Thursday, December 11, 2014

Shiny New Rendering for Academy Square


A striking new look has emerged for Kilroy Realty's Academy Square development, courtesy of commercial real estate publication Bisnow.

The $300 million project, designed by local architect Joey Shimoda, would create a 3.5-acre mixed-use campus in the heart of Hollywood.  Plans call for a campus of low-rise and high-rise structures, offering a combination of apartments, offices, ground-floor retail and possibly hotel rooms.  The project's name is a nod to an abandoned plan by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to build a museum on the property.  Academy Square would also sit directly north of the Pickford Film Center, another facility owned by AMPAS.

Kilroy's development is highlighted by a 23-story high-rise tower, slated for the corner of Ivar and DeLongpre Avenues.  The mixed-use building could move forward with up to 250 apartments, or under an alternate development program, up to 100 hotel rooms and 50 fewer residential units.  Both options would include retail space on the tower's ground floor.

A trio of four-story buildings would flank the northern, southern and western sides of the development site, containing a cumulative 280,000 square feet of office, retail and restaurant space.  A ground-floor paseo would cut a diagonal swath through the buildings, providing green space and outdoor seating for tenants.

According to an initial study published by the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, construction of Academy Square is scheduled to begin in late 2015, with delivery to follow in early 2018.

Kilroy's project is one of several large office developments scheduled to begin work during the next twelve months.  North on Vine Street, the J.H. Snyder Company has announced plans to break ground on a long delayed eight-story building before the end of 2014.  East on Sunset Boulevard, Hudson Pacific Properties expects to start work on a 14-story tower in January 2015.

2 comments:

  1. I know I might get crucified for saying this, but I'm really excited about these Kilroy campus projects in Hollywood. The main reason being that they break up the the blocks with pedestrian passageways. That's good for me as someone who walks from East Hollywood into Central Hollywood on an almost daily basis.I'll hold off on commenting about the architecture until they are finished, but so far so good with the old CBS studios. Now if only we could get that damn freeway cap built so I can avoid looking at the 101.

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    1. I don't see why you would be crucified, they've been very well received thus far. There's obviously some concern about so many internally focused campus style projects in a relatively small area (Columbia Square, Academy Square, SBS expansion). However, these "superblock" projects eventually spur infill of a more traditional variety.

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