Steven Sharp WELCOME HOME

A short walk south from Hollywood High School, the Miami-based Lennar Corporation recently started construction on a mixed-use development at 1411 N. Highland Avenue. Built on a vacant lot between Leland Way and DeLongpre Avenue, the six-story structure will contain 76 apartment units above 2,500 square feet of ground floor commercial space. A combination of studio, one, two and three bedroom units shall be served by 143 parking spaces, located within an 1 1⁄2 level underground garage.

According to a March report from Gray Construction, LA-based developer Five Chairs has broken ground on their long stalled hotel project near the intersection of Selma Avenue and Cahuenga Boulevard. As a few keen observers have noticed, the shabby two-story parking structure which previously stood at 6417 Selma Avenue was quietly demolished earlier this year. In its place will rise the Dream Hollywood Hotel, containing 182 guest rooms above street level commercial space.

Blink and you’ll miss the departure of yet another Hollywood parking lot. Located at the the southeast corner of Vine Street and Selma Avenue, this dirt pit is the future site of the Camden Hollywood, a $140 million mixed-use development from the Houston-based Camden Property Trust. Designed by seemingly ubiquitous TCA Architects, the Camden Hollywood will rise seven stories, containing 287 market rate apartments and just under 40,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space.

After years of delay, Hollywood’s controversial La Brea Gateway is finally pushing dirt. Located at the northwest corner of La Brea and Willoughby Avenues, the mixed-use development will create 179 apartment units and a 33,500 square foot Sprouts Farmers Market. Designed by Van Tilburg, Banyard & Soderbergh, the five-story building will feature parking accommodations for 463 automobiles and 231 bicycles in an subterranean garage. Located at 915 North La Brea Avenue, the project is being developed by Holland Residential, a subsidiary of the Vancouver-based Holland Partner Group.

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.

Even on a sleepy weekend morning, construction activity was in full swing on the blocks surrounding Metro’s Hollywood/Vine subway station. Take a quick tour through five mixed-use developments that will soon add more than one thousand apartments, hotel rooms and over 300,000 square feet of office space to the rapidly evolving neighborhood. 6201 Hollywood Boulevard, recently renamed Eastown LA, is nearing completion at the northeast corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Argyle Avenue.

After nearly ten years of delay, Hollywood’s mixed-use La Brea Gateway complex is finally under construction. Hopefully a proposed next-door neighbor experiences a less arduous path moving forward. According to plans filed with the city last week, a low-rise office building is in works at 925 North La Brea Avenue. The development site was previously home to a nondescript commercial structure, which is currently being demolished to make way for the new, six-story edifice.

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.

Although still rough around the edges, the blocks east of Hollywood/Vine Station have suddenly become a breeding ground for hotel developments. Earlier this year, the West Coast’s first Dream Hotel location broke ground on Selma Avenue. Soon, it will be joined by another hospitality project a half-block south. As first reported by Bisnow, an unspecified developer has recently leased a mid-block parcel on Cahuenga Boulevard with the intent of constructing a boutique hotel.

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.