Right. Anyway, I think even though there's a lot of parking included for this rather exclusive site, it's good the developers are trying to find ways to improve connectivity with the rest of the existing community with publicly accessible gardens and open space. They could've easily decided to wall it off and make it for private use only, unless there is some city regulation that makes it mandatory for every project of this size to include some sort of public open space.

Key takeaway from the last several pages of this thread:

https://i.postimg.cc/Zn3cyWdv/Screen...-14-105652.png

^ This is why I try my hardest not to get excited about a rendering. If it ever breaks ground, I then wait until a good amount of facade treatments are in place before making my initial assessment.

It looks to be like the organic balconies were designed before floor plans were finalized. Now they've figured out the floor plans and have arranged the balconies accordingly. I think this is going to be a great looking project. It's hard to make the claim that a project is being value engineered when it is costing an astronomical five billion dollars. My only gripe is that the HVAC enclosures on the roofs aren't curved like they were in the original renderings, though it's not like the average pedestrian is going to be able to see those anyways.

EDIT: I also prefer how the new design iteration defers to the Beverly Hilton more. I prefer the added space between buildings, allowing the iconic midcentury design of the Hilton room to breathe.

Via Avanti Complex
 

Via Avanti Complex adjacent to Sherman Oaks Galleria. Very noticeable amount of work above This is going to be a great addition to the area.

https://twitter.com/LA_Construct/sta...14445060210841

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GJC1kZ6a...pg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GJC1mCha...pg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GJC1oEFa...pg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GJC1rgja...pg&name=medium

https://la.urbanize.city/post/avanti...a-sherman-oaks

^ Thanks for the update. Don't get to The Valley very often so it's nice to see what's being developed up there.

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/d...gup-240210.jpg

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/d...ast-240305.jpg

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/d...terrace-b1.jpg

https://www.latimes.com/business/sto...s-a-new-design

14130 Riverside Drive (Citrus Commons)
 

14130 Riverside Drive (Citrus Commons) in Sherman Oaks, CA at former Sunkist HQ. In final stages!

https://twitter.com/LA_Construct/sta...94424059154489

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GJIPEj-b...pg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GJIPFsna...pg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GJIPG0Xa...pg&name=medium

https://la.urbanize.city/post/excava...x-sherman-oaks

That's really cool looking!!!

Oops

More details from the article:

• A cylindrical 22 story, 525,000 square foot tower.
  
• A pathway will loop around the tower, accessible from Sunset Boulevard on both sides of the building.
  
• A lower structure next to the tower would be wrapped with an expansive LED video screen showing digital art and images generated by tenants.
  
• The proposal calls for restaurants, entertainment production space, a theater and exhibition space for art shows and other events on the Star’s ground level.
  
• Parking for nearly 1,300 vehicles would be underground.
  
• Miracle hopes to start work on the 525,000-square-foot building by late 2026 and open its doors in 2029.
  
• The Star is the first commercial development for Miracle, who is known for building deluxe single-family properties.

REMEMBER: Don't fall in love with initial renderings like these or expect the building to look precisely and exactly like this. If this building even happens--and there's no guarantee it will--there will be a divergence from the renderings. Accept that inevitability and you can avoid the usual anger and extreme bitterness at reality that comes from falling in love with luscious renderings intended to sell the project.

Office tower planned for Hollywood gets new design and billion-dollar price tag

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/d...gup-240210.jpg
A rendering of the Star, a proposed 22-story office building in Hollywood, designed by Norman Foster. (Foster + Partners)

Roger Vincent
Los Angeles Times
March 20, 2024

At a time when office landlords are struggling to attract and keep tenants, a Hollywood real estate developer is forging ahead with plans for a visually arresting high-rise on Sunset Boulevard that would cater to the entertainment industry.

The owner of the property at 6601 Sunset, Los Angeles investor and developer Maggie Miracle, has doubled down on an earlier $500-million proposal for the site near Gower Street with a $1-billion greenery-laden “vertical campus” designed by esteemed English architect Norman Foster.

Miracle’s family-run company on Tuesday submitted to the city revised design plans for the office tower, which has been dubbed “the Star.” Renderings show a cylindrical high-rise stitched with colorful gardens spiraling from street to roof. A rooftop restaurant will be open to the public.
. . . .

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/d...ast-240305.jpg
A rendering of the building, looking east on Sunset Boulevard. (Foster + Partners)

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/d...terrace-b1.jpg
Plans for the Star office building in Hollywood call for landscaped outdoor terraces serving tenants on each floor. (Foster + Partners)

Historic Sportsmen’s Lodge hotel may be demolished for 520-unit apartment complex

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/d...residences.png
A rendering of the proposed residential building that would replace the Sportsmen’s Lodge hotel. (Marmol Radziner)

Jenna Peterson
Los Angeles Times
April 3, 2024

The historic Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City could be demolished to make way for a 520-unit residential complex and mixed-used development if the Los Angeles City Council approves the project Wednesday. Proponents of the development say it would bring much-needed affordable housing that would enable workers to live closer to their jobs. Opponents say the developers have not sufficiently weighed the project’s effects and that it would erase an important piece of history.

The Sportsmen’s Lodge hotel permanently closed when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Now, the only active part of the property is the neighboring Shops at Sportsmen’s Lodge, which opened in 2021 with retailers including grocery chain Erewhon and the sustainable clothing and shoe store Allbirds. The lodge’s event center was demolished to make room for the shops.

In addition to the 520 apartment units, 78 of which would be set aside for low-income tenants, the project would include 46,000 square feet of commercial space. The design would also include a bike and pedestrian path along the L.A. River.
. . . .

Saddened by the loss of Sportsman's Lodge, but the architecture on this is about as good as it gets for LA.

RIP to The Star version 1.0. We hardly knew ye. Oh well. The new design is nice, and double the price tag!

Studio owners revise plans for $1-billion update of historic Television City

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/d...n-city-001.jpg
The main entrance to Television City on Beverly Boulevard at Genesee Avenue as proposed by studio owner Hackman Capital Partners. (Courtesy of Foster + Partners and Television City)

Roger Vincent
Los Angeles Times
April 4, 2024

The owners of Television City have scaled back their plans to enlarge and modernize the landmark Los Angeles studio where CBS began making shows to broadcast nationwide at the dawn of the television age.

Formerly known as CBS Television City, the studio sits next to popular tourist attractions the Original Farmers Market and the Grove shopping center in the Fairfax district where it has been operating since 1952 as a factory for such hit shows as “All in the Family,” “Sonny and Cher” and “American Idol.”

CBS sold the famous studio for $750 million in 2019 to Hackman Capital Partners, one of the world’s largest movie lot owners and operators. CBS continues to occupy Television City as a tenant.

. . . .

There's a lot more. Read the rest here.

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/d...n-city-003.jpg
An architect’s rendering of the planned office and production space at Television City, an entertainment studio in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles. (Courtesy of Foster + Partners and Television City)

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/d...n-city-004.jpg
An architect’s rendering of plans for Television City. (Courtesy of Foster + Partners and Television City)

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/d...n-city-005.jpg
A rendering of the entrance to the planned mobility hub on Fairfax Avenue where shuttle buses from a nearby subway station would come and go. (Courtesy of Foster + Partners and Television City)

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/d...n-city-006.jpg
The signature red awning at Television City as seen from Beverly Boulevard. (Courtesy of Foster + Partners and Television City)

. . . .

I think this is a much better plan. I'm always surprised when a project becomes better, not worse with iteration.

That whole part of LA could change quite a bit this decade.

There's signifigant proposals around Wilshire/Fairfax and Wilshire/La Cienega/east Beverly Hills. and the Beverly Center/Cedars area too.

It looks very good to me. That entire area between Hollywood to West Hollywood to Mid City is really on the brink of a massive improvement.

From the LAT article:

This is unfortunate.

How does that even make sense when you have street fronting cafes that are not behind a gate? Unless this means there's more retail that is behind the gate?

I don't know for certain, but I think it means that street-facing retail will have no back doors that could provide access to the interior of the complex.

I think it's saying the office buildings are only accessible from inside the gate however, the retail is accessibile to the public and the street

That makes much more sense. No business is going to set up shop on Fairfax where the public can't access it from Fairfax. Phew!

Re-read that line again, people. It says quite explicitly that the ground floor retail will only be accessible from inside the complex, not the street.

The wording of one paragraph is ambiguous, but I think the subsequent paragraph about the "balancing act" of retaining security while making Television City more neighborhood-friendly clears up the ambiguity. Taken together, I read the following two paragraphs as saying: There will be shops and restaurants serving the public on Fairfax; the restaurants and shops will be on the ground floor of office buildings; the office buildings themselves will be accessible only from inside the lot.

On Fairfax Avenue, where pedestrians now pass by a fenced parking lot, there would be shops and restaurants serving the public on the ground floor of office buildings that could be reached only from inside the lot.

The separation is part of the balancing act Hackman Capital is attempting to make Television City feel more friendly to the neighborhood while retaining the security and exclusivity of a closed campus that appeals to celebrities and others who make movies and television shows.

I don't see anything in the revised plans about the shops being publicly accessible. It's confusing because they frequently use the term "pedestrian" when describing access and entry and that can be confused with "public" and I think that's what happened. The LA Times maybe thought that the entrances were public but they're really just pedestrian entrances. The amount of retail hasn't even changed, still 20,000 sq ft.

Like I said, the way I read the article and the way I see the accompanying rendering below, I think the plan is to have shops and restaurants that the public can access directly from Fairfax--yes, by foot--but the public will not be able to access the offices above those shops and restaurants, nor the soundstages and such within the gated areas inside the complex.

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/d...n-city-005.jpg

Looks like there is public accessible retail at the Beverly entrance as well. And reading that quote again, it says there will be shops and restaurants serving the public ON Fairfax. That's exactly what the rendering shows.

What kind of business would take out a lease like that where their traffic is limited by the amount of activity taking place on the office campus on any given day? And most workers are M-F, so the businesses would voluntarily choose to lose out on revenue from the public on weekends while paying a premium lease cost? None of that makes much sense so I have to imagine a decent amount would be open to the public, similar to the businesses in the Playa Vista office park.

Also, if we read the two paragraphs from the article re-quoted below as meaning that there will be no public access to the shops and restaurants on the perimeter of the complex, then what exactly is the "balancing act" between making the project neighborhood-friendly while retaining security for filming inside the gates? What is getting "balanced" if we read the following to mean "access only from within the security gates and not from the street?

On Fairfax Avenue, where pedestrians now pass by a fenced parking lot, there would be shops and restaurants serving the public on the ground floor of office buildings that could be reached only from inside the lot.

The separation is part of the balancing act Hackman Capital is attempting to make Television City feel more friendly to the neighborhood while retaining the security and exclusivity of a closed campus that appeals to celebrities and others who make movies and television shows.

Just an update: the new office tower in Century City is already up about ten floors, and it looks like curtain wall instillation is about to begin

Oh wow. I didnt know it was that far long.

I didn't either until I drove by. The project already has quite the imposing effect on the surrounding area.

Can someone in LA shoot a picture of it when they get the chance?

Thanks :cool:

Heading over to Century City this weekend. I will try to get a shot!

Was surprised by it on Monday - it's very prominently placed! Can also try to get a shot next Monday.

I should be down there on Sunday and will see what I can get.

LACMA is pretty far along as well. They are installing the windows.

The newly named CAA building in century city. I wasn't aware how far along this project is.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c95a450f_k.jpg

1800 Ave of Stars reskin is complete. We lost its twin to Westfield's Eataly/Equinox wing. Also, not pictured is its taller next door neighbor 1900 Ave of Stars which is also under a reskin/renovation. That's 3 black/dark colored buildings in CC either whitened or demolished... umm... times a change, but are we really white washing high rises now?? jokes... but not really.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...74ba1668_k.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...19d13ebd_b.jpg

Speaking of whitewashing... I dont know if these pictures will do it justice but Inglewood's Hollywood park apartments are among the highest quality I've seen on a 5-over1 type 3 wood frame apartment construction. Simple, clean... I really wish more wood frame apartment buildings look like this when they go for modern California instead of the trash we often get in LA. It doesn't seem like this is that much more costly to look this good.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...aa5c3668_h.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1f9b40ef_h.jpg

Look at how they hid this stairwell
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...79a574b5_h.jpg[/url]

I snapped a few shots of CAA this afternoon today too. You can actually see the crane from the 405. Hit Century City about 30 minutes after the rain stopped and was rewarded with some amazing skies...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b74ef05e_h.jpg
IMG_1113 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...95534bb7_h.jpg
Untitled by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9fed4625_h.jpg
Untitled by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...344bcf97_h.jpg
IMG_1118 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...43d30f6e_h.jpg
Untitled by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...215b3ca4_h.jpg
Untitled by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...41aea7d4_h.jpg
Untitled by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

Bonus - Long Beach from the Seal Beach Pier:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a79c5dc1_h.jpg
Untitled by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...978b7c66_h.jpg
Untitled by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8c3029d5_h.jpg
IMG_1163 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9e7e512f_h.jpg
IMG_1153 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9d71ad0d_h.jpg
IMG_1190 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b46e9f8f_h.jpg
IMG_1175 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

I wish the Hollywood park developments in general had better urban planning and connectivity with the existing city. The material quality seems good. It just seems like the area will be insolated and sterile and sleepy.

Great pics hugh and plinko!

Until I saw plinko's pics above, I never realized that Century Plaza Towers' angled corners are tapered--I learn something new every day.

Aon Center in DTLA tapers as well. It's about 5 or 10 feet wider at the base than at the top.

Plinko-- did you take those photos of Long Beach from Seal Beach?

Wow! Great to see the Century City project rising at such a rapid pace!

Yes, from the Seal Beach Pier

I have good memories of the Seal Beach pier. I lived in Sunset Beach when I was a kid and in elementary school and middle school, we went fishing on the boats that used to leave from the end of the Seal Beach pier.

I'm amazed how quickly the office tower is going up.