Hollywood Revival? They’re Dreaming!

CIM Group partners will be making a $100-million mistake if they think they can transform Hollywood into a trendy urban area [“Firm Building on Hollywood Revival,” Commercial Real Estate, Aug. 3].

Old Pasadena and Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade were drab retail districts within solid upper-middle-class neighborhoods. In the case of Santa Monica, the city was always a desirable place to live, with exclusive homes and apartments.

Old Pasadena always has had a good reputation besides being the home of the Rose Parade. It was inevitable that these areas would be restored and revitalized.

Dreamers of duplicating this renovation in Hollywood are terribly misguided. A retail Potemkin Village won’t succeed in a region that has been in decline for 40 years.

ELIA RICHARD MORRIS

Canoga Park

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