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LAMetroGuy Aug 26, 2005 5:05 PM

August 26, 2005 – Live The Hollywood Life at New Condo Tower

Article Date: 08/26/05

Full Story:
An exciting new upscale condo project is underway in the heart of Hollywood, as Metro Modern Developers just broke ground on The Hollywood, a five-story development at 6735 Yucca St, just east of Highland Ave and north of Hollywood Blvd. The Hollywood will consist of 54 two- and three-bedroom units featuring spectacular city views, 18-foot ceilings, a resort-style pool and lounge, and two levels of subterranean parking.

The Hollywood is the first significant new condominium project to be built in Hollywood in decades and represents an important element of the ongoing urban renaissance of Hollywood. The development, which is slated for completion in late 2006, should have a significant influence on the future of residential development in the area.

“The design aesthetic of The Hollywood has been created with an eye toward reinventing the modern image of the city,” said Stephen Kanner, from Kanner Architects, the architect on The Hollywood. “Hollywood’s historic art deco architecture will serve as a backdrop for this new landmark that points the way forward, toward a visual style that captures the vibe of today’s Hollywood.”

As vital as the project’s sleek, edgy look will be in attracting buyers, The Hollywood’s location is also sure to be a major selling point. It is positioned in the center of the hottest nightlife in the city, heralding a return to the days when Hollywood was the place to see or be seen in Los Angeles. Rokbar and Lucky Strike, Geisha House and the Egyptian Theater, Nacional and the Knitting Factory—all are just steps from the front door. The project is also a short walk away from the Red Line subway station at Hollywood and Highland, connecting residents to the 17-mile system providing service throughout Los Angeles.

“Because of its prime location, The Hollywood is already a hot property among the young elite of the entertainment industry,” said Gabriel Tauber, managing partner of Metro Modern Developers. “Residents will have the luxury of enjoying a fun night out on the town and then literally walking home to their amazing condo. In the car- and cab-driven culture of Los Angeles, that level of proximity to so many dining and entertainment options is a unique and remarkable amenity.”

dktshb Aug 26, 2005 6:57 PM

^

They tore down the existing apartments almost overnight. Just across the street of this new development is a span of asphalt parking lots that encompass 2 city blocks (probably the biggest concentration of open air parking lots in Hollywood). I would like to see something happen with these lots.

cookiejarvis Aug 26, 2005 7:53 PM

And just to think, back in the early eighties even me and my punker friends would be creeped out by the general mayhem of the Hollywood neighborhoods.

Still wondering what's going on at the SE corner of Franklin and Highland Ave. The sheltered walkway is up along the sidewalk and there's a real estate sign on the empty lot promising some sort of luxury (or retirement) apartment breaking ground. The dumpy office building next to it also appears to be either getting a facelift or prepping for demolition.

LAMetroGuy Aug 26, 2005 8:02 PM

and what's up with the northeast corner of Hollywood and Highland... that building would make a nice something!

POLA Aug 26, 2005 8:04 PM

Quote:

The Hollywood is the first significant new condominium project to be built in Hollywood in decades
What about Sunset and Vine? Anyways, five stories isn't anything exciting, But I hope it sparks some more interest in this area.

LosAngelesBeauty Aug 26, 2005 8:11 PM

^ Sunset and Vine is a for lease property. The Hollywood will be for sale. Of course, the W. the Nederlander's project, and the Sunset Tower will get the most attention when they're completed.

yeah215 Sep 8, 2005 5:18 PM

Some Hollywood Stars Are Fading Away
Famous five-starred streetlights are being replaced with a vintage style as area's revamp continues.
By David Pierson
Times Staff Writer

September 8, 2005

Hollywood Boulevard, that aging starlet, is getting another face-lift. And right now, they're doing the eyes.

Workers are busily pulling down the distinctive boxy street lamps adorned with five stars that have welcomed visitors to the boulevard since the 1960s.

Sure, the lamps are famous enough to have adorned postcards. But to many in Hollywood, they are just an unpleasant reminder of Hollywood Boulevard's sad old days of decline.

In their place are rising faux historic street lamps modeled to look like the ones that lined the street during its heyday in the 1930s.

Which is another way of saying, "Let's forget about the unfortunate '80s."

Twenty years after the Community Redevelopment Agency and other city entities began to clean up the boulevard, Hollywood is the closest it has been in decades to freeing itself of its seedy side.

Today, tourists swarm the intersection of Hollywood and Highland, snapping pictures with Star Wars characters in front of the multistory mall, drinking ice cream floats at the Disney-owned soda fountain or catching a film at the Disney-owned El Capitan theater. Even the Roosevelt Hotel has reinvented itself into a hipper-than-thou hangout, where fashionistas and paparazzi drool over the prospect of entering the hallowed grounds of the poolside Tropicana Bar.

There has been much debate over the years over whether the city's extensive and expensive efforts to revitalize Hollywood Boulevard have worked — and to what degree the city's efforts are responsible for the current boom. The redevelopment agency has spent $120 million in Hollywood since 1986, including $90 million in subsidies just for the Hollywood/Highland complex and millions more for an earlier boulevard face-lift that involved adding statues and spotlights on the street. (The five-star lights were the product of an even earlier redevelopment effort, in the late 1960s.)

The latest effort is comparatively cheap: about $1 million to renovate 154 street lamps. But backers say it's an important move.

"The streetlights are another piece of the puzzle," said Leron Gubler, president of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. "They symbolize the coming together of the city and the businesses to restore the ambience of the neighborhood. You have to start somewhere."

The outgoing five-star lamps may be recognizable the world over during broadcasts of the Hollywood Christmas Parade. But they had also become a headache to the city and organizers of that event.

The wiring was deteriorating, shutting off some of the Christmas lights, connected to the streetlights' wiring, during the parade. The wattage was not bright enough to illuminate both the street and the sidewalk, especially on a misty day. And those red stars on the sides of the lamps? Those were supposed to light up.

The new lamps have teardrop heads on two arms at the top, giving them a similar look to the vintage lights that line the Miracle Mile stretch of Wilshire Boulevard. But these lamps also have a third arm hanging over the sidewalk.

"The new lights will help pedestrian traffic," Gubler said. "We want people to feel safe."

They're already paying dividends for Saeid Askari, manager of Hollywood Tourist Gifts, across the street from the Hollywood & Highland Center.

"It's brighter and it looks better," said Askari, 28. "There used to be a lot of drug dealers outside."

Two years ago, he said, someone tried to hold up his store, a high-ceilinged space draped with posters of movie stars and stocked with Academy Award replica statues, refrigerator magnets and Hollywood T-shirts. The would-be burglar didn't get away with any money, but he broke the cashier's hand while lunging for the cash register, Askari said.

"We can close at 1 or 2 in the morning now because people feel more safe," Askari said.

Ruben Bailon, a liberally pierced tattoo artist who runs a parlor near Hollywood and Vine, touts the new lights with the conviction of a Chamber of Commerce official.

"I'm behind anything that will help Hollywood become more positive and get rid of the filth," said Bailon, 31. "Without being tacky, they should give this town a sense of age again."

The lamps have even won over some longtime Hollywood stalwarts who are not completely happy with the district's sparkling new look.

"I think they fit the Hollywood look better," said Gita Bull, an afternoon-shift bartender at the ageless Frolic Room next to the Pantages Theatre. "I mean, I don't sit outside looking at the lights all day, but I like them better."

Ask her about Hollywood/Highland — the mega-development of restaurants, shops and an auditorium that plays host to the Academy Awards as well as concerts — and her face contorts in disgust.

"I don't even go down there," Bull said. "The only attraction is Sephora [a cosmetics shop], because I'm a girl. But it's so tourist-oriented. We need it, but how about the locals?"

Gubler appreciates Disney's investment on the boulevard and said it would not result in a so-called Disneyfication of Hollywood, as some New Yorkers have charged Times Square of undergoing.

"It's in no one's interest to push out the things that make Hollywood unique and edgy," Gubler said. "The intention is not to turn the whole thing into Disneyland. The nightlife is a major attraction. The sex shops I'd rather see elsewhere; I think most businesses would."

Hollywood Boulevard was developed as the Los Angeles area pushed west out of downtown. During the 1920s and '30s, it was considered one of the region's most fashionable districts, home to various boutiques and a slate of department stores.

But after World War II, the boulevard began a gradual decline. By the 1970s, it was known much more as a tourist trap — and a slightly seedy one at that — rather than an upscale shopping area. Crime rose. In 1994 another slap in the face came when subway construction caused the sidewalk to buckle and sink, forcing workers to remove 27 Walk of Fame stars from the terrazzo.

Hollywood's turnaround began later that decade as trendy bars and restaurants opened along Hollywood and Sunset boulevards. Large developments such as the ArcLight theater complex and Hollywood/Highland followed.

It feels safer now, Bull admits, while adding that the sense of danger in 1980s Hollywood was overblown. "You just had to be cautious and not walk on your own at 3 a.m.," she said.

Hollywood historian Robert Nudelman cannot count how many times Hollywood has undergone a face-lift. This time, he says, they've gotten it right with the lights.

"A lot of the time it was basic maintenance that was needed rather than more froufrou" street renovations, said Nudelman, director for preservation issues at Hollywood Heritage. "Then they'd find there was no money to maintain the changes. So then the new things become part of the problem, like the old lights were. The new lights solve that problem because they're brighter and cheaper to maintain."

Nudelman called the old five-star lights "cheesy" and said the new ones adhered to other historical renovations such as the El Capitan and the Hillview Apartments, which were set ablaze in 2002 and have been restored in all their pink glory as in the 1920s, when they were home to silent film stars of the day.

But he's not so kind when it comes to Hollywood's modern updates, such as the Hollywood & Highland Center or many of the bars and clubs.

"They look like boxes with holes punched in them," said Nudelman, 49. "You can't build anything without billboards."

The thriving nightlife only means that life in the daytime is dormant, he said.

And for the resident of Whitley Avenue off Hollywood Boulevard, weekends can be unbearable.

"There's never any parking," he said. "And at 2 a.m., you get the first wave of yelling and screaming, bottles smashing and cars screeching. You talk about the edgy part of Hollywood — try sleeping at night."

The noise may only get worse as redevelopment continues.

There is a $325-million plan to revamp Hollywood and Vine with a hotel, retail shops and condominiums. The historical facades will be preserved on some buildings, while the others will receive a modern makeover.

For those worried that the face-lift will scar the neighborhood's history, Hollywood's honorary mayor, Johnny Grant, points out that touch-up work can always be done.

"The lights aren't historic," Grant said, "but they look it."

POLA Sep 8, 2005 5:39 PM

Cool.

BTW, here are the revamped Hillview Apartments:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y7/...d/IMG_0139.jpg

LAMetroGuy Sep 8, 2005 6:03 PM

WOW!!! Very nice, and the color matches the stars on the sidewalk!

colemonkee Sep 8, 2005 6:24 PM

Cool. Finally a building with some decorative framework on the columns and the overhangs. I haven't seen that done well in a long time.

POLA Sep 8, 2005 7:23 PM

With those "vintage" street lamps, that building will really look cool. This is the route that I hope more of Hollywood goes (halcyon days a la 1930s). BTW, the Hillview apts. will have retail at the front and the basement (which used to be a speakeasy) will be a jazz club.

LosAngelesBeauty Sep 8, 2005 7:49 PM

What do the old and new lamps look like?


This is fantastic news. If anywhere in LA, Hollywood shouldn't be a quiet residential neighborhood! "This is Hollywood, LA, I hear people say!" Meaning, "Shut the fuck up!" to those who complain about city noise.

You can't escape it though. I was watching 20/20 one night, and they had New Yawkers interviewed complaining about the night life and noise in New York City!

So I guess hearing these little complaints in Hollywood doesn't make me feel so bad. :P

DaveofCali Sep 8, 2005 7:51 PM

^ People are always going to complain. People want the environment to adjust to them even though they chose to live in that environment in the first place!

POLA Sep 8, 2005 10:03 PM

Ok, I am now going to complain... Finding parking in Hollywood on weekends is a HUUUUGEE bitch! Most of the apartments there are street parking and despite many surface lots, they only open at night and cost around 20 to 30 bucks!! At some point, public parking lots should be built to help this and or residents should have permitted street parking in the residential areas.

As for the noise? I don't mind it.

WesTheAngelino Sep 9, 2005 2:23 AM

^ Why the hell should they build public parking when there's 4 metro stops in Hollywood? How about buulding more subway so Hollywierd is accesible to more people w/o a car.

RAlossi Sep 9, 2005 2:41 AM

^ Don't forget to mention that those subway lines should run past midnight, especially for the barhoppers.

LongBeachUrbanist Sep 9, 2005 4:31 AM

The area is going to need more parking, preferably structures whose entrances/exits don't add any more to Hollywood Blvd's traffic. Selma and Franklin are the best streets for parking, IMO. These streets should be rezoned to allow structures there.

The Blvd. also needs a local circulator, to help move people around what has become a very large area. Of the proposals I've heard - trolley car, monorail, etc. - none of them seem very feasible. Maybe a special taxi zone would help.

LosAngelesBeauty Sep 9, 2005 5:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WesTheAngelino
^ Why the hell should they build public parking when there's 4 metro stops in Hollywood? How about buulding more subway so Hollywierd is accesible to more people w/o a car.


I have to agree with that.

POLA Sep 9, 2005 9:16 PM

Hollywood is the new Gold Coast

Million-dollar condos want to be stars on the Walk of Fame

By alison manheim - Thurs., Sept. 8, 2005

Developers are betting that young Hollywood will jump at the chance to buy real estate within stumbling distance of their favored hot spots. The odds would appear to be in their favor. With the ever-growing nightlife, restaurants like the Hungry Cat, Rokbar and Dakota and amenities like the ArcLight cinemas and a Metro Red Line that takes you downtown in minutes, Hollywood Blvd. has much more to offer than schlocky T-shirt shops and confused European tourists. "We believe in Hollywood, always have," says Kate Bartolo, senior VP development at the Kor Group, which also engineered Santa Monica and Palm Springs' Viceroy hotels and the Eastern Columbia building in downtown L.A. Kor is now refashioning the 1927 Broadway Department Store building at Hollywood and Vine into 96 loft units that range in size from 931 to 1,999 square feet. "Hollywood and Vine is literally a globally recognized intersection." While the Broadway Hollywood will release its first phase next month, HEI Hospitality and Gatehouse Capital recently announced plans to develop a mixed-use development consisting of a 296-room W Hotel and 150 residences, plus retail, on another corner. Groundbreaking is expected next spring. Los Angeles-based Metro Modern Developers chose Yucca Street as the site of their 54-unit condo development the Hollywood, which broke ground last month and is expected to be completed by the end of 2006. Designed by Kenner Architects, the two- and three-bedroom units range in size from 1,200 square feet to 2,500-square feet. Mel Kimman, a partner in Metro Modern, likens what's happening in Hollywood now to what happened to Venice Beach and Ocean Park in the early 90's. "We figured, if we build something really cool that we ourselves would like to live in, other people would want to live there, too." Despite Yucca's past incarnation as an open-air drug corridor, Kimman isn't fazed by the prospect of marketing a high-end property in a still-gentrifying area. "When people who work in the film or record business hear about it, they say 'sign me up,' " he says. Live, Work, Play Even with a whiff of grit, you're not getting a discount for living in Hollywood anymore. The 90028 area code has seen condominium prices leap 55% since 2001. New development is more likely to feature swanky poolside lounges modeled after hotel bars than rooms by the week. That's the way the Hollywood Community Redevelopment Agency wanted it. "They were very clear on quality issues," says Phil Simmons, president of Laing Urban, which is seeking final approval for a mixed-use project of 180 condos at La Brea and Hawthorne. "They expected a certain level of quality finishes to attract the kind of homeowner that will further burnish the Hollywood area's image." Further proof that Hollywood can't live by cosmos and saketinis alone.

POLA Sep 9, 2005 9:17 PM

^ The above article had a rendering of "The Hollywood". So here it is:

http://a330.g.akamai.net/7/330/2540/...home_right.jpg

Kitchens have stainless steel appliances and European-style refrigerator. Bathrooms feature free-standing wall-mounted sinks. Recessed and indirect lighting throughout. Sports lounge, spa and pool with fiberoptic lighting. Each unit has 2 ½ parking spaces.

colemonkee Sep 9, 2005 11:53 PM

That's a funky design. Not a big fan of the doo-doo brown color, but the rendering's too small to render final judgement. By the way, other than park a motorcycle, what do you do with 1/2 a parking spot? Hopscotch comes to mind, but you might ding your car if you mess up...

LosAngelesBeauty Sep 10, 2005 8:06 AM

Looks very similar to Kanner's other apt. in Westwood.


http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/8...oodapts5wu.jpg

citywatch Sep 13, 2005 9:16 AM

This article repeats what most ppl already know about the old Hollywood Broadway bldg, except the part about parking space being inserted on the 2nd & 3rd floors. I wonder how that will affect the look of the bldg's exterior & its array of regular glass windows that once served office or store space?:

LA Times, Sept 13, 2005

Broadway Building Gets Loft Conversion

By Roger Vincent, Times Staff Writer

The historic Broadway department store building at one of the most famous intersections in Los Angeles is being converted to 96 luxury condominiums. Kor Group has started renovation of the 10-story building at the southwest corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street that opened in 1927 as a Dyas department store and later became a Broadway branch. It has been vacant for years.

Kor's development is part of a burst of residential development in Hollywood, spurred by growing demand for urban living in some of Los Angeles' older communities. There are roughly 2,560 apartments and condos being planned or under construction in the neighborhood, according to the Hollywood Entertainment District, a property owners' group.

Units ranging from about 930 square feet to 2,000 square feet will be built at the Broadway building as open lofts with finished kitchens and bathrooms, said Tyson Sayles, senior vice president at Los Angeles-based Kor. Units are expected to be priced from $400,000 to $2 million when completed in mid-2006. Shops and a restaurant will occupy the ground floor and parking will be provided on the sub-basement, second and third floors, Sayles said. On top will be a roof garden with pool, cabanas, an exercise room and a spa.

The original building was a 10-story Classical Revival style concrete and steel structure, project architect Wade Killefer said. Then, in 1939, an eight-story Streamline Moderne building, designed by Donald Parkinson, was built to the west of the original building — "interestingly, with no effort to match the original building," Killefer said. The conversion will restore the facade of the addition and the exposed brick of the original 1920s structure. It also will add two stories to the 1939 addition, said Killefer, whose firm also designed Kor's renovations of the Eastern Columbia and Pegasus buildings downtown.

Elsewhere in east Hollywood, Santa Monica-based Palisades Development Group expects to start work next month on 60 loft-style condominiums in the 1929-vintage Equitable office building at the northeast corner of Hollywood and Vine, said Avi Brosh, president of the firm. Other developers plan to build 262 apartments, 96 condominiums and a 300-room W Hotel at the southeast corner by late 2007.

Conversion of a former office building to 90 apartments is slated to begin early next year in the tower at the southeast corner of Sunset Boulevard and Vine. Los Angeles developer CIM Group expects to complete the project in 2007, a spokeswoman said.

LongBeachUrbanist Sep 13, 2005 4:23 PM

^ Hopefully the parking will not be visible from the street (i.e., through the windows). Maybe they can hang curtains from the windows or something, so that it's not so obvious that parking is up there.

colemonkee Sep 13, 2005 6:15 PM

^ or put reflective glass on the parking levels and progressively less-reflective shades of glass as they go up the tower. reflective glass shouldn't affect people's views out too much. Could look kind of cool...


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