Latest La Brea Mixed-User Unveiled

904 La Brea Avenue (All images: Shubin + Donaldson Architects)

A recently published environmental report from the Department of City Planning has revealed new details about the 904 La Brea Project, a mixed-use development planned near the border between Los Angeles and West Hollywood.

The seven-story development, slated for a roughly one-acre site at the corner of La Brea and Willoughby Avenues, would feature 169 apartments and approximately 37,000 square feet of of ground-floor retail space.  Proposed dwellings would include studio, one-and-two-bedroom units, with approximately 14 apartments set aside for very low income households.  Residential amenities would include a pool, gymnasium and a communal outdoor deck.

A partially-underground garage would be included with the project, providing parking accommodations for up to 303 vehicles and more than 200 bicycles.  Residents would be afforded 192 total parking spaces, situated on two above-grade levels.  111 basement parking spaces would be available for use by retail tenants and their customers.

Crane Action Hits the Sunset Strip

High above the world famous Sunset Strip, four construction cranes are hard at work on a transformative mixed-use complex from Los Angeles-based CIM Group.

The Sunset La Cienega development - designed by a team consisting of SOM, LOHA and Mia Lehrer + Associates - will create four mid-rise buildings with condominiums, hotel rooms and ground-floor commercial space.  Work on the $300 million project began in earnest nearly two years ago, with the clearing of several vacant structures at the intersection of Sunset and La Cienega Boulevards.

The mid-rise buildings, which will occupy two corners of the intersection, faced numerous hurdles prior to breaking ground in mid-2013.  Originally approved in 1999 under the name of Sunset Millennium, the project remained stalled for nearly fifteen amidst litigation and weak market conditions.  CIM Group purchased the roughly five-acre property and its development rights in 2011.

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.

Details Emerge for Adaptive Reuse of Joseph Youngerman Building

Image credit: Bob Safai

Thanks to documents from the Mid City West Community Council's Planning and Land Use Committee, details have emerged for CIM Group's upcoming mixed-use conversion of the monolithic Joseph Youngerman Building. The nine-story office tower, currently vacant, is slated to become a 36-unit apartment complex featuring street-level commercial space.  The mid-rise building occupies a prominent location along the Third Street shopping corridor, situated one block east of the Beverly Center and Cedars-Sinai Hospital.  An above-grade, 107-stall parking garage will be maintained as part of the adaptive reuse project, nearly double what is required by code.

Built during the 1980s office boom, the Joseph Youngerman Building has stood head-and-shoulders above its low-rise surroundings for more than three decades.  The 38,000 square foot edifice was previously home to the Director's Guild of America's pension and health fund, and is named for the union's longtime executive secretary.  However, the DGA's decision to relocate to more expansive facilities along the Miracle Mile last year left the building without a primary tenant, opening the door for CIM Group to purchase the mostly vacant tower for $14 million.

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).

Beverly Center-Adjacent Office Building Getting a Mixed-Use Makeover

Joseph Youngerman Building; Image credib: Bob Safai

One year after purchasing Mid City's Joseph Youngerman Building for $14 million, CIM Group is moving forward with plans to convert the mostly vacant structure into a mixed-use development.  Located at 8436 West 3rd Street, the mid-rise office tower occupies a prominent location on the western end of the Third Street Shopping District, sitting within walking distance of the Beverly Center.  Although standing just nine stories, the Joseph Youngerman Building is a well known landmark in Mid City, rising head and shoulders above nearly all surrounding commercial buildings.  The 38,000 square foot edifice was built in 1983, and was reportedly just 30% occupied as of last summer.  Given Los Angeles' continually sluggish office market, but resurgent residential and retail sectors, a mixed-use conversion seems like a no-brainer.

In recent years, several residential-retail developments have trickled into the surrounding neighborhood, including the NMS@La Cienega and Caruso Affiliated's luxury 8500 Burton Way complex.   However, other mixed-use endeavors have proven less successful.  One such development, proposed nearby at La Cienega and Beverly Boulevards, gradually attenuated its height profile in an attempt to compromise with neighboring property owners.  Those efforts proved fruitless, as the Mid City West Community Council held steadfast to the development site's 45-foot height limit, thus forcing owner Beverly La Cienega, LLC to drop nine units from the project.  As a result, the Park La Brea News reports that the residential-retail complex may no longer pencil out financially.

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)

CIM Group Bringing a One Floor Shopping Center to Hollywood Blvd

5503 Hollywood Blvd and the Gershwin Apartments.  Image from CIM Group.

Earlier this week, the Department of City Planning signed off on CIM Group's amended plans for a mini shopping center at the northwest corner of Hollywood and Western.  Details read as follows:

The project proposes the demolition of five one-story commercial buildings; the construction of one new 39,667 square-foot retail structure that is 35 feet in height with 125 parking spaces located on the rooftop

The architectural outfit handling the design work is McKently Malak, a firm whose portfolio consists mostly of suburban strip malls.

This is where I would normally expound on some of the positive qualities of a development, but I can't sugarcoat it this time.  CIM's proposal is extremely underwhelming and wholly inadequate for a lot that's kitty corner from the Hollywood/Western Red Line station.  This should be a mixed-use development, similar in scale to Sonny Astani's proposed "High Line West," on the opposite side of Hollywood Blvd.

"High Line West."  Image from PSL Architects.  Great design and perfect scale for its location.  Love how it matches the street wall of the adjacent historic building.

Truthfully, the bigger problem is the fact that CIM's proposal actually complies with Los Angeles' zoning laws.  The city's general plan indicates that the land is zoned for high density residential use, but documents from City Planning show that the height limit for this parcel is only 35 feet above grade.  That's not tall enough to build high density anything.  It's an odd contradiction within LA's land use laws, but that's what happens when a city relies on zoning codes written in 1946.

While LA has started the process of revising its outdated codes, these much needed changes will likely come too late to allow CIM to put something more substantial on the lot.

• High Line West Bringing Apartments, Retail, Elevated Park to Hollywood and Western  (Curbed LA)
• Recode LA