A Closer Look at 7500 Sunset: Hollywood's Latest Mixed-User

Earlier this month, Curbed LA revealed renderings for a new residential-retail complex in Hollywood, intended to replace a cluster of one-story commercial buildings at 7500-7580 Sunset Boulevard.  The mixed-use development from West Hollywood-based Faring Capital would invigorate two sleepy blocks between Gardener and Curson Avenues with 236 luxury residential units above 30,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving retail and restaurant space.  Designed by Santa Monica's Killefer Flammang Architects, the project calls for two low-rise structures featuring high-quality finishes and ample outdoor amenities.

The western building - intended for a rectangular property between Sierra Bonita and Curson Avenues - would feature four stories of residential units above 16,000 square feet of street-level commercial space.  The design is intended to evoke a classic Hollywood look, with facade elements including sandstone and brass.  Upper levels are stepped back from Sunset Boulevard, creating private balconies above and a more intimate ground-level experience below.  Further in line with this emphasis on the pedestrian, vehicular access to the structure's underground parking garage would be located away from the building's Sunset Boulevard frontage.

Another Big Development Proposed Near Sunset Junction

If any Los Feliz/Silver Lake denizens already feel overwhelmed by the area's upcoming development boom, please read no further.  According to a recent LADCP case filing, the property located at the northeast corner of Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards is destined for a new residential-retail complex.  The project is described as an approximately 217,000 square foot structure, featuring 202 dwelling units and just shy of 15,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.  The new development would occupy a full city block, bounded by Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards and Hillhurst and Clayton Avenues.

Located a quarter-mile east of the Sunset/Vermont Red Line Station, the project site lies within easy walking distance of several proposed mixed-use developments along the rapidly evolving Sunset corridor.  Directly across the Hillhurst Avenue, plans for a 17-room hotel next to the Vista Theater have drawn out locals bearing pitchforks.  Further south along the boulevard, locally-based Frost/Chaddock Developers intends to construct a trio of Killefer Flammang-designed apartment complexes.  As seems to be the case with most developments north of Downtown, several vocal neighbors are unhappy with all of the above.

• Case Information Summary Sheet (LADCP)

Office Space and Small Lot Homes Proposed Near Sunset/Western

While Hollywood NIMBYs continue with their puzzling effort to defeat the half-complete Sunset/Western Target, plans have emerged for a new redevelopment scheme almost directly across the street.  An approximately 3.5-acre property at 1350 N. Western Avenue, currently home to a cluster of low-rise commercial buildings, may be demolished to make way for a new mixed-use complex.  Although exact plans are currently unclear, the project's LADCP case filing calls for an undetermined amount of commercial and office space, in addition to a 52-unit small lot subdivision.  Construction of the project would first require the rezoning of the property, which is currently designated for use as a film processing lab.

The proposed mixed-use complex is representative of the recent uptick in development on the eastern reaches of the Hollywood neighborhood.  As easy opportunities have become fewer and further in-between near subway stations on Highland Avenue and Vine Street, red headed stepchild Western Avenue has suddenly found itself aflood with investment activity.  A few blocks north, developer Sonny Astani is planning a residential-retail development, while another investor has proposed a boutique hotel.  On the opposite side of the Hollywood Freeway, Sunset Bronson Studios is scheduled to begin a $150 million expansion later this year which will include a 14-story office tower.

• Case Information Summary Sheet (LADCP)

Another Office Tower Planned on Sunset Boulevard

Site Plan for 5901 Sunset Boulevard

Construction cranes have become a common sight in the Hollywood skyline over the past two years, and a newly proposed development from Hudson Pacific Properties would keep them around for the foreseeable future.  Earlier today, the Department of City Planning released an environmental report for a new 274,000 square foot office building at 5901 Sunset Boulevard.  The 18-story tower, designed by Gensler, would include six-stories of above-grade parking and 26,000 square feet of retail space at street level.  With an architectural apex 260 feet above ground, 5901 Sunset would provide tenants with landscaped courtyards on its upper office levels.  Vehicular ingress and egress for the tower's 1,118 stall garage would be provided along the Bronson Avenue side of the property, preserving the the building's Sunset Boulevard frontage for pedestrians.  Construction is scheduled to last 22 months, with completion expected in 2017.

Hudson Pacific Properties' newest office building comes to light as a variety of large, mixed-use projects are either planned or under construction on Sunset Boulevard.  At Sunset and Gower, Kilroy Realty is building over 300,000 square feet of office space as part of its redevelopment of Columbia Square.  Next-door to 5901 Sunset, the Hollywood-based CIM Group is pushing towards completion on their 23-story Sunset Gordon tower.  Across the street, Emerson College recently opened its stunning new Los Angeles campus.  Finally, one block east of 5901 Sunset, Hudson Pacific Properties is planning another Gensler-designed office tower on the Sunset Bronson Studios campus.

Another New Look for Columbia Square?

All images from Rios Clementi Hale Studios

Work is already underway on Kilroy Realty's Columbia Square development, but that doesn't mean it's too late to change the project's design...again.  Rios Clementi Hale Studios, one of three architectural firms collaborating on the project, recently posted updated renderings of Columbia Square to their website.  While a PR representative for RCH has informed me that these plans are in no way finalized, the new renderings indicate that a redesign may be in the works for the project's 22-story residential tower.  Gone is the boxy, minimalist high-rise unveiled earlier this year, and in its place an asymmetrical glass tower, featuring misaligned windows and vertical lines stretching the length of the building.  RCH has designed the ground-up structures to mimic the architectural massings of the William Lescaze designed CBS Studios complex, with "shifted upper-stories to allow the buildings to adapt as they rise."  RCH's project may not be as ambitious in scale as Johnson Fain's original vision for the development, but it may in fact mesh better with the adjacent 1938 buildings.  At the very least, we are spared a five-story parking podium.  Columbia Square is expected to open in phases staring midway through 2014, with the residential tower ready for occupancy in early 2016.

Excavation Underway for Hollywood's Columbia Square

When we last saw the Columbia Square project in August, I wondered if the site was being readied for construction.  We now have an answer, as excavation has started for Kilroy Realty's $300 million re-development of the former CBS Studios.  The parking lot on the northern side of the parcel is making way for two new office buildings and a 22-story residential high-rise, set to create 330,000 square feet of office space and 200 apartments.  The new buildings will sit atop a four-and-a-half level subterranean parking garage (?!).

The adaptive re-use of Columbia Square's original 1938 buildings began over the summer.  Construction crews are currently gutting the interiors of the William Lescaze designed complex to repurpose it as creative office and commercial space.  I feared that the fire which damaged the construction site in September might have delayed the project.  Sometimes it's nice to be wrong.

Viewed from the southeastern corner of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street

• Columbia Square Getting Ready for Construction? (Building Los Angeles)
• Columbia Square Complex in Hollywood Damaged in Fire (ABC7)

Sunset Gordon Construction Update

Sunset Gordon

With construction now commencing on the 15th floor above ground, CIM Group's Sunset Gordon development is difficult to miss when traveling through Hollywood these days.  When completed, the 23-story tower will feature 301 residential units, 39,538 square feet of office space, 13,056 square feet of ground level commercial space, and an adjacent public park.

Rendering of Sunset Gordon; Image from GBD Architects via LA Weekly

While Sunset Gordon will stand head and shoulders above its neighbors for the time being, Sunset Boulevard already has several other towers in the works.  To the west of Sunset Gordon, the Columbia Square re-development includes a 22-story residential tower.  Crescent Heights recently proposed twin 28-story towers for the parking lot behind the Hollywood Palladium.  To the east, Sunset Bronson Studios has plans to break ground on a 14-story office building in 2014.  Finally, Emerson College's new 10-story Los Angeles campus is under construction right across the street from CIM's project.

Four projects that will alter the Hollywood skyline.  Clockwise from the top left corner: Columbia Square, the Palladium Residences, Emerson College, and the Sunset Bronson Office Tower

• Sunset Gordon (CIM Group)
• Columbia Square Getting Ready for Construction? (Building Los Angeles)
• Here Are Your Palladium Residences (Building Los Angeles)
• First Look at New Design for H'Wood's Sunset Bronson Studios (Curbed LA)

Columbia Square Getting Ready for Construction?

Selma and El Centro

The giant parking lot at the back of the former CBS Studios complex on Sunset Blvd is starting to make way for the long awaited Columbia Square development.  Work on the adaptive re-use of the existing buildings began in Spring of 2013, and now it appears that developer Kilroy Realty is readying the site for construction of the new office and residential buildings.

Here's a look at what we have in store.

All images from Kilroy Realty

Landscaped courtyard serving the office buildings and residential tower.

A still image from Kilroy's promotional video, providing a bird's eye view from the southeast.

The building in the foreground is Studio B/C, re-envisioned as creative office space.

Overhead view of the interior courtyard.  LA is an outdoor town, and Kilroy has included a lot of outdoor amenities in their vision for Columbia Square.

View from the corner of Selma and Gower.

A bird's eye view from the southwest.  Glad to see storefronts along the Sunset Blvd side of the property.

Since Columbia Square is a large, multifaceted development, the project will open in phases.  The renovation of the historic CBS Studios and the construction of the new subterranean parking garage are both set to wrap up midway through 2014.  The new office buildings are scheduled to open late in 2015.  Completion of the 22 story residential tower is expected by early 2016.

When finished, Columbia Square will bring 200 residential units and 330,000 square feet of office space to Hollywood.  The development will activate Sunset Blvd with 33,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.  This project is one of many set to break ground in Hollywood within the next several years, including two buildings at Selma and Vine, Sunset Bronson Studios' new office tower, and the infamous Millennium Hollywood Towers.  Perhaps Crescent Heights will have shovels in the dirt for the Palladium Residences as well.

In the meantime, I highly recommend checking out the fly through video posted on the Columbia Square website.

• Columbia Square
• Selma and Vine Moving Towards Construction (Building Los Angeles)
• First Look at New Design For H'wood's Sunset Bronson Studios (Curbed LA)
• A Look at the Open Space in the Millennium Hollywood Project (Building Los Angeles)
• Here Are Your Palladium Residences (Building Los Angeles)

249 Apartments Coming to the LA/West Hollywood Border

8150 W Sunset, as it currently exists.

A sizeable mixed-user appears to be on its way to the eastern edge of the Sunset Strip.  Check out this filing with City Planning:

8150 W SUNSET BLVD 90046

DEMO EXISTING COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS AND CONSTRUCT A MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT WITH 111,000 SF. OF COMMERCIAL RETAIL AND RESTAURANT USES AND 249 RESIDENTIAL UNITS

This new proposal comes in the wake of a resurgence in hotel and residential development along the strip.  The 100,000+ square feet of retail/restaurant space is unsurprising due to the location's ample Sunset Blvd. frontage.  The residential units above are a nice touch, although this site is not within walking distance of a Metro station.

While I will not shed tears over the death of a strip mall at the back of the property, it will be a shame to lose the mid-century Chase Bank building fronting Sunset.  Perhaps the facade can preserved as part of the new mixed-user?

• Sunset Strip Development Revs Up as Long-Delayed Project Gets Going (LA Times)

Here Are Your Palladium Residences

Crescent Heights made a big splash via Curbed LA when they announced plans for a two high rise development on the massive surface parking lot behind the Hollywood Palladium.  Now as the proposal moves through the planning process, we are getting a chance to flesh out what to expect.

Image from Crescent Heights via the Park La Brea News.

First up, the specs on the two buildings:

...two new buildings which would be up to 28 stories and approximately 350 [feet] in height. 

 The project's initial study presents two different options for what uses the building shall hold.  Option 1 reads as follows:

Residential option, the two buildings would contain up to 731 residential units.

 And Option 2:

Residential/Hotel Option, the two buildings would contain up to 598 residential units and in the southwest building fronting on Argyle Avenue, up to 250 hotel rooms and ancillary hotel uses including banquet, meeting and related retail space.

Both options offer 14,000 square feet of retail split between a low rise structure at the corner of Argyle and Sunset, as well as at the ground floor of the tower along El Centro.  The initial study also indicates that the project will feature a gym, a spa, an outdoor pool terrace, a rooftop terrace, and private balconies (the outdoorsy type of amenities that LA really should have).  The towers would provide up to 1,900 (!) parking spaces (isn't this a block away from a subway station?), as well as up to 820 bike parking stalls.

The developer emphasizes that the buildings are designed to avoid obscuring the Hollywood Palladium (not unlike what the Millennium Hollywood project has attempted to do with the Capitol Records Tower).  Let's see if the design stands up to those claims.

Here we see the towers from the intersection of Sunset and El Centro.  I'm no architecture expert, but I'm really digging the facade of these towers.  Their height is consistent with other nearby high rises, so I don't consider them to be "out of scale," with the rest of the neighborhood.

Checking out how the building meets the street on Sunset, Argyle and El Centro.  No Selma?  The ground level retail will be nice on El Centro, especially since the new design of next-door neighbor Columbia Square makes no effort to activate the opposite side of the street.

Some more detailed views of the ground level entrances to the project.  Nice wide sidewalks and high visibility crosswalks.  That blank wall on Sunset Court is kind of boring...perhaps a mural to brighten the area up?

Overhead schematic of the project.  I'd imagine views from the Argyle tower would be obstructed if the proposed re-development of the Ametron site ever happens.

A view of some the rooftop terraces.  A pool crammed in between the two buildings would be in the shade from the towers quite often.  Might not be a great location for it.

A look at where the the Palladium Residences would stand in the context of the growing Hollywood skyline.  Significantly taller than the under construction Sunset Gordon Tower, but dwarfed by the Millennium Hollywood development.

Well, you can count me as a fan.  I see attractive architecture that fits in well with its surroundings.  What more could you ask for?  Of course, it's yet to be seen if the Palladium Residences can make their way through Hollywood's NIMBY gauntlet.