Excavation Underway for Hollywood's Columbia Square

When we last saw the Columbia Square project in August, I wondered if the site was being readied for construction.  We now have an answer, as excavation has started for Kilroy Realty's $300 million re-development of the former CBS Studios.  The parking lot on the northern side of the parcel is making way for two new office buildings and a 22-story residential high-rise, set to create 330,000 square feet of office space and 200 apartments.  The new buildings will sit atop a four-and-a-half level subterranean parking garage (?!).

The adaptive re-use of Columbia Square's original 1938 buildings began over the summer.  Construction crews are currently gutting the interiors of the William Lescaze designed complex to repurpose it as creative office and commercial space.  I feared that the fire which damaged the construction site in September might have delayed the project.  Sometimes it's nice to be wrong.

Viewed from the southeastern corner of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street

• Columbia Square Getting Ready for Construction? (Building Los Angeles)
• Columbia Square Complex in Hollywood Damaged in Fire (ABC7)

Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles Moving HQ to Pico Union

LAFLA's proposed headquarters, viewed from the corner of 8th Street and Union Avenue.

According to an initial study recently published by the Department of City Planning, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) is about to embark on a complete rebuild of its modest Pico Union office.  Contingent on city approvals, plans call for the forgettable low-rise building at 1550 W. 8th Street to be demolished.  In its place, LAFLA would construct a four-story structure, containing approximately 34,000 square feet of office space and a 33-car parking garage.  In addition, the building would feature more than 9,000 square feet of private open space, consisting mostly of terraces and balconies on upper floors.

The rebuilt Pico Union office - more than quadruple the size of the existing two-story facility - would become LAFLA's new headquarters, absorbing all operations currently housed on Crenshaw Boulevard.  Planning documents describe the new headquarters as "modern, efficient and client-friendly."  Its central location, in close proximity to densely-populated neighborhoods such as Westlake and Koreatown, will facilitate LAFLA's mission to provide quality legal services to impoverished families and individuals.

The proposed office building is being designed by House & Robertson Architects, the Culver City-based firm which has recently made waves for the proposed remodel of the Peterson Automotive Museum.  Their vision for Pico Union is significantly less ostentatious: Facade materials for LAFLA's new building would consist mostly of glass and earth-tone cement plaster.

A total of three zoning variances will be needed build the project in its current form.  Specifically, LAFLA has requested 1) a reduction in the building's total parking requirement, 2) a permit to include more compact parking spaces than allowed by code and 3) the elimination of an on-site loading space at the back of the property.  Should the city grant these requests, the new office building is scheduled to complete its 13-month build-out in 2016.

Northern elevation

Image credit: S.L. Leaonard & Associates, Inc.

Image credit: S.L. Leonard & Associates, Inc.

1550 W. 8th Street

• Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles Project (LADCP)
• Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (S.L. Leonard & Associates, Inc.)

Columbia Square Getting Ready for Construction?

Selma and El Centro

The giant parking lot at the back of the former CBS Studios complex on Sunset Blvd is starting to make way for the long awaited Columbia Square development.  Work on the adaptive re-use of the existing buildings began in Spring of 2013, and now it appears that developer Kilroy Realty is readying the site for construction of the new office and residential buildings.

Here's a look at what we have in store.

All images from Kilroy Realty

Landscaped courtyard serving the office buildings and residential tower.

A still image from Kilroy's promotional video, providing a bird's eye view from the southeast.

The building in the foreground is Studio B/C, re-envisioned as creative office space.

Overhead view of the interior courtyard.  LA is an outdoor town, and Kilroy has included a lot of outdoor amenities in their vision for Columbia Square.

View from the corner of Selma and Gower.

A bird's eye view from the southwest.  Glad to see storefronts along the Sunset Blvd side of the property.

Since Columbia Square is a large, multifaceted development, the project will open in phases.  The renovation of the historic CBS Studios and the construction of the new subterranean parking garage are both set to wrap up midway through 2014.  The new office buildings are scheduled to open late in 2015.  Completion of the 22 story residential tower is expected by early 2016.

When finished, Columbia Square will bring 200 residential units and 330,000 square feet of office space to Hollywood.  The development will activate Sunset Blvd with 33,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.  This project is one of many set to break ground in Hollywood within the next several years, including two buildings at Selma and Vine, Sunset Bronson Studios' new office tower, and the infamous Millennium Hollywood Towers.  Perhaps Crescent Heights will have shovels in the dirt for the Palladium Residences as well.

In the meantime, I highly recommend checking out the fly through video posted on the Columbia Square website.

• Columbia Square
• Selma and Vine Moving Towards Construction (Building Los Angeles)
• First Look at New Design For H'wood's Sunset Bronson Studios (Curbed LA)
• A Look at the Open Space in the Millennium Hollywood Project (Building Los Angeles)
• Here Are Your Palladium Residences (Building Los Angeles)