Steven Sharp WELCOME HOME

In 2014, plans emerged for “Eighty Cool Rooms,” a boutique hotel near the Hollywood/Western subway station. The proposed development, which was slated for a vacant lot at Hollywood Boulevard and St. Andrews Place, stalled out when its developer failed to obtain zoning variances for the project. With those hotel dreams crushed, a different entity is now moving forward with an alternate scheme for the .2-acre property. According to a case filing from the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, the new plan for the lot at 5600 Hollywood Boulevard calls for a seven-story structure featuring 32 apartments above approximately 1,300 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.

The website of real estate firm Kilroy Realty has revealed updated renderings for the Academy, a proposed $300-million mixed-use in Hollywood. The project - slated for a city block bounded by Vine Street, Homewood, Ivar and De Longepre Avenues - would construct a series of high-rise and low-rise buildings featuring 250 apartments, 235,000 square feet of office space and 37,000 square feet of ground-floor shops and restaurants. Architectural plans from the Shimoda Design Group call for a gateway entrance on Vine Street, leading to a pedestrian paseo cutting east-to-west through the 3.5-acre property.

Per a case filing from the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, a nearly 4.5-acre collection of parcels in the San Fernando Valley’s North Hills neighborhood is slated to give rise to a large residential development. The project, located at the intersection of Sepulveda Boulevard and Rayen Street, would create a total of 364 residential units, including 44 set aside for very low income households. Plans call for a variable height structure, standing two-to-three stories on certain parts of the development site and rising four-to-five stories on others.

The website of real estate investment trust Hudson Pacific Properties has unveiled new renderings for 4th & Traction, an adaptive reuse project now underway in the Arts District. The development, named for its location at 4th Street and Traction Avenue, is repurposing the original West Coast headquarters of the Coca-Cola Company as a modern creative office complex. On the upper levels of the three-story structure, plans call for 130,000 square feet of leasable space featuring high ceilings and operable steel-frame windows.

Nearly six months after breaking ground in the Historic Core, Onni Group is prepared to take its latest high-rise development into the sky. Last week, crews began laying rebar for the foundation a 49-story tower at 820 S. Olive Street, which is replacing a nearly one-acre surface parking lot. When completed, the project will feature 516 dwelling units above 4,500 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. The tower, which is being designed by the Canadian architect Chris Dikeakos, will rise to an architectural peak of 637 feet, becoming the tallest residential building in the City of Los Angeles.

In conjuction with the impending arrival of a $2-billion light rail line, the City of Los Angeles is pushing forward with streetscape improvements along Crenshaw Boulevard. The Crenshaw Boulevard Streetscape Plan, which is part of a larger effort to reorient neighborhoods around new transit stations, is intended to serve as a blueprint for new landscaping and public amenities along a five-mile stretch between 79th Street and the I-10 freeway. Per a presentation from the Department of City Planning, the goals of project include 1) the creation of a multi-modal corridor hospitable to automobiles, pedestrians cyclists and transit passengers and 2) the implementation of coordinated streetscape elements along the boulevard, making for a lively environment that is attractive to shoppers.

SCG America, the U.S. arm of a major Chinese real estate firm, has announced the acquisition of a .8-acre development site in the Historic Core of Downtown Los Angeles. The property, located at the intersection of 4th Street and Broadway, is slated for a 34-story high-rise building which would feature 450 residential units and approximately 7,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. A groundbreaking for the proposed tower is scheduled for October 2016, with completion expected by 2020.

Last week, developer Trammell Crow Residential received welcome news from the Los Angeles Department of City Planning (LADCP), which has approved the Texas-based company’s proposal to build a residential tower in Downtown’s Historic Core. The project, known as the Alexan, would replace a surface parking lot at 9th and Hill Streets with a 27-story building featuring 305 residential units above approximately 6,200 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Plans also call for a landscaped roof deck, a swimming pool and a fitness center.

LA 2024 has released new renderings for two key venues in its bid to bring the 2024 Summer Olympic Games to Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles Times, L.A. Olympic officials have proposed modifying the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum by adding a new temporary floor above the football field for use in track and field events. The area underneath the deck could be used as warm-up space. The temporary alterations would build upon USC’s planned $270-million renovation of the 93,000-seat stadium, which featured prominently in both the 1932 and 1984 Summer Games.

Developer Townscape Partners’ plan to build a $300-million development near the Sunset Strip is moving forward - with conditions. Yesterday, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission (CPC) voted unanimously to approve the proposed mixed-use complex at 8150 Sunset Boulevard. The project, designed by the famed architect Frank Gehry, would feature a total of 249 residential units and approximately 65,000 square feet of retail space in buildings ranging from 5 to 15 stories in height.