Millennium Partners and Argent Ventures are moving forward with their plan to transform 4.47 acres of vacant parking lots surrounding Hollywood’s iconic, mid-century Capitol Records Building into a transit-oriented, mixed-use development. Located on the famous intersection of Hollywood and Vine, the Millennium Hollywood Project will feature two residential buildings reaching heights up to 585 feet, designed by Handel Architects, that are grounded by a High Line-inspired public space by James Corner Field Operations.
With the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) currently on public review, the New York-based developers are hoping to get city approvals underway in early 2013.
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The two Handel-designed buildings rising on the site intend to frame views of the Capitol Records Building and the Gogerty Building, which will be preserved under the oversight of architect Bill Roschen of Roschen Van Cleve Architects – a Los Angeles firm with widely recognized success in the marriage of historic structures with new development. Roschen and Handel Architects have already begun to collaborate with James Corner Field Operations on the design of “extensive open space, street-level plazas, and enhanced pedestrian circulation encompassing approximately 25 percent of the entire site”.
The mixed-use development scenario includes:
- 492 residential units
- 200 luxury hotel rooms
- 215,000 square feet of Class A office space that includes the existing Capitol Records Building and the Gogerty Building
- 34,000 square feet of restaurant space
- 35,100 square feet of sports club use
- 15,000 square feet of commercial retail space
Additionally, Millennium is proposing to replace the existing, underused lots with eight levels of above ground parking, offering around 2,000 parking spaces, and three levels of below ground parking.
Although Millennium Hollywood is reportedly supported by Capital Records, one of structure’s original architects – Louis Naidorf – and Mayor Villaraigosa, the project has received strong opposition from local residents who fear the development will bring unwanted traffic and obstructed views. Also, preservationists have voiced their concern that the famous landmark of Capital Records will be eclipsed, rather than “framed”.
In attempt to appease traffic concerns, developers promise to widen intersections, add turn lanes, donate money for an upgrade of the city’s traffic signals, and create “a traffic demand management program,” which they say will reduce the five affected intersections down to two.
For more, review the project’s Draft Environmental Impact Report, which is available online from the Los Angeles City Planning Department’s website.
Architect: Handel Architects and Roschen Van Cleve Architects Landscape Architect: James Corner Field Operations Client: Millennium Partners and Argent Ventures Location: Hollywood, California Site Area: 4.47 acres
Reference: Millennium Hollywood, LA Curbed
