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.

New 17-Story Office Building Proposed for Sunset Blvd

Prepare to say goodbye to another surface parking lot on Sunset Boulevard.  According to information from the Department of City Planning, an office development is slated for the northwestern corner of Sunset and Bronson.  The specs read as follows:

5901 W SUNSET BLVD

DEVELOP NEW 17-STORY MIXED-USE PROJECT WITH 274,000 SQ FT OFFICE AND 26,000 (SQ FT) OF RETAIL

5901 Sunset is owned by a subsidiary of Hudson Pacific Properties (HPP).  HPP also owns the Sunset Bronson Studios located across the street, where they have plans for a 14-story tower containing over 300,000 square feet of office space. I have reached out to a representative of HPP about the new proposal, and will update if I am provided with more information.

Although the overall Los Angeles office market remains sluggish, HPP is not the only company looking to build new space.  At this time, over one million square feet of office space is either planned or under construction in Hollywood.  Besides the two projects from Hudson Pacific Properties, here are some of the other developments contributing to that figure:

• CIM Group's under-construction Sunset Gordon project includes just under 40,000 square feet of office space.

• Kilroy Realty's Columbia Square re-development will bring 330,000 square feet of office to the market by late 2015.

• The J.H. Snyder Company has two Hollywood office projects looking to break ground within the next year: a 245,000 square foot campus at 959 Seward and a 114,000 square foot building at 1601 Vine. 

• The controversial Millennium Hollywood development could contain upwards of 215,000 square feet of office space. 

While office vacancy rates in Hollywood are currently in the double-digits, that number only tells part of the story. Bloomberg Businessweek reported in 2012 that only one-third of Hollywood's current office stock meets Class-A criteria. The upcoming developments seek to rectify this problem, making the neighborhood more capable of attracting tenants from the tech and entertainment industries.

Some of the large scale office projects coming to Hollywood in the next few years.  Clockwise from the top right: Kilroy Realty's Columbia Square, J.H. Snyder's 959 Seward, the Millennium Hollywood, J.H. Snyder's 1601 Vine, and the Sunset Bronson Studio Tower

• Case Information Summary Sheet (Department of City Planning)