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.

Another Glimpse of the Palladium Residences

Photo credit: Crescent Heights

Take another look at Sunset Boulevard's stylish Palladium Residences, the high-rise towers proposed for the parking lot abutting the Hollywood Palladium.  The mixed-use complex, unveiled last summer by developer Crescent Heights, would offer a blend of residential units and hotel rooms in a pair of sleek, 28-story buildings.  An official website for the project features a new set of high-resolution renderings, highlighting the Palladium Residences' street-level integration and prominent location within the Hollywood skyline.

The twin 350-foot towers, designed by Stanley Saitowitz of Natoma Architects, could move forward under two distinct development programs.  Under the first scenario, Crescent Heights would build a purely residential project with 731 dwelling units.  In an alternate program, the towers would feature a mixture of 538 residential units and 250 hotel rooms.  Both plans call for a total of 14,000 square feet of pedestrian-oriented commercial space, in addition an underground parking garage with accommodations for approximately 1,900 vehicles and 820 bicycles.

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.

Big Sunset Bronson Studios Expansion to Break Ground Next Week

Icon at SBS (Image credit: Hudson Pacific Properties)

Hollywood's well documented construction boom continues to surge, as yet another skyline altering project prepares to break ground near the 101 Freeway.  According to Bisnow, local landlord Hudson Pacific Properties (HPP) plans to begin work next week on a long-awaited expansion of Sunset Bronson Studios (SBS).  The $150 million development, designed by architectural firm Gensler, will retool the eastern side of the SBS campus with a new parking garage and approximately 400,000 square feet of office and production space.

HPP's expansion project is highlighted by Icon, a 14-story office tower slated for the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Van Ness Avenue.  The 315,000 square foot structure will stand roughly 200 feet tall, creating a commanding presence above the nearby freeway trench.  An August piece from the Architect's Newspaper describes the building as featuring "five rectangular, stacked volumes, offset horizontally to create exterior terraces."  Facade elements will variate between precast panels and a glass curtain wall, breaking down the tower's broad, imposing scale.

Moving south from Sunset Boulevard, the project will include two new buildings of a lower height profile.  The first, a five-story production building, will contain 90,000 square feet of production office space and a ground-level cafe.  The second, a seven-story garage, will rise adjacent to the production building and offer parking accommodations for 1,600 vehicles.

Hollywood's Metropolitan West Apartments Finally Begin Work

Sunset Boulevard's recent building boom continues its eastward march, as a long-delayed apartment project gets underway near the Hollywood freeway.  Cornerstone Holdings, a Colorado-based limited liability corporation, recently broke ground on the long-proposed Metropolitan West Apartments.  Located at 5837 Sunset Boulevard, plans call for a six-story building containing 79 studio, one and two bedroom apartments above a two-and-a-half level parking garage.  LADCP documents indicate that residential amenities will include a fitness center, private internet cafe, rooftop terrace, landscaped courtyard and a swimming pool.

Designed by Van Tilburg, Banyard & Soderbergh Architects, the low-rise development is considered an expansion of the Metropolitan Hollywood, an adjacent office-residential complex also owned by Cornerstone Holdings.  First opened as a hotel in 1984, the Metropolitan Hollywood was reportedly "terrorized," by a who's who of West Coast rappers and record executives in the early 1990s.  Almost two decades later, a now-defunct developer converted the 12-story tower and an accompanying u-shaped structure into 52 apartments and 40,000 square feet of creative office space.

Slightly Updated Look For the Earl Carroll-Adjacent Mixed-User

Earlier this year, I erroneously posted outdated designs of a mixed-use development planned for a parking lot near Sunset Boulevard's Earl Carroll Theatre.  Developer Essex Property Trust quickly stepped in to set things right, via Curbed LA.  Hopefully a new environmental study released by LADCP prevents me from making a similar mistake this time around.

Plans for the two-acre lot at 6250 Sunset Boulevard now call for a low-rise structure containing 200 apartments and 4,700 square feet of ground floor retail space.  Residential units would be served by a four-level, 316-car parking garage, with vehicular access provided via Leland Way.  Other on-site amenities would include a fitness center, outdoor pool, spa area, sky deck and a residential club house.

The seven-story building, designed by Harley Ellis Devereaux, would utilize exterior materials including fiber cement paneling, anodized aluminum, terra cotta and smooth finish plaster.  Updated renderings from the project's initial study deviate marginally from earlier images, swapping out bright orange elements for a less ostentatious shade of earth red-orange.