Agency Boosts Funding for Development in Hollywood

The Los Angeles redevelopment board agreed Thursday to nearly double the public money in a housing and hotel project at the famous but forlorn corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street.

The $326-million project will include construction of an upscale, 11-story W hotel with 296 rooms and some 32,000 square feet of retail and spa space, a 145-unit condominium project in a 13-story tower, 350 apartments and parking.

The site is on the southeast corner of Hollywood and Vine. It includes a parking lot that was once the home of the Brown Derby restaurant, which opened in 1929. During its heyday, the Brown Derby was a magnet for Hollywood celebrities.

City officials hope the project will continue the rebirth of Hollywood that started with other major developments in the area, including the Hollywood & Highland shopping and entertainment complex.

To that end, the city agreed to contribute $4.8 million to the project, up from the $2.5 million originally pledged in late 2003.

Approving changes to the original agreement, the redevelopment board ratified a pact with Legacy Partners 2480 LLC, which will develop the apartments, and Gatehouse Capital and HEI Hospitality Fund Acquisition, which will jointly develop the hotel and condominiums, agency officials said.

The pact still must be approved by the Los Angeles City Council.

“These amendments move us another step closer in this signature project for Hollywood and the City of Los Angeles,” Community Redevelopment Board Chairman Paul Hudson said. “It significantly increases the number of housing units, especially affordable units, to help meet the city’s ever-increasing demand for housing.”

Agency critic John Walsh, who lives two blocks from the 4.6-acre site, said taxpayers should not be subsidizing a four-star hotel for the wealthy.

“This is welfare for a corporation,” Walsh said. “An attempt to gentrify this area will fail just like the attempt at Hollywood and Highland.”