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.

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.