Columbia Square Now Going Vertical

The Hollywood skyline was starting to get a little sparse, with construction cranes having recently disappeared at both Emerson College and Blvd 6200.  Then, along came the $380 million Columbia Square development to save the day.  While little more than a giant dirt pit at this point in time, developer Kilroy Realty will eventually turn the parcel at 6121 Sunset Boulevard into over 300,000 square feet of new Class-A office space and a 20-story residential high-rise.  Dubbed "The Residences at Columbia Square," the Rios Clementi Hale-designed tower's 200 units will be divided between luxury rentals and extended stay hotel suites.  The project also entails the adaptive re-use of Columbia Square's historic William Lescaze designed structures, which shall be repurposed as creative office and retail space.

It's difficult to imagine anyone looking at Hollywood in the 1980's and seeing the potential for luxury housing and shiny new office buildings, but here we are all the same.  Kilroy Realty is confident enough in the neighborhood's future that they recently announced plans for a second project just a few blocks away.  The West LA-based developer paid over $45 million to acquire the four acre site on Vine Street where the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences once planned to build its museum.  With the proposed museum relocated south to the LACMA campus, Kilroy will instead construct a $285 million mixed-use complex containing 220 apartments, retail and office space.

Site plan for Columbia Square

• Another New Look for Columbia Square? (Building Los Angeles)
• Luxury Apartment Tower Planned at Columbia Square (Los Angeles Times)
• Columbia Square (Official Website)