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www.ushollywood.net A Coalition of
residential
organizations devoted to:
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www.ushollywood.net A Coalition of
residential
organizations devoted to:
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Delayed Project
Moves Forward By ANNA SCOTT 28.JUN.07 The $300 million project expected to go up around Hollywood’s historic Pantages Theatre is something of an anomaly when it comes to development stories: While local residents have rallied behind the developer for the past two years, city officials have been critical of the project’s potential impact on the neighborhood. All sides seem to have finally reached consensus, however, as the Los Angeles City Council’s planning and land use committee gave key approvals this week for the mixed-use project to move forward. “It sounds like this is a great project,” said Councilman Jose Huizar during the three-member committee hearing Tuesday where several zoning variances were approved, the final step before the project goes before the full council for a vote next month. “It sounds like an overwhelming number of community residents are supporting it. … That’s a great sign.” The project from developer Clarett Hollywood (an offshoot of the New York-based Clarett Group) is slated to include more than 1,000 residential rental units in eight low-rise buildings, nearly 3,000 parking spaces with approximately 600 set aside for Pantages patrons, and 175,000 square feet of street-level retail space on the seven-acre property surrounding the Pantages. Additionally, ten percent of the residential units will be set aside for affordable housing, the buildings are designed to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design criteria for environmentally sustainable construction, and the developers will contribute $2,000,000 to a Hollywood trust fund benefiting public transportation projects. The current proposal is the product of dozens of meetings with neighborhood and city organizations since Clarett Hollywood first secured a 99-year ground lease from Pantages owner Nederlander Organization in 2005. At the February hearing where the Los Angeles Planning Commission ultimately voted to endorse the project 15 neighborhood groups — including several residents’ associations, the Hollywood Heritage preservation organization, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the Hollywood Arts Council — all spoke in support of the development, according to the commission’s recommendation report. “This was an unusual hearing for a development of this size in Hollywood,” notes the report. “Neighborhood groups were in near unanimous support for the project and have invested a lot of time and effort in participating in the process.” However, it was also noted that 13th District Councilman Eric Garcetti’s office, the Community Redevelopment Agency, the Hollywood Design Review Committee and the Mayor’s office all still had concerns about the project, including questions about a uniform design, the amount of open space, street improvements and the possible obstruction of the historic Little Country Church, another Hollywood landmark. The lingering criticisms left many supporters frustrated, and several have accused city officials of unnecessarily stalling the project by forcing the developers to appear before the CRA and DRC with modifications multiple times instead of making their concerns clear from the beginning. “I’m in full favor of the Clarett project,” said Chris Shabel of the Hollywood/Vine Neighborhood Association at this week’s committee hearing. “I do have a question: Why has it taken so long?” Robert Nudelman of the Hollywood Heritage preservation organization sees the situation as emblematic of the fact that Hollywood has no set criteria in place to guide development, often leaving developers in an endless cycle of back-and-forth with planning officials. “There’s no guidelines,” Nudelman said. “The city comes and goes on what it is Clarett has to do … in the long term, [a development plan] puts everybody on the same page. Right now, no one knows what the rules are.” Garcetti’s land use deputy, Allison Becker, however, spoke in favor of the project at this week’s hearing and said in a recent interview that the long process of modifying the Clarett project was simply the result of diligent analysis that eventually paid off. “This is really going to shape the eastern edge of the tourism-heavy district of Hollywood,” Becker said. “We think it’s an exciting project that has improved tremendously … and I’m glad people were patient with it.” Attorney Ben Reznik, who represents Clarett Hollywood, said recently that he believes the project has faced an unusual number of obstacles, but seemed only relieved and grateful at this week’s hearing. “I have, in my 30 years of practice, never seen a project of this scale have such unanimous community support,” he said, “and that is just an incredible achievement. … I want to complete this project.” Yours, for a nicer Hollywood, John
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