Hollywood & Vine Mixed-Use Project Tops Out in Blockbuster Style

By Teresa O’Dea Hein, Managing EditorLos Angeles–In true Hollywood fashion, the recent well-choreographed topping out ceremony for the W Hollywood Hotel & Residences included a dramatic performance by aerial acrobats unfurling celebratory banners from the rooftop. The $600 million Hollywood & Vine mixed-use development includes 143 W Residences, an adjacent 305-room W Hotel, Legacy Partners’ 1600 Vine apartment homes, approximately 50,000 square feet of retail space, and transit plaza improvements at the Hollywood/Vine Red Line Metro Station in Hollywood. The whole project is slated for completion in Fall 2009.The W Residences are condos that are hotel branded, not condo-hotel rooms, and residents have their own entrance, lobby and pool, with access to all hotel amenities. The 1600 Vine community will consist of 375 apartments (including 78 affordable units) at the world-famous intersection of Hollywood & Vine.“Let there be no doubt–Hollywood loves a comeback, and today’s celebration confirms that the most anticipated comeback of 2009 will be the return of sophisticated, glamorous lifestyle to Hollywood & Vine,” said Marty Collins, president and CEO of Gatehouse Capital, the developer of W Hollywood Hotel & Residences. The W Hollywood Hotel & Residences is the first branded project providing hotel, retail and luxury condos in Los Angeles. Collins, who has helped drive a lifestyle renaissance at Hollywood and Vine for more than a decade, was joined at the celebration by Legacy Partners President Dean Henry, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti, ABC late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel, W Hollywood Partner Clark Hanrattie of HEI Hotels & Resorts, and a host of project consultants, luxury real estate brokers and community leaders.”The Metro is really coming into its own, as people recognize its benefits and convenience,” Tim O’Brien, senior vice president and partner at Legacy Partners, tells MHN. Furthermore, he adds, “We’re fortunate to be on the front end of the renaissance in Hollywood and we stand to be in good shape in that housing market as other, later multifamily projects have since been put on hold indefinitely.”Already, O’Brien reports, the majority of the development’s retail space has been leased, to a specialty grocer, financial institution and a restaurant, respectively. “Hollywood and Vine is one of the world’s most famous intersections and now it’s making a Hollywood comeback with the W Hollywood Hotel and Residences,” said LA City Council President Eric Garcetti, whose district includes Hollywood. “When complete, the W Hollywood will be the landmark eastern gateway to our renewed Hollywood Entertainment District. This new project is registered for LEED certification with sustainable design, easy access to mass transportation, use of low-impact design and construction techniques, and a host of new technologies designed to conserve and reduce energy and natural resource consumption.””The Hollywood and Vine project brings good-paying jobs, transit-oriented development, affordable housing, and economic growth to the heart of our City,” said Mayor Villaraigosa. “It is a sign of our ongoing commitment to smart investments across the LA landscape, and it will add yet another star to our ‘walk of fame.’ “The W Hollywood Hotel & Residences is a joint venture project of Gatehouse Capital and HEI Hotels & Resorts. HKS Architects, Los Angeles Studio, is the lead architecture firm on the project, in association with Rios Clementi Hale Studios of Los Angeles. Interior designs provided by Daly Genik Architects of Los Angeles and Design Studio Limited of Portland, Ore.“The Hollywood/Vine project is one of the crown jewels of Metro’s Joint Development Program, which seeks to reduce auto use and increase transit ridership through the construction of high-quality, transit-oriented developments around Metro stations and transit corridors,” said Roger Snoble, Metro CEO. “We congratulate Gatehouse Capital, HEI Hotels & Resorts and Legacy Partners on reaching this important construction milestone, and we look forward to adding Hollywood/Vine to Metro’s long list of successful mixed-use joint developments within Los Angeles County.”Legacy Partners, based in Foster City, Calif., also announced that its apartment homes will feature a number of boutique-style floor plans. Studio apartments will average 800 square feet; one bedrooms will range from 667 to 1,173 square feet; and two bedrooms from 993 square feet to 1,591 square feet. One-, two- and three-bedroom townhomes will range from 1,277 to 3,134 square feet, with the latter including several dual-level penthouse units on the project’s 11th and 12th floors. Apartments will feature solid-surface kitchen and bath countertops, gas ranges with microwaves, individual gas water heaters, full-size washer/dryers, dual vanities (in select units), high-speed Internet access and cable TV in all rooms, and enclosed balconies. Community amenities include 30,000 square feet of street-level retail space, resident lounge with plasma TVs, 5,000-sq.-ft. clubhouse, professional-grade fitness center with private Yoga/Pilates room, private infinity-edge swimming pool with spa, executive conference center with computers, controlled-access resident entries, private-access subterranean parking and landscaped garden courtyards. Legacy’s 1600 Vine luxury apartment community is situated on the legendary “Hollywood Walk of Fame,” with more than 70 “stars” featured on the project’s property line, including Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. In addition, world-renowned artist, Jennifer Steinkamp, has been commissioned to create a public art piece for 1600 Vine as part of the Community Redevelopment Agency public art policy for the Los Angeles, which requires developers to incorporate art into their projects. The Hollywood & Vine project will be developed on the entire city block bounded by Hollywood Boulevard to the north, Vine Street to the west, Selma Avenue to the south and Argyle Avenue to the east, with the exception of the historic Taft Building located on the northwest corner of the block at the Hollywood and Vine intersection. The project team for 1600 Vine includes Legacy Partners Residential Inc., developer; CalPERS, Legacy’s equity partner; Webcor Builders, general contractor; Deutsche Bank Berkshire Mortgage, construction lender; and HKS Architects, Inc., project architect.