East Hollywood WELCOME HOME

While Hollywood and Vine is clearly the place to be at the moment, don’t sleep on the Hollywood/Western neighborhood just down the street. Over the weekend, the Hollywood Studio District Neighborhood Council took a look at plans for a new hotel on the vacant lot at the southwest corner of Hollywood Boulevard and St. Andrews Place. The self-described “European Style Luxury Boutique Hotel,” would rise six-stories, consisting of 80 guest rooms above a two-level, 31-car garage.

While Hollywood NIMBYs continue with their puzzling effort to defeat the half-complete Sunset/Western Target, plans have emerged for a new redevelopment scheme almost directly across the street. An approximately 3.5-acre property at 1350 N. Western Avenue, currently home to a cluster of low-rise commercial buildings, may be demolished to make way for a new mixed-use complex. Although exact plans are currently unclear, the project’s LADCP case filing calls for an undetermined amount of commercial and office space, in addition to a 52-unit small lot subdivision.

If you take a quick walk south from the Hollywood/Western subway station and the CIM Group’s underwhelming retail center, you’ll notice crews hard at work on a multi-family development at the southeast corner of Western Avenue and Carlton Way. The Killefer Flammang designed Argyle Apartments started construction earlier this year and are expected to bring 40-units of affordable housing to the market by Spring 2014. The $17.5 million project is the work of Gay & Lesbian Elder Housing (GLEH), a non-profit organization which buildings homes for low-income gay seniors (talk about your niche markets).

Take a first look at Eighty Cool Rooms, the so-called “European Style Luxury Boutique Hotel,” that intends to set up shop down the street from the Hollywood/Western subway station. The aptly-named development would consist of 80 guest rooms and 867 square feet of restaurant space, rising in a six-story structure designed by Westwood-based Atelier V Architecture. Guest amenities would include an outdoor deck on the low-rise building’s second level, offering both a fire pit and a swimming pool.

Work has finally begun on 5550 Hollywood Boulevard, a long-awaited mixed-use complex from developer Sonny Astani. Designs from Los Angeles-based PSL Architects call for a six-story structure containing 280 apartments and slightly over 12,600 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. The project will preserve and incorporate Falcon Studios, a two-story brick structure built in the 1920s which once served as a rehearsal studio for performers in Hollywood’s golden age. The $100 million development had previously faced opposition from two clients of attorney Robert Silverstein, both of whom sought to overturn 5550 Hollywood’s approvals from the City Planning Commission.

Yesterday, the Department of City Planning published an environmental report for 5750 Hollywood Boulevard, a mixed-use development which would rise from a forlorn one-acre property located just east of the 101 Freeway. Plans call for a seven-story structure, featuring 161 dwelling units, 5,700 square feet of ground-level retail space, and parking accommodations for 271 vehicles and 96 bicycles. The project would incorporate numerous residential amenities, including a media room, fitness center, outdoor pool and spa deck, and a rooftop terrace with panoramic views of Hollywood.

Yet another blighted property near the Red Line’s Hollywood/Western Station is slated to give way for a mixed-use development. Earlier this month, the City of Los Angeles issued a grading permit for 5400 Hollywood Boulevard, a proposed low-rise residential-retail complex. The project, which is being developed by the nonprofit Meta Housing Corporation, would consist of a five-story structure featuring 40 units of affordable housing and 3,300 square feet of ground-level retail space.

While East Hollywood’s controversial Target remains in limbo, a large development is now in the works for a different corner of Sunset Boulevard and Western Avenue. Earlier this week, developer Metropolitan View Properties filed plans with the City of Los Angeles to construct a new mixed-use complex at 1509 Western Avenue. The 2.6-acre site, currently occupied by a standalone retail center, would be redeveloped with 293 apartments and approximately 34,500 square feet of commercial space.

At 5550 Hollywood Boulevard, construction continues for a new mixed-use complex from Atlanta-based real estate firm Wood Partners. The $100-million development, located across the street from the Red Line’s Hollywood/Western Station, will consist of a six-story building featuring 280 apartments and approximatley 12,600 square feet of street-fronting commercial floor area. Residential amenities will include a swimming pool, a fitness center, and an underground parking garage. Designs from Los Angeles-based PSL Architects call for an exterior consisting primarily of brick veneer and cement plaster.

One block south of the half-finished husk of the Hollywood Target, a new development is planned which would create a multifamily residential complex and a small park. The 1375 St. Andrews Apartments - which is being developed by 1375 St. Andrews, LLC - would consist of a seven-story building featuring 185 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments above a 1.5-level, 251-car parking garage. The podium-style structure would include public and private open space, including a fitness center, community rooms, two court yards, and a swimming pool.