A Quick Trip Through the Sunset Boulevard Boom

This past weekend, a broken water main spilled untold gallons of precious drinking water onto the Sunset Strip, dealing yet another blow to drought-stricken California.  On the other hand, flooding of a more figurative (and less dire) sort is also occurring further east along the iconic thoroughfare.  Let's for get about LADWP's woes for a moment as we check in on the deluge of mixed-use developments adding new office space and residential units between Vine Street and the Hollywood Freeway.

As reported in mid-September, Hudson Pacific Properties has quietly broken ground on the long planned expansion of Sunset Bronson Studios (see above).  The $150 million project will ultimately create over 400,000 square feet of Class-A office space, mostly contained within a 14-story, Gensler-designed tower.  The staggered massing of the stout, 200-foot building will create a unique presence within the mid-rise Hollywood skyline.  Currently, construction crews are removing asphalt from the southeast corner of the SBS campus, clearing the way for an immense 1,600-vehicle parking garage.

Fresh Renderings of the Almost-Finished Sunset Gordon Tower

All images from RKF

After numerous lawsuits and cries of corruption, CIM Group's $100 million Sunset Gordon tower is expected to open later this year.  The 23-story high-rise--which broke ground in 2012--will soon infuse a sleepy section of Sunset Boulevard with 300 apartments, 14,000 square feet of ground floor retail space, and 40,000 square feet of creative office space.  Although the building's real-life appearance deviates significantly from earlier renderings (Hello, stucco!), a new set of promotional images paints a rosier picture for the project.

At ground level, Sunset Gordon will faithfully recreate the facade of Hollywood's Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant, which was demolished to make way for the tower.  Opened in 1924, the one-story building first served as a showroom for the Peerless Motor Company and later as a radio broadcast facility for KNX and KMPC.  CIM Group will incorporate several design elements salvaged from the original structure into Sunset Gordon's ground floor, including windows and wooden trusses (see interior renderings below).

Dissecting the Hollywood/Vine Construction Binge

Construction cranes, looking east from the intersection of Selma Avenue and Vine Street

Even on a sleepy weekend morning, construction activity was in full swing on the blocks surrounding Metro's Hollywood/Vine subway station.  Take a quick tour through five mixed-use developments that will soon add more than one thousand apartments, hotel rooms and over 300,000 square feet of office space to the rapidly evolving neighborhood.

Emerson College Quietly Opens, Sunset Gordon Tops Out

After years of anticipation, Emerson College quietly opened its new Los Angeles campus to 130 students earlier this week.  The 10-story structure, designed by LA-based Morphosis Architects, contains classroom space, meeting rooms, outdoor performance space and living accommodations for up to 200 students.  A ground floor restaurant known as the Emerson Kitchen features a 40% vegetarian menu and greets Sunset Boulevard with patio dining space.  The outdoor seating was well patronized this past Saturday (see below), and will provide a nice shot in the arm for foot traffic along Sunset in years to come.  The LEED Gold certified building will hold its official grand opening ceremony on March 8th.

Just across the street, CIM Group's mixed-use Sunset Gordon Tower is now topped out.  The 23-story edifice, designed by Portland's GBD Architects, will contain 300 apartments, 40,000 square feet of office space, and 13,000 square feet of ground floor retail space.  Earlier plans also called for a public park to be built in conjunction with the project, but that space will instead give way for a parking garage (sigh).  Sunset Gordon has unfortunately fallen ill with a severe case of value engineering, as the building's facade bears little resemblance to what was portrayed in architectural renderings.  The project, which has long been a target of Hollywood NIMBYs, is currently facing an appeal from the notoriously litigious La Mirada Neighborhood Association.

Other projects currently under construction nearby include Kilroy Realty's redesigned Columbia Square development and the Camden Hollywood.  Plans are also in the works for a 17-story office building from Hudson Pacific Properties and a pair of 28-story towers from Crescent Heights.

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)