Crescent Heights made a big splash via Curbed LA when they
announced plans for a two high rise development on the massive surface parking lot behind the Hollywood Palladium. Now as the proposal moves through the planning process, we are getting a chance to flesh out what to expect.
First up, the specs on the two buildings:
...two new buildings which would be up to 28 stories and approximately 350 [feet] in height.
The
project's initial study presents two different options for what uses the building shall hold. Option 1 reads as follows:
Residential option, the two buildings would contain up to 731 residential units.
And Option 2:
Residential/Hotel Option, the two buildings would contain up to 598 residential units and in the southwest building fronting on Argyle Avenue, up to 250 hotel rooms and ancillary hotel uses including banquet, meeting and related retail space.
Both options offer
14,000 square feet of retail split between a low rise structure at the corner of Argyle and Sunset, as well as at the ground floor of the tower along El Centro. The initial study also indicates that the project will feature a gym, a spa, an outdoor pool terrace, a rooftop terrace, and private balconies (the outdoorsy type of amenities that LA really should have). The towers would provide up to
1,900 (!) parking spaces (isn't this a block away from a subway station?), as well as up to
820 bike parking stalls.The developer emphasizes that the buildings are designed to avoid obscuring the Hollywood Palladium (not unlike what the
Millennium Hollywood project has attempted to do with the Capitol Records Tower). Let's see if the design stands up to those claims.
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| Here we see the towers from the intersection of Sunset and El Centro. I'm no architecture expert, but I'm really digging the facade of these towers. Their height is consistent with other nearby high rises, so I don't consider them to be "out of scale," with the rest of the neighborhood. |
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| Checking out how the building meets the street on Sunset, Argyle and El Centro. No Selma? The ground level retail will be nice on El Centro, especially since the new design of next-door neighbor Columbia Square makes no effort to activate the opposite side of the street. |
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| Some more detailed views of the ground level entrances to the project. Nice wide sidewalks and high visibility crosswalks. That blank wall on Sunset Court is kind of boring...perhaps a mural to brighten the area up? |
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| A view of some the rooftop terraces. A pool crammed in between the two buildings would be in the shade from the towers quite often. Might not be a great location for it. |
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| A look at where the the Palladium Residences would stand in the context of the growing Hollywood skyline. Significantly taller than the under construction Sunset Gordon Tower, but dwarfed by the Millennium Hollywood development. |
Well, you can count me as a fan. I see attractive architecture that fits in well with its surroundings. What more could you ask for? Of course, it's yet to be seen if the Palladium Residences can make their way through Hollywood's NIMBY gauntlet.
