like as 2009 takes shape? More and more like Las Vegas, apparently.

In fact, some of Sin City's best-known night-life fixtures, Victor Drai and Cy and Jessie Waits (known as "the twins"), are together set to take over the rooftop of the W Hollywood by December to open what promises to be one of L.A.'s most scene-worthy hot spots by this time next year.

"The W Hollywood is destined to usher in Hollywood's second golden age of glamour and sophisticated night life at Hollywood and Vine," said Marty Collins, chief executive of W Hollywood developer Gatehouse Capital, from his home in Dallas this month. "The night-life experience planned will be on a grand scale. . . . Los Angeles is in for something very special."

It remains to be seen just how "special" the spandrel glass-walled club, tentatively dubbed Drai's L.A., turns out to be.

But the Waits twins, who have made their name in Las Vegas helping to manage opulent, high-volume destinations such as Tryst and XS for Steve Wynn, plan to go all out to lure celebutantes to the forthcoming nearly 20,000-square-foot club (which was formerly set to be run by Pure Management Group).

"We really know how to take care of people, and we work hard," said Cy Waits on Wednesday. "We have a lot of L.A. regulars excited that we are coming to Hollywood."

But before the 11th-floor poolside destination debuts, several other players hope to ratchet up the Vegas-style sizzle in Tinseltown -- despite a playing field arguably already saturated with glitzy cocktail lounges and high-end clubs, such as the recently opened MyHouse and the struggling, though decidedly Vegas-esque Kress.

Elie Samaha, who helped bring Los Angeles the Roxbury and the Sunset Room, is such a believer in Hollywood that this summer he is opening a 12,500-square-foot lounge/club hybrid dubbed Playhouse inside the old Fox theater on Hollywood Boulevard.

"I've always believed in the neighborhood," the film producer and former Studio 54 doorman said from his office this week. "All the stuff going on at the Kodak [including another Vegas export, Cirque de Soleil, which begins a run next year] and Mann's Chinese is drawing more tourists than ever. It's no longer just about the locals in Hollywood, and the time is now for more development."

And though Samaha's track record as a film producer may be mixed (he helped produce one of the most notorious box-office bombs of all-time, "Battlefield Earth"), the Lebanese immigrant has a better track record of sensing night-life trends.

"When I opened the Roxbury in the 1990s, everybody was laughing at me and they thought I would last just six months," he said. "Playhouse is more special to me than the Roxbury even," he said of his long-delayed club. He and his partners have spent millions since last year renovating the old Fox Theater.

Like the forthcoming club at the W, Playhouse will feature Vegas-esque sizzle, with a monthly Cirque-type show featuring aerialists and the occasional gig by Sin City personality Jeff Beacher, known for his "Beacher's Madhouse" variety show that has drawn celebrities to its former home at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

Some might argue that the "Vegasization" of Hollywood began earlier this decade, with slick clubs that cater to the lowest common denominator such as the Highlands.

The club above the Hollywood & Highland complex barely registers on most hipsters' radars yet rakes in serious cash every weekend (the multilevel venue recently came in at No. 19 on Nightclub & Bar magazine's list of the 100 top-grossing nightclubs in the country).

Smaller bars set for opening this year are legion, including the Essex, Boho, the Supper Club at the Vogue Theater, Public House, 45, the Lounge at Palihouse Vine, Halo and the Capital City Sports Grill. But not everyone thinks Hollywood can shake the stigma of seedy streets, despite the fresh cash infusion the big clubs like the Playhouse and Drai's L.A. portend.

"With Katsuya, Beso, the Kress and others, you've got some excellent dining and partying choices in Hollywood that match anything in Beverly Hills," says actress Lorielle New, a familiar face on the L.A. club scene. "The difference is that you still have a higher risk of getting mugged or robbed on the streets of Hollywood. That's not a good way to end an evening."

charlie.amter@latimes.com

[BrighamYen]

Yes, this is the actual W sign on top of the W Los Angeles Hollywood hotel! How exciting! :)

http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/5308/img8646g.jpg

[dragonsky]

Final approval expected on North Hollywood redevelopment plan
A plan to revive a blighted shopping plaza at Laurel Canyon and Victory boulevards raises hopes for wider improvements.
By Ann M. Simmons
10:05 PM PDT, May 4, 2009

Plans to redevelop a struggling shopping plaza in North Hollywood have raised hopes for wider improvements along a commercial strip that was devastated by the 1994 Northridge earthquake and has long suffered blight.

The Los Angeles City Council and the Community Redevelopment Agency are expected to grant final approval today for the massive Laurel Canyon Commercial Corridor project. Among the planned improvements are the restoration of the Valley Plaza shopping center -- a 23-acre parcel at the southwest corner of Laurel Canyon and Victory boulevards -- and the relocation of an existing public park.

The final environmental impact report for Valley Plaza was approved last week by the City Council and the Community Redevelopment Agency board. The redevelopment agency will acquire commercial properties there by eminent domain.

The shopping center and an adjoining residential development called Laurel Plaza are part of a larger 248-acre Earthquake Assistance Project for the Laurel Canyon Corridor.

"It's a very significant step forward," said Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, a longtime supporter of development where people live within easy access to shops, offices, entertainment and transportation routes. "We're excited it is going to make a community dream a reality."

Representatives of J.H. Snyder Co., the Los Angeles builder that is developing both projects, did not return calls for comment. According to its website and permit information, the Valley Plaza shopping center would comprise 777,142 square feet and potentially be anchored by a Macy's department store, a Target and a multiplex theater.

The site would also have a 32,000-square-foot discount electronics store and various specialty shops and eateries.

The development's cost is pegged at about $333 million. The firm predicts the project will generate about 1,600 construction jobs and 1,300 permanent positions. "It's going to really revitalize an area that has seen a lot of businesses leave," said Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn.

The shopping center was one of the first to be built in the San Fernando Valley in the 1950s and used to house a popular skating rink.

The center began to decline in recent decades, however, and the Northridge earthquake dealt it a further blow. Many area residents said they were keen to have a commercial center on their doorstep.

"Now we have to go to Sherman Oaks, Burbank and Glendale to shop," said Cary Adams, president of the Mid-Town North Hollywood Neighborhood Council, which represents about 70,000 residents. "We don't want to go out of the community. We want to keep the jobs here. We want the tax money to remain here."

Adams said he was eager to see work begin on the many vacant and boarded-up properties acquired for the project.

They "are a potential magnet for graffiti and vagrancy," Adams said.

Judy Price, president of the Valley Glen Neighborhood Assn., said many in her community of 40,000 would welcome convenient access to department and chain stores, to complement the neighborhood mom-and-pop businesses.

But Price and other area residents are less happy about the adjoining Laurel Plaza project.

This would involve the renovation and remodeling of an existing Macy's department store building to accommodate 742 multifamily residential units, including condominiums, apartments and town houses.

"We have concerns about density and usage of the residential portion," Price said.

Before this could happen, Macy's would have to agree to move its business to Valley Plaza -- a decision that is still pending, according to Sharon Bateman, a Macy's spokeswoman.

Diann Corral, president of the Laurel Grove Neighborhood Assn., expressed frustration over what she viewed as Snyder's failure to heed residents' wishes.

"The community has been clear about what it wants," Corral said. "We want businesses. Both lots should be commercial, maybe one of them for mixed use, where apartments are above the shops. Why would you downgrade a commercial lot to residential, when we need business?"

http://www.latimes.com/media/graphic/2009-05/46713762.gif

[ThreeHundred]

Yes, this is the actual W sign on top of the W Los Angeles Hollywood hotel! How exciting! :)

http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/5308/img8646g.jpg


Why on earth is that so exciting?

[edluva]

^because all the cool cities have one!

[dweebo2220]

^because all the cool cities have one!

yeah, like westwood.

Also, it is a big deal (though I personally think it won't pan out like they think it will) that someone is investing this much in a schmancy hotel on the eastern edge of dt hollywood. I never thought I'd see something like this.

I hope this kind of thing inspires some actual homey restaurants and other businesses to come to hollywood.. Katsuya and all that crap does not make for a nice neighborhood.

It's amazing how just in the past couple years DT has really come ahead of Hollywood as an actual desirable place to live. No question I'd take DT's retail/restaurant/nightlife offerings over hollywood's.

[dktshb]

:previous: There is no shortage of Homey restaurants in Hollywood and why the heck does Katsuya and all that crap not make for a nice neighborhood? Downtown is coming along nicely but Hollywood still has more to offer IMO as far as all the neighborhood Amenities that I would want.

[StethJeff]

:previous: There is no shortage of Homey restaurants in Hollywood and why the heck does Katsuya and all that crap not make for a nice neighborhood? Downtown is coming along nicely but Hollywood still has more to offer IMO as far as all the neighborhood Amenities that I would want.

I agree - the entire West LA area is chock full of both homey and uppety restaurants. Besides, I don't think it's a big deal if Hollywood does morph into something more high-end than it is today.

[KarLarRec1]

Hard Rock Cafe will take the place of the Virgin Megastore at Hollywood & Highland, as reported in the LA Times today.

No date is yet set for the closure of Virgin.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

awesome that it wont be closed for too long. thats actually a really good fit for the area.

[dragonsky]

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Tourists flock to Michael Jackson sites; tour buses adjust their routes
One tour company plans to add a stop at Jackson's rented Holmby Hills home. In Los Angeles, the Grammy Museum extends a wardrobe exhibit devoted to the singer.
By Hugo Marti'n and W.J. Hennigan
From the Los Angeles Times
June 27, 2009

Crowds of Southern California visitors, already mourning the death of Michael Jackson at popular tourist spots all over Los Angeles, are expected to salute the King of Pop all weekend on tour buses and vans, in museums and at Hollywood landmarks.

At the new Grammy Museum in the downtown entertainment center LA Live, a steady stream of visitors checked out an exhibit of Jackson's sparkling wardrobe Friday, and more were expected today.

Friday was "one of our biggest days," museum spokeswoman Katie Dunham said. "I think this weekend is going to be big for this exhibit."

The effect on tourism in Hollywood began to grow Friday at Jackson's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, near Grauman's Chinese Theatre, where so many fans gathered that some couldn't get close enough to see it. There were so many television crews at Jackson's Holmby Hills home that police temporarily closed off Carolwood Drive to tour buses.

A family of seven from Frederick, Md., tried to leave a bouquet of wildflowers at Jackson's star but were turned away by mourners and security officers.

"We wanted to pay our respects," said Alma S. Perkins, the matriarch of the group. "We are all big fans."

Dearly Departed, a tour bus company that offers a Hollywood Tragical History Tour, plans to include a stop at the Holmby Hills home where paramedics were called Thursday to try to revive Jackson.

The tour now includes stops at Hollywood's Viper Room, where actor River Phoenix died of a drug overdose in 1993, and the Beverly Hills home where mob figure Bugsy Siegel was slain in 1947.

Scott Michaels, owner of the tour company, suspects that the calls for a Jackson stop on his tour will increase as tourists recover from the shock of the death. "Right now, people are just reeling from it," he said.

A bus for Starline Tours, Hollywood's largest tour company, had stopped in front of the Holmby Hills home Thursday just as paramedics were transporting Jackson to UCLA Medical Center. The home had been a regular stop on the tour.

Driver Wendy Harris said a passenger got a phone message that Jackson had died. When the bus arrived at the home, encircled by police and reporters, Harris said she knew the news was accurate.

"I always play [the song] 'Billie Jean' when we arrive at the house and everybody knows it, no matter where they are from," she said. "This time, the mood was really somber. It wasn't the usual exciting, upbeat mood."

Starline spokesman Klaus Ritter said business jumped after the news of Jackson's death. "I wish we had more buses," he said. "These sort of things happen pretty quickly."

At the Grammy Museum, an exhibit of Jackson's wardrobe, including the suit he wore on the cover of the "Thriller" album, was scheduled to close but instead was extended.

"The Grammy Museum is excited for this rare chance to share this material with our visitors," Chief Curator Ken Luftig Viste said. "Michael Jackson is undeniably one of the most significant entertainers in pop music history."

[Trae]

^^I was apart of that crowd! It was my last day in LA and I swung on by before going back to my hotel (Magic Castle) and getting my luggage and back on the Red Line to Union Station.

[mdiederi]

Hard Rock Cafe will take the place of the Virgin Megastore at Hollywood & Highland, as reported in the LA Times today.

No date is yet set for the closure of Virgin.
I was in there a couple weeks ago and they were starting to sell all the store fixtures, racks, display cases and stuff.

[dragonsky]

http://www.calendarlive.com/media/photo/2009-07/47972416.jpg

A blockbuster at Playhouse in Hollywood
The $6-million venue's 'soft' opening draws a crowd so large that LAPD clears Hollywood Boulevard.
By Scott T. Sterling
From the Los Angeles Times
July 10, 2009

"You come to L.A., expect to see something new," sighs Gilbert Stafford. The night life icon and reigning doorman of highly anticipated new Hollywood mega-club Playhouse is discussing the club's opening night, which attracted such a large crowd that the LAPD came and swept the street, sending away hordes of dejected clubbers.

"While it was a big surprise that so many people would come out, in hindsight what did we expect?" Stafford continues. The longtime doorman has been a fixture at clubs in Miami and New York before being handpicked by co-owner Rob Vinokur to helm the velvet rope at Playhouse. "We had no idea we'd done so well in the hype department."

The buzz on Playhouse has been building for years, with longtime L.A. club stalwart Elie Samaha and his Muse Lifestyle Group pouring more than $6 million into renovating the old Fox Theater space into a full-blown Vegas-style club.

"For a soft opening that was one hell of a party!" roars Samaha from his office this week. "I've seen lots of clubs come and go in this town, but L.A. has never had a high-energy dance club like Playhouse."

"We haven't even shown what we really have up our sleeve," chimes in partner Vinokur during the same call. "Our bartenders are the Cirque acrobats, and the waitresses have special choreographed shows during the night. We're going to keep adding more and more production. It's not just about a DJ but a complete show. We're bringing Vegas to L.A."

Among those additions will be the opening of Sweet Love Hangover, an open-all-night diner that will cater to clubbers after a long night of partying that Samaha says should be open by the end of the month.

"It will be open until 9 a.m.," explains Samaha. "It's important for us to provide a complete evening."

The tensions of opening such an ambitious club during an economic downturn are not lost on the pair, who recognize that such an endeavor is far from a sure thing.

"It was a huge risk. No one's ever spent this kind of money on a club in L.A.," Samaha says. "But you're not going to get the kind of opulence that we have for less than the $6 million we invested."

"The economy is rough, but this is a distraction," Vinokur insists. "This is where you can leave your troubles behind, let loose and enjoy yourself."

"When times are tough, People like to go out and be social. It's like the movie business," adds Samaha, who produced films including "Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj" and the Richard Gere vehicle "The Flock."

"All I can say is that I wish everyone had gotten in," says Playhouse promoter Allison Melnick of the club's opening night, which doubled as her 38th birthday party. "I just tell people a famous quote from Madonna that rejection is the greatest aphrodisiac. I even got shut out at one point. I went outside to get some friends in and got chased around the block by cops for not clearing the street."

Melnick moved to Muse after a stint at West Hollywood lounge Apple, after what she calls a "difference of opinion" with her business partners.

"The opportunity to work with Muse was just too good to pass up," she insists. "I'm from the East Coast and have been missing that crazy, late-night vibe. With Playhouse, we stay open until 4 in the morning, which is perfect for an insomniac like me."

Melnick is also excited to talk about Muse's next venture: turning clubs Nacional and Holly's into a new lounge called 77.

"We're calling it 77 after the year 1977, taking it back to the days of Studio 54, CBGB's and 'Saturday Night Fever,' which is what got me hooked on night life in the first place. We're taking over the corner around Hollywood and Wilcox, and everyone's invited."

Playhouse
Where: 6506 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood
When: 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays
Price: Cover varies depending on night; call in advance
Contact: (323) 656-4600; www.playhousehollywood.com

[dragonsky]

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Cirque du Soleil may give Hollywood a tumble
Promoters gambled and won before in L.A. The city may lend $30 million toward the latest project.
By Carla Hall
From the Los Angeles Times
August 4, 2009

Before the Cirque du Soleil performers pranced onto the outdoor stage in the sweltering heat Sunday, bushels of ice cubes were flung across the wooden floor to cool the surface for the hands and feet of dancers. A crowd of hundreds, hot but patiently watching at the Grove shopping center, cheered as if this safety step was part of the show.

Onstage, Sebastien Coin, encased in a yellow striped unitard, balanced his body horizontally on one hand and languidly eyed his rapt audience.

As dazzling as the acrobatics was the troupe's ability not to sweat. But then, the entire Cirque du Soleil organization seems not to be sweating anything in Los Angeles -- particularly its ambitious plan to create a show, install it permanently in the Kodak Theatre and present it at least 368 times a year.

Of course Cirque du Soleil's billionaire founder, Guy Laliberte', has made a habit of taking chances -- one of his biggest ones being his trip here with his then-fledgling group in 1987 to perform when he had no money to get back to Canada if the show bombed. (It didn't). Now, the company has 19 shows -- nine of them permanent -- and tours the world. Laliberte', who is training in Russia to ride on a Soyuz spacecraft next month, is also well-known for his high-stakes poker playing in Las Vegas. Blogs gossip about his supposed hefty losses. "He's never ever mentioned how much he's lost," said Cirque representative Rene'e-Claude Me'nard. "He's a risk-taker."

And so, it appears, is the city of Los Angeles. The plan to bring Cirque du Soleil here would require the city to approve a $30-million loan to the owners of the Hollywood & Highland shopping center where the Kodak -- best-known as the home of the Academy Awards show -- is located. The theater would have to be retrofitted for Cirque du Soleil. The money comes from a $350-million federal fund for the city to use on economic development. CIM Group, the company that owns the shopping complex, says the installation of the show would create 858 jobs at Hollywood & Highland in retail, restaurants and entertainment.

In addition to the city's loan, CIM would contribute $20 million to the project and Cirque du Soleil would put in $50 million.

The City Council is expected to vote to approve the loan today. Council President Eric Garcetti -- whose district includes the shopping center -- has said the show would be a magnet for tourists.

Councilman Dennis Zine has been the lone critic on the council, saying initially last week when he first found out about the project that he was concerned about concentrating the $30 million on one venture.

"Since then, we've done some research," said Zine, noting that his staff is trying to find out how well the six different and permanent Cirque du Soleil shows in Las Vegas are selling. Zine said he still would probably not vote to approve it -- if he attends the council meeting at all. A reserve police officer, he is scheduled for mandatory training today. But, he added about the project, "I am softening on it."

Zine said he was glad to know that CIM and Cirque du Soleil were contributing money to the project. "Would they invest $50 million of their own money if they thought it was going to fail?" asked the councilman, who said he has seen two Cirque du Soleil shows. He wondered if Cirque will be a big draw here. "I imagine if they're going to put $50 million in it, they're going to make it a big draw."

But hasn't everyone everywhere seen at least one incarnation of Cirque du Soleil, which just celebrated its 25th anniversary and plans a seventh permanent show in Las Vegas at the end of the year?

It doesn't matter, says James Hadley, senior artistic director for Cirque's North American shows. "Our biggest challenge is not about diluting the brand," Hadley said as he stood in the shade watching his performers go onstage at the Grove. "It's letting people know each show is different. People see Cirque du Soleil once and think, 'Well, I can cross that off my list.' One of the reasons we came to the Grove is to show how different each show is." On Sunday afternoon, performers from each of the six Vegas shows performed an excerpt from their shows.

The Kodak Theatre show would be new and centered on a history of the movies -- as befits the Hollywood location. And referring to the legendary story of Laliberte''s gamble on Los Angeles in 1987, he said, "now to come back to Los Angeles is just a wonderful way to complete the circle."

"A lot of the performers in our show are from Los Angeles," said Eric Newton, who plays the cartoonishly fat usher from the Cirque show "Criss Angel Believe." "I'm from Los Angeles . . . Hollywood & Highland has fun stuff. But there's nothing this grand in a place that should have something this grand."

[dragonsky]

Cirque du Soleil is ready to go Hollywood in 2011 at the Kodak Theatre
-- Reed Johnson
The Los Angeles Times
December 16, 2009 | 12:00 pm

Kodaktheatre As we reported in Tuesday's Calendar section, Cirque du Soleil is bringing more of its big-top antics to Las Vegas this week with the opening of its latest dancing, trampolining extravaganza, "Viva Elvis." The homage to the king of rock 'n' roll is christening the brand-new 2,000-seat theater at the Aria Casino and Resort in Sin City's massive new CityCenter complex.

(For more on CityCenter's big gamble to bring back Vegas' pre-recession swagger, read Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne's take.)

Now the Montreal-based Cirque is looking ahead to one of its next opening nights, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood and Highland in 2011.

In an interview last week in Las Vegas, Gilles Ste-Croix, Cirque's senior vice president of creative content and new projects development, and Ste'phane Mongeau, executive producer of "Viva Elvis," confirmed that Cirque is on track to bring a $100-million Hollywood-themed show to the 3,400-seat theater that hosts the annual Oscars ceremony.

"It's coming along," Ste-Croix said in Que'becois-accented English. "Right now, they will transform the theater because it's a theater for the Oscar, but we want to have the possibility of [installing a] lift and all that, to have scenery change, new rigging points and all that. So they have to transform the theater."

Ste-Croix suggested that Cirque also will reconfigure the seating arrangement of the vast Kodak space to make it feel a bit more intimate. Although Cirque's new Hollywood production will be performed year-round, for something on the order of 368 shows annually, it likely won't be able to fill a 3,400-seat house for that many performances. After all, as tourist meccas go, Hollywood isn't quite on the order of Las Vegas.

"Probably the top balcony we won't use," Ste-Croix said, adding that Cirque figured on a regular audience not of 3,000 but rather about 2,000.

As for the new show's Hollywood theme, Ste-Croix said, "We cannot avoid this approach, to go to the movie."

"But it has nothing to do with all the blockbuster movies that happen," he added. "It's more about cinema as a tool and cinema as how-it-came, where-it-come-from. You know, cinema originally was a magic trick. And that's all it was. And then it evolved into vaudeville ... and it became little [snippets] that they were representing in black and white with no sound. And then it evolved [into] telling story, when sound came about. And so that's a very interesting thing to go into with acrobatics and with dance and music. So we're having a good time."

Cirque expects the show to open sometime after the 2011 Academy Awards.

"The thing is that we have to think of a show that we can unload," Ste-Croix said. "It's their theater, so we have to take out the stuff, put it back. But I know that they will use the lift we're putting in!"

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/12/cirque-du-soleil-is-going-hollywood-in-2011.html

[dragonsky]

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The Dish: W Hollywood ready for the spotlight
The chic new hotel, boasting a signature French-Mediterranean restaurant and two glitzy bars, is set to open its doors Thursday.
-- Jessica Gelt and Betty Hallock
The Los Angeles Times
January 27, 2010

The hotly anticipated W Hollywood is ready for its close-up. The u"ber-modern hotel is set to open Thursday along with its resident restaurant, Delphine, and its two bars, Station Hollywood and the Living Room. Delphine is the work of Innovative Dining Group (Sushi Roku, BOA Steakhouse, Katana and Robata Bar). With Delphine, IDG hopes to dip its toes into the Riviera with a menu of French classics and plenty of Mediterranean influences from executive chef Sascha Lyon.

6250 Hollywood Blvd. (323) 798.1355; www.restaurantdelphine.com.

Ode to Mardi Gras

Artist Clare Crespo has been busy getting ready for Mardi Gras next month. There will be seafood gumbo, oysters on the half shell, shrimp cocktail, soft-shell crabs, catfish po' boy, beignets and cafe au lait, and king cake. The entire feast will be made lovingly -- with yarn. From Feb. 6 to 21, Crespo's crocheted food exhibit, "Laissez le Bon Crochet Rouler," will be on display at Heath Ceramics.

525 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 965-0800, www.heath ceramics.com.

Stinkers kitsch

It was just a little over a year ago that Bobby Green and his 1933 Group opened the kitschy truck-stop-inspired bar Stinkers in Silver Lake.

Now, according to Green's publicist, Green has grown tired of his own handiwork and wants to trade up to something a bit classier than fake skunk butts that emit steam when a bartender pulls the cord of a big-rig horn. Green plans to auction off the bar's '70s-themed de'cor on Feb. 9.

2939 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 661-6007, www .stinkerstruckstop.com.

Also

Chefs Onil Chiba's and Alberto Morales opened Elements Kitchen in Pasadena.

37 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena. (626) 440-0044; www.elementskitchen.com.


The W Hollywood Hotel & Residences: An urban complexity
The new complex is one part Hollywood vanity and one part subway plaza. The results are ungainly, but an interesting experiment in city planning.
By Christopher Hawthorne architecture critic
The Los Angeles Times
January 29, 2010

Think of the new W Hollywood Hotel & Residences complex as equal parts Chateau Marmont, L.A. Live and Pershing Square.

The 15-story, $600-million development, designed by Dallas-based architecture firm HKS, combines on a single L-shaped site the W's hotel and condominium towers with a 375-unit apartment block called 1600 Vine. The whole ensemble is draped in gigantic billboards, wrapped around a sizable public plaza leading to a Metro Red Line subway stop and squeezed in next to the landmark 1924 Taft Building at Hollywood and Vine.

The rather ungainly result, set to open officially this morning, is not what you'd call an elegant addition to the rapidly expanding Hollywood skyline. And yet few recent projects have had more to say about the state of contemporary urbanism in Southern California than this one. It symbolizes almost perfectly a city that is groping toward a denser, more vertical and more public future while still reluctant to abandon its love affair with the car and the glossier, more exclusive corners of celebrity culture.

As urban real-estate developments begin to combine high-end hotel rooms with residential and retail space, they are presenting fresh challenges for architects, primarily having to do with producing separate lobbies and dedicated elevators for each section of a building. The W, rising on land owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and a full decade in the making, adds another layer of complexity to that equation. Along with channeling flows of tourists, hotel guests, commuters, tenants and diners, it has to account for the peculiar whims of Hollywood vanity -- accommodating bold-faced names who on some visits will be ready to meet the cameras and on others anxious to slip inside unnoticed.

Hotel guests will enter the lobby on a red carpet: one leads in from the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard, skirting one edge of the Metro plaza, the other from a valet drop-off. Inside, they'll find a grand, high-ceilinged space full of chances to pursue further conspicuousness, including a pedestrian bridge near the ceiling that resembles a suspended catwalk and a curving staircase lined with still more red fabric and wraps around a corkscew-shaped hanging LED chandelier.

Upstairs, suites grouped together on the second and third floors of the hotel are specifically outfitted for press junkets, aiming to steal some industry revenue from the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, which has long owned the lion's share of that business. Hotel executives say they conducted focus groups on junkets with a range of people in the film industry and tweaked the design of the 20 suites accordingly, giving them extra-large bathrooms to accommodate hair and makeup crews and heavy-duty electrical panels that help cut down on the need for long cables, among other features.

Those suites and the rest of the hotel rooms, designed by the Portland, Ore., firms Designstudio Ltd. and Architropolis, offer what their chief designer, Sharilyn Olson Rigdon, calls a mixture of "Barbarella"-style Hollywood and 1960s L.A. Modern. Like the condominiums, they are most notable for the remarkable views they offer of the Hollywood Hills and of landmarks, including the nearby Capitol Records Tower and Griffith Observatory.

On the top floor of the hotel tower is a bachelor suite featuring a small raised area that includes a stripper pole -- or rather did include a stripper pole until city building inspectors, according to Olson Rigdon, asked the W to remove it because the area wasn't wheelchair accessible. (Any elevated space inside a hotel room with a dedicated use has to accommodate wheelchairs; removing the pole, apparently, was enough to remove the use.)

The highlight of the hotel's rooftop pool area is a curving cabana wrapped in aluminum scales; it was designed by Daly Genik Architects, which also was responsible for the condominium interiors and the striking Douglas fir-lined lobby for the condo tower. Kevin Daly, a founder of the firm, said the W asked him to design the cabana as "a Venus' flytrap for supermodels."

The complex will also cater, however, to a high-end client base that will be less interested in bottle service or keen to avoid cellphone cameras and the junket scene altogether. Condo owners using a dedicated car turnaround can bypass the hotel lobby completely. Inside the hotel, a sequestered series of suites offers direct and private access to a fourth-floor outpost of Bliss Spa, where detox services will be on the menu alongside the anti-aging mushroom enzyme peel. And hidden discreetly a few steps from the pool deck is a separate series of cabanas -- also designed by Daly Genik -- available for purchase by condo owners, giving them dedicated private space on the rooftop level.

Even as it aims for well-heeled and expense-account business, the project, developed by Legacy Partners of Foster City, Calif., and Gatehouse Capital Corp. of Dallas, is among the largest transit-oriented developments, or TODs, yet completed in Los Angeles. It has provided the Red Line's Hollywood and Vine station with an attractive new yellow-glass canopy, designed by Rios Clementi Hale Studios, which also oversaw the W's skillful landscape design. On the other side of the complex, the apartment block includes 78 units set aside for low-income tenants.

The residential component of the development seems likely to speed the maturation of the surrounding neighborhood, which particularly in the blocks to the south and west is shaking off a seedy reputation to emerge as the one of the more vital, walkable parts of Los Angeles. Along with a number of cafes, restaurants and new residential buildings, the district contains Amoeba Music, the ArcLight and Pantages theaters, the Hotel Cafe and the popular Space 15 Twenty retail complex.

Under the direction of art consultant Tiffiny Lendrum, the W has also put its 1%-for-art budget to unusually ambitious use, commissioning projects for the public areas by Jennifer Steinkamp, Pae White, Christian Moeller and Erwin Redl.

In its ambition and design IQ, the W is a clear step up from the 2001 Hollywood & Highland complex, which pioneered the large-scale TOD concept in this part of Los Angeles. Still, it's a pity that the spirit animating the handful of really ambitious design touches on display couldn't have been extended to cover the whole project. On the exterior, in particular, the HKS architects were visibly hamstrung by the demands of this very tricky site, creating an awkwardly proportioned series of sky bridges, curtain walls, terraces and billboard scaffolding that never coheres as a whole.

What it will mean for the civic fabric of a quickly gentrifying, densifying Hollywood remains to be seen. The W brings together several parts of L.A. culture that typically spin in separate orbits, raising the question of how much these groups will actually interact under the complex's aggressive neon glow. Will junketeering reporters from London newspapers and Chilean TV rub shoulders with commuters, publicists or hotel guests in the lobby bar? Will the condo owners and the apartment tenants find any common ground?

From that point of view, the W Hollywood isn't just an urban-planning experiment for Los Angeles. It's something of a sociological one too.

[pesto]

Interesting but a bit overblown. The different social groups will still spin in their own orbits even if they do it in the same place.

The main point is people, action and services at a key corner, next to a subway station. At least 3 blocks in each direction should be positively influenced (and by positive I mean new development, cleaning-up old, increased traffic for small businesses) .

[dragonsky]

Why go home when there's MyHouse?
David Judaken's new 10,000-square-foot lounge has a bedroom, kitchen and hot tub.
The Los Angeles Times
January 09, 2009|Charlie Amter

Friday night in Hollywood, actors and celebutantes instantly recognizable to viewers of TMZ will likely descend upon the intersection of La Brea Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard. Where are they heading? To MyHouse. No, not my one-bedroom apartment (thank God), but David Judaken's new multimillion-dollar lounge dubbed MyHouse.

"There's nothing more appealing to anyone who wants to go out than a good house party," explained Judaken, the club's co-owner, from inside MyHouse earlier this month. "A house party evokes a very different feel than a nightclub," he continued, as he walked through MyHouse's "bedroom," which includes an honest-to-goodness bed and nearby bathtub.

And while the concept of a club modeled after an upscale home is certainly not new (see icrave design's Villa on Melrose Avenue, which feels like a swank Hollywood Hills abode and boasts a faux library), few have taken the concept this far.

Walking into MyHouse, formerly Garden of Eden, is akin to leafing through the pages of Dwell magazine, with slick nickel-scaled ceilings, a dramatic glass-lined staircase, a functional kitchen as one of the venue's bars (the "bar" is a kitchen island), a living room with plush $8,000 Mogul couches, a second-floor bedroom and even a hot tub on the patio.

"It's just perfect," said Judaken of the 10,000-square-foot venue's Minimalist look, which he commissioned Dodd Mitchell (Thompson Beverly Hills) to design. Perfect for luring L.A.'s legions of interior design, that is, which is part of Judaken's plan to attract the top 10% of L.A.'s after-dark players -- the kind of people who may not be affected by the recession.

"People who go out in Los Angeles are increasingly venue-savvy," he said. "If you are going to change the Garden of Eden [where Judaken had a decade-long run], you better wow them. Our audience today is so much more sophisticated than they were four years ago."

According to the 38-year-old, design is an essential component of MyHouse. "It's all about guest retention," he said. "The response I've been getting is exactly what I wanted to achieve. When guests say, 'I've never felt comfortable like this [in a club],' I know they will be back. The trend these days is toward smaller places where you define your quality, what you want from your guests."

So what does Judaken want from his customers, who have in the past had no problem dropping $400 or more on bottle service at some of his other venues such as Opera? For starters, he wants a willingness to spend on luxury.

MyHouse
http://www.myhousehollywood.com/

[dragonsky]

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2010-03/52810267.jpg

NIGHT LIFE: Drai's at the W Hollywood
Victor Drai's new club brings Sin City style to Tinseltown. Can it sustain the allure?
By Jessica Gelt
The Los Angeles Times
March 19, 2010

"If this place is so hard to get into, then what's he doing here?" asked 28-year-old Alex Van de Camp, gesturing to an overweight man standing just behind him on the front patio of Drai's, the white-hot new nightclub on the rooftop of the W Hollywood Hotel.

Van de Camp's two friends laughed uncomfortably. He had verbalized what generally remains unspoken in Hollywood: the Darwinian nature of the velvet rope. In this case, the strong and beautiful get into Drai's and the weak go to less-discriminating Sunset Strip bars like Saddle Ranch.

Opened earlier this month by Las Vegas night-life baron Victor Drai and partners Cy and Jesse Waits, Drai's covers more than 20,000 square feet and has a capacity of nearly 800. That doesn't make it a mega club by Vegas standards, but its arrival makes official a trend that has been evolving for several years now: Hollywood's embrace of over-the-top Vegas-style night life.

Drai's is just a short hike east on Hollywood Boulevard from three other large-scale nightclubs: the 38,000-square-foot Kress, the 33,000-square-foot Avalon / Bardot and the 13,000-square-foot Playhouse. It'll take an awful lot of skinny, pretty people to fill all that space. But Drai isn't worried.

"We already turn down two or three thousand people a night," said the 62-year-old French entrepreneur, who was once a Hollywood film producer and counts "The Woman in Red" and "Weekend at Bernie's" among his credits. "I think we can keep that volume up; I keep it up in Vegas."

But -- despite aspirations to the contrary -- Hollywood is not Las Vegas. For starters, you can't tote your plastic Eiffel Tower-shaped cup of fruity booze down the street with you, nor can you drink it in a club past 2 a.m. You also can't win $10,000 at blackjack and spend the rest of your night ordering $500 bottles of vodka for the wispy waifs you picked up at the topless pool at Caesars Palace.

This doesn't bother Drai either because Hollywood, like Vegas, is full of out-of-town visitors. Aspiring party people from all over Southern California flock to Tinseltown on the weekends hoping for a celebrity sighting or a taste of the glam life they see on "Entourage" and "The Hills."

These same people know and trust the Drai's brand, said co-owner Jesse Waits. "Forty percent of our market in Las Vegas is from Southern California," he said of the trio's Sin City holdings -- Drai's After Hours at Bill's Gamblin' Hall, Tryst at Wynn Las Vegas and XS at Encore. "It's a huge piece of our business."

But Hollywood is fickle, and the long line of perfectly coiffed aspirants waiting impatiently for the affirmative nod of a stoic doorman and a personal escort to an elevator that will soar them skyward to Drai's inner sanctum and its $65 carafes of sweet coco margaritas could very well head to the next hot opening a few months from now.

That's why pumping a staggering $15 million into building Drai's was a gamble worthy of a man known as one of the high rollers of Las Vegas night life. The uncertainty of the odds will only make the taste of victory sweeter, and Drai is betting that he can make Drai's last.

"There's no place as beautiful as mine in the city," he said of his club, which features a series of connected, plush, silver-and-gold banquettes -- Drai and others like to walk along the top of them to get to other booths. The room is decked out in tall, mirrored columns around which paid dancers in tiny, bottom-baring outfits writhe and pout; a custom DJ booth framed in smooth wood; a rollicking dance floor; a poolside bar; and luxe Moroccan-style cabanas and daybeds.

There is also a restaurant -- a polished French and Mediterranean steakhouse helmed by former Ma Maison chef Claude Segal -- that serves lunch and dinner before the club fires up at 10 p.m.

Drai's celebrated its grand opening just a few days ago, but it soft-opened a few weeks back. E! hosted its Oscar party there and the space provided the picture-perfect backdrop for a packed scene of glitz, glamour and semi-absurdity (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who played the adorably awkward McLovin in "Superbad," was spotted hanging out with Audrina Patridge from "The Hills," while Crispin Glover stood nearby, alone and texting).

The following weekend saw the stampede of business that brought the faithful as well as the skeptical, like young Van de Camp. "The best places in Hollywood are the smallest places," said Van de Camp. "They should model their clubs after SBE and Hyde. When you get in, you feel important."

"Let's go to Hyde then," said his friend, 26-year-old Spencer Shreber.

"No, I can't get in," said Van de Camp.

As far as Drai is concerned, only the right people get into his club too -- just more of them.

"Twenty-five-thousand people from all over the world come to my clubs every week in Vegas alone," he said. "And now they're coming to L.A.," where "you have 200,000 girls who want to be around guys with money. It's that simple."

Drai's at the W Hollywood
Where: 6250 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles
When: 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Wednesdays through Sundays
Price: Cocktails $10 to $15; cover $20 without table reservation
Contact: (323) 962-1111, www.draishollywood.com

[dragonsky]

Filming in L.A. jumps 25% in first quarter
By Richard Verrier
The Los Angeles Times
March 31, 2010

A robust TV pilot season, a substantially improved climate for shooting commercials and the state's new film incentive helped deliver a modicum of good news to Los Angeles' beleaguered production economy in the first quarter.

Overall on-location filming activity for feature films, television and commercials jumped 25% during the first three months of 2010 compared with the same period last year, according to data from FilmL.A. Inc., the nonprofit group that handles permits for on-location filming for L.A. and unincorporated areas of the county.

"The level of production has exceeded our expectations this quarter," said Todd Lindgren, spokesman for FilmL.A. "We're starting to see commercials swing up, more of the state incentive productions out on the streets of L.A., and a better pilot season than we had forecast."

The upturn is welcome news to tens of thousands of workers who work behind the scenes on film sets and who've been hard hit by a production downturn over the last two years caused by labor unrest, recession and the migration of work outside of California. On-location production last year posted its steepest annual decline since tracking began in 1993.

Although on-location shoots remain well below the levels of 2007, there were notable signs of improvement across all categories in the first quarter.

Leading the way were commercials, which saw about a 60% increase in production days this quarter over the same period a year ago. A production day is defined as a single crew's permission to film at a single location over a 24-hour period.

Economic recovery and a greater willingness among advertisers to spend money brought a flurry of shoots to L.A. locations for such clients as Chevy Trucks, Subaru, AT&T, Best Buy and Miller Light, FilmL.A. said.

On-location shoots for television rose 19%, reflecting a much-improved pilot season over last year, when the major TV studios reduced spending and limited on-location shoots of locally based dramas like "NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

About 30 pilots are shooting around L.A., which has been steadily losing market share to other states and to Canadian cities Vancouver and Toronto. Those include NBC's remake of the 1970s TV series "The Rockford Files," starring Dermot Mulroney and Beau Bridges; and a Fox TV comedy "Traffic Light," featuring David Denman and Alexandra Breckenridge.

Feature production, the hardest hit by so-called runaway production, posted a 6% gain in activity in the quarter. But the sector would have been harder hit had it not been for the state's film tax credits, which took effect last year, Lindgren said. At least a dozen features approved under the program have been shooting locally, including an independent crime comedy, "The Last Godfather," starring Harvey Keitel, and the Screen Gems drama "Burlesque," starring Cher.

"There is no question the incentive is putting productions on the street that would not otherwise have been in the state," Lindgren said. "They are employing crews and spending money in the local economy."

[dragonsky]

http://www.watg.com/uploads/images/portfolio_96280C4C-3048-78A8-DB01C0CC9907044A.jpg
West Hollywood's House of Blues isn't going anywhere -- for now
The Los Angeles Times
September 10, 2010 | 5:47 pm

A proposed hotel/condominium project has cast some doubt over the future of West Hollywood's House of Blues outpost, but operators of the Live Nation-owned Sunset Strip club intend to stay in the neighborhood. If a wrecking ball ultimately hits the 1,000-capacity venue, don't expect it to strike in the near future. The club has a lease until 2012, and any demolition would not occur until the potentially lengthy process of securing financing and permits has been completed.

The West Hollywood City Council voted 4-1 this week in favor of moving forward on the development of a project dubbed "Sunset Time," which, according to a release from the city, will include a "boutique hotel, condominium units, a live entertainment venue and other commercial uses." The House of Blues has an option to renew its lease in 2012 for an additional 13 years, until 2025.

Reached by phone, House of Blues general manager Marcus Nicolaidis read the company's official statement: "We have a lease, which with renewals rights, goes through 2025, and we plan on continuing our operations at the venue and look forward to being a continued part of the West Hollywood community."

A news release from the city of West Hollywood indicates that the House of Blues could still be a part of the planned development, which is to include 149 hotel rooms and 40 condos. "The City’s hope is to either retain the House of Blues at its current location or another location within the City of West Hollywood," reads the statement.

The Sunset Strip has of late been attempting to rebrand itself as a music destination. Since the decline in popularity of L.A.'s metal scene in the late '80s, the Strip has been seen more as a tourist stop rather than a place for up-and-coming bands, which have migrated to clubs in Silver Lake and Echo Park.

"I personally don’t think the House of Blues is going anywhere. We have spent the last four or five years finding ourselves and getting our music scene back on track," said Roxy owner Nic Adler, the man leading the charge in changing the Strip's reputation.

Adler has been working to foster a sense of community between clubs and helped create the Sunset Strip Music Festival, which just celebrated its third year with performances by the Smashing Pumpkins, Common and Kid Cudi, among others. Adler describes the House of Blues as a "cornerstone" of the West Hollywood's music scene, and said the local "business community understands its relevance."

"If we were all hotels, we’d have a lot of hotel beds but nowhere for people to go," Adler said. "We always need to make sure we balance the entertainment options and music options. We need some new stuff on the Strip. We have an amazing history, but we need to constantly reintroduce people to the Strip. We need some different projects up here that will draw people. But that [space] is contingent on having a music venue space in it."

The city's approval of the project allows for construction to begin anytime in the next 10 years. "The property owner may now seek financing and begin to explore operators for the property," continued the statement from the city. "No demolition of existing buildings will occur until construction financing is secure and building permits have been issued, a process that is estimated to take at least one year and potentially longer."

Nicolaidis refused to comment beyond reading the statement from the House of Blues, but Adler is adamant that the House of Blues isn't leaving the Strip, which recently underwent a cosmetic face-lift. But if the House of Blues' days are indeed numbered, indications are that it won't go down without a fight.

"If that project does go through, there has to be a significant music/entertainment portion," Adler said. "It’s not easy just to start a new place and put new music in. To replace something as iconic as the House of Blues would be a feat. I know council wants to show that they are pro new business to the Strip, I also know they know the value of House of Blues.

"If it’s not the House of Blues or better," Adler continued, "and if it’s not something that is a real music venue, I don’t think it’s going to have the support of the business community. We need to be adding and enhancing to the music of the Strip right now and not taking venues away."

--Todd Martens


Read More: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2010/09/west-hollywoods-house-of-blues-isnt-going-anywhere-for-now.html

[dragonsky]

Gensler-Designed Tower and More Proposed for KTLA Studio Block
CURBED Los Angeles
Friday, September 17, 2010, by Dakota

Another day, another development proposal for Hollywood. Hudson Pacific Properties wants to remake portions of the historic block-long KTLA Studio property along Sunset Boulevard, one of the oldest studio lots in the city. What the developer is proposing: A 13-story Gensler-designed office tower, a five-story production office building, and seven-story parking structure. Additionally, they're looking to renovate the Colonial-style mansion and relocate the famous KTLA radio tower to another spot on the property, according to Christopher Barton, Executive Vice President, Operations and Development at Hudson Pacific Properties. "It's an old lot, it's tired," says Barton, explaining why the firm wants to update the property. This isn't the first renovation proposed: In the 1990s, previous owner Tribune wanted to put up two large towers, but Barton now calls previous plans "too massive."

Here's the breakdown of what's planned.

--13-story office tower, which will be located at southwest corner of Van Ness Avenue and Sunset Boulevard (designs won't be finalized until a tenant is picked)

--Move the radio tower to the west, and in front, of the mansion, to its original location

--5-story production building

--7-story parking structure with 1,635 spaces, including 2 below grade levels, along Van Ness Avenue.


Read More: http://la.curbed.com/archives/2010/09/the_owner_of_the_historic.php