Category Archives: Hollywood Chamber

Business, Economic Development, Hollywood, Hollywood Chamber, Revitalization

Hollywood is well-positioned for Future Growth

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Welcome to my 54th and final It is All About Jobs column. I started this piece several years ago to relate the importance of jobs to our economy and prosperity. Providing good jobs is essential if we are to keep up with the high cost of living in Los Angeles and California. I feel strongly that is where we need to keep our focus as we address challenges.

I will be retiring from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce at the end of December – ending 26 years of working to bring Hollywood back from a decades-long economic slump. Hollywood is now well-positioned for the future and has done its part to address the jobs issue. I am retiring feeling confident as to its future.

Hollywood has demonstrated more than virtually every other submarket in Los Angeles County how to achieve a jobs-housing balance. More than 800,000-sq.ft. of office space is under construction today along with 2,900 housing units. Most of the office space has been pre-leased by Netflix, which is definitely becoming a major player in the Hollywood market. The company recently leased 325,000-sq.ft. at Hudson Pacific’s Epic project and another 355,000-sq.ft. at Kilroy’s Academy on Vine development. This, coupled with previous leases, will bring Netflix to 1.1-million sq.ft. of office space in Hollywood when occupied.

To realize how significant this is, you need to understand that in 2015, Hollywood’s Class A office space totaled only 973,564-sq.ft. according to JLL. Netflix has leased more space than the entire inventory of office space we had available only four years ago. Our recent building boom in commercial office space has reestablished Hollywood as an important commercial center.

Netflix’s recent leases are huge wins for Hollywood. One local developer explained to me that leases this large create their own ecosystem. We can expect other firms that do business with Netflix will move in. We will see new restaurants and service businesses spring up, and we will see existing businesses benefit as well from the added customers. We are already seeing more pedestrians on the sidewalks and more energy and vitality in the neighborhood. And the residential projects that are under construction should have no problem finding occupants for their units. Hopefully, we will also finally begin to see major retailers seeking space in the Hollywood market.

It wasn’t that many years ago when we feared Hollywood’s commercial district was in danger of being lost. The City had approved an adaptive reuse ordinance which allowed property owners to convert outdated commercial buildings to residential uses. While the law had many positive benefits, we still lost about 200,000-sq.ft. of office space with no future space on the horizon. We were faced with the conundrum of not being able to attract class A tenants because we had no new class A office space, and we couldn’t attract new office developments because we couldn’t demonstrate there was a demand by tenants for office space in Hollywood.

Fortunately for Hollywood, three major developers – Hudson Pacific, Kilroy Realty and J.H.Snyder entered this market and all built new office buildings, despite our not having a track record. Their faith in Hollywood paid off. Hollywood has now proven itself as a viable office market. Its future as a commercial center is assured.

So, as I step off the stage, I feel very comfortable with how things have progressed to rebuild a viable commercial district in this historic community. I will be watching with great interest from the sidelines to see the progress that is made. Hollywood has a bright future today because of our success in bringing new jobs and development to the community. I wish my replacement as President & CEO, Rana Ghadban, the very best. I know she will take the Chamber and community to new heights. Hooray for Hollywood!!

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Leron Gubler has been serving as the President and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for the past 26 years. He will be retiring at the end of the year. His last day will be December 27th. He can be contacted after that time via email [email protected]. His tenure since 1992 oversaw the great comeback story of Hollywood.

 

Business, City of Los Angeles, Community, Competition, Customer Service, Hollywood Chamber, Trash

A Case Study on Why We Need Competition

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In the 38 years that I have worked in the City of Los Angeles (at two chambers of commerce), I have never seen anything quite like the rollout of RecycLA. It is fair to say that it has been nothing short of a disaster.

Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez has had a field day skewering the program. The Wall Street Journal has editorialized against it. Some councilmembers are now calling for a study on how to kill the program, and there is even the threat of a citizens’ initiative to force the City to pull the plug.

Since July, the Times reports there have been more than 28,000 complaints of missed collections and poor service. Rates have skyrocketed. We have members who report their trash collection fees have more than tripled – and unfortunately this is not a rare occurrence. Ratepayers report sharp increases across the board from when they had control of their own trash services. The City Council has begun holding hearings to determine where things went wrong – time that they could be spending on other important matters if they didn’t have an unfolding debacle with which to deal.

How did this mess occur? Perhaps an explanation can be found in the City’s justification of the RecycLA program to “expand recycling, improve workers’ pay and conditions, and put cleaner burning refuse trucks on the street.” While those are worthwhile goals, what is obviously missing from the statement is any reference to improving service to the City’s customers – the businesses and residents’ groups forced to use this program. Somehow the City seems to have forgotten whom they serve.

Hearings on the proposed program began back in 2011. The City was under the gun to comply with a State directive for mandatory commercial recycling. At the time, the debate was whether to go with exclusive or nonexclusive franchise districts. The chief administrative officer (CAO) for the City recommended going with a non-exclusive system in order to preserve competition. Despite that recommendation, the City Council approved an exclusive system. Our chamber was represented at every hearing as were numerous other business organizations. We warned then that eliminating competition was a recipe for disaster – but hardly anyone listened. So now, with the debacle that has occurred, I think it wouldn’t hurt to refresh everyone’s memory on why competition is a good thing, and what happens when you grant exclusive franchise contracts.

If you google the word “competition” on the internet, you can find excellent material. Forbes, for example, has identified five reasons why competition is the best solution. Consider the following:

  1. Innovation – healthy competition encourages change and innovation, which leads to improvements and helping a company distinguish itself from the competition.
  2. Customer Service – competition forces a business to improve its service in order to compete for customers.
  3. Complacency – without competition, businesses become complacent. Competition forces a business to innovate.
  4. Understanding your core market – Competition moves a business to focus on its core audience and to figure out how to provide better service.
  5. Education – having competitors helps a business better understand what works and what doesn’t and can provide valuable insights.

These points illustrate why the City is going to have a difficult time reforming RecycLA to be effective. When you eliminate competition, you are headed for trouble. When you have an exclusive contract, what is the incentive to try and improve? You cannot legislate good service.

The Federal Trade Commission, which administers antitrust laws, has said that “competition in the marketplace is good for consumers and good for business. … When firms compete with each other, consumers get the best possible prices, quantity, and quality of goods and services.”

Yes, in certain instances, there can be justification for a monopoly, but by and large, that should only be a rare occasion, such as with certain utilities. And even with utilities, there is a debate on whether we would be better served with competition (remember the break-up of telecommunications? Somehow, we not only survived but prospered with the advent of competition).

I don’t know if the City can find a way to back out of a 10-year contract with the trash haulers holding these exclusive franchises. That part of this sad saga has yet to be written, but let’s hope that the City’s decisionmakers have learned why competition has been the basis of the U.S. economy for more than two centuries. It is one of the main reasons for our country’s success. I’ve always found it best not to mess with success.

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Leron Gubler has been serving as the President and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for the past 25 years. His tenure since 1992 continues to oversee the great comeback story of Hollywood.

 

California, City of Los Angeles, Community, Economic Development, Hollywood, Hollywood Chamber, Revitalization

The Elephant in the Room

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The legislative season is over, and we finally have begun to see our California legislature act on the housing crisis in this state. The Governor signed 15 bills that were intended to smooth the way to more housing being built.

Over the past year, you have heard me discuss the importance of addressing California’s housing crisis. So, I think it is appropriate to commend the legislature and the Governor for taking steps to start addressing what is an enormous problem.

Among the bills that were passed was a $4-billion bond measure to provide new affordable-housing units, a provision to streamline housing requirements in cities that aren’t building to state-mandated goals, incentives for cities to plan new neighborhoods, and prod local governments to get shovels into the ground, and giving the State the ability to review any action or failure to act by a city or county that it deems out of compliance with its housing element.

According to the California Department of Housing and Community Development, the State is currently falling about 100,000 units short each year in what it should be building to meet the demand. Under the best-case forecasts, the 15 new measures will only make a dent in the shortfall.

Our representatives admitted this is only a down payment on what is needed to really have an impact on the housing crisis. The fact is, the one way to resolve the housing shortfall in a big way is to spur the private sector to build more units. The only way to do that is to address the “elephant in the room” which is to reform the California Environmental Quality Act – more commonly referred to as CEQA.

Achieving CEQA reform is a monumental task because of the many special interest groups that have grown a cottage industry of using CEQA to squeeze developers for money, concessions, or to outright stop needed projects. The Hollywood Chamber was a part of a broad-based statewide coalition that worked for years to reform CEQA. A couple of years ago, we thought reform was finally doable. However, amendments were tacked on to the reform bills that would have ended up making CEQA compliance even worse, so the reform effort was dropped at that time.

Before that, in 2011, our Chamber convinced then-State Senator Curren Price to introduce SB735 for us. We thought we had the perfect solution – a measure that would strengthen the timelines for judicial consideration of CEQA cases. The idea was to require the courts to meet stricter administrative deadlines, enabling judges to decide cases as was originally the intent of the CEQA law.

However, our effort died when the State Judicial Council opposed our efforts, saying they did not have the wherewithal to speed up the process. Because we were just coming out of the Great Recession, there was no chance of providing the funding that they needed to expedite the process at that time.

So, when the Legislature takes this issue up again next year, I have a few suggestions. Why not provide more funding for judges to review CEQA cases and also to provide an expedited litigation schedule for resolution of an action and stricter timelines for appeal of a judgment for all projects? While we appreciate that the State extended an expedited schedule for court review of large Environmental Leadership Development Projects, this should apply to all projects – especially housing. Providing more funding for the courts review process might be the best investment the State could make in speeding up the construction of new housing.

This wouldn’t solve all CEQA-related problems, but it would be a start. While it wouldn’t please those whose goal is to delay and delay and delay, I believe the majority of Californians would support common-sense action that would still allow CEQA challenges but speed up the litigation.

And here is another suggestion. Rather than just encourage cities to meet their housing goals, why not add some teeth to hold cities accountable to meet the mandate of their housing goals? Just last month, the news media reported that the city of Redondo Beach approved a moratorium on new multifamily units even though they had only achieved 41 percent of their housing goals. If there are no penalties, cities will continue to consider meeting housing goals as a suggestion rather than a mandate.

There will be other suggestions made, but I thought I’d get a head-start out of the gate. Let’s encourage our legislature to take the hard steps to resolve the housing crisis.

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Leron Gubler has been serving as the President and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for the past 25 years. His tenure since 1992 continues to oversee the great comeback story of Hollywood.

 

Business, City of Los Angeles, Community, Economic Development, Employment, Hollywood Chamber, Jobs, Real Estate, Target

Musings About a Target

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By now, most people have heard the disappointing news that Superior Court Judge Richard L. Fruin, Jr. has once again sided with a very small group of plaintiffs to prevent Hollywood’s new Target from being completed. I thought it might be appropriate to offer of few of my own observations on this sad state of affairs.

Let me first offer a little background. It has now been nine years since Target first filed to build a store in Hollywood. When it was initially approved by the City and threatened with a lawsuit, Target decided to do a complete Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to strengthen its case against lawsuits. However, that later proved to be of little value.

At issue was a quirk in the Station Neighborhood Area Plan (SNAP) that governs development in that area. The SNAP ordinance allows projects that are strictly retail to only be 35 feet in height, but allows mixed-use projects to be up to 75 feet. The City Council and Planning Commission felt that the Target would be a benefit to the neighborhood and granted a variance to allow the project to be built at the 75-foot height.

The La Mirada Neighborhood Association, which is reputed to have only two or three members, sued. Judge Fruin ruled that the EIR was fine, but that the city erred in granting a variance and should have changed the zoning.

The City, in order to comply with the judge’s order, created a new Subarea F zoning category for big box retail centers. Once again, the La Mirada Neighborhood Association sued, saying that the City should have performed a new EIR to justify the new zoning designation. And once again, the judge agreed with the plaintiffs. It serves no purpose to rebut the judge’s rationale for his decision, but I would like to share my thoughts on what a loss it means for Hollywood.

Between 250 and 300 permanent jobs have been lost to the community now for several years because of these lawsuits. These are jobs that could have been filled by many of the low-income residents in the neighborhood close to the Target site. In addition, the Target would have provided expanded shopping opportunities for our entire Hollywood community, and would have been within walking distance for many low-income neighborhoods. It is only two blocks from the Hollywood/Western subway station and so is easily reachable from all areas of Hollywood. We haven’t had a department store since Sears closed its Hollywood store in 2008, so this would have been a wonderful addition to the community.

I get more questions about the status of the Target from both residents and businesses than any other subject. There is overwhelming support in Hollywood for this store. So the question is “What are the specific reasons why these few people are opposing the Target so vehemently?”

Robert Silverstein, the plaintiff’s attorney, usually responds that the plaintiffs aren’t against a Target – they just want them to follow the city’s rules. My objection to that answer is that rules set by a city are not cast in stone. Historically, cities have always had broad discretionary powers to determine land use within their bounds. The SNAP ordinance is not the U.S. Constitution. The City should have the right to make changes as circumstances warrant.

We live in an urban area. What value is achieved by limiting a retail center to one story? When we have attended past hearings on the Target, the main justification of the opponents for their position is that they want housing built in the neighborhood, not just retail centers. If developers wants added height, they have to provide housing as well, they say. They also have voiced concerns over views being blocked or a building built out-of-scale with the neighborhood.

I could understand these arguments eight years ago, but circumstances have changed dramatically since that time and the rationale for those positions no longer applies. In the interim, three projects have been announced and are in the entitlement phase across the street from the Target that will provide 1,293 housing units. These projects will all be as high, or higher, than the Target. So what purpose is to be achieved by forcing the Target to be torn down and rebuilt at one story? My answer would be “Absolutely none.”

The opponents can bask in their latest court victory, but in my view, they should be asking themselves if they are really serving the greater good for Hollywood? If Target pulls out because they are tired of fighting this small group of naysayers, have the interests of Hollywood really been served? Does the loss of these needed jobs and shopping opportunities mean anything to the opponents?

Being with the Chamber of Commerce, I am an eternal optimist. We have been through some difficult times in Hollywood, and despite setbacks, the community’s revitalization continues to move forward. I remain hopeful that a solution can be found so that the Target can be completed. Meanwhile, I would urge everyone who is supportive of having the Target finished, to not be silent. Let the La Mirada Neighborhood Association know how you feel.

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Leron Gubler has been serving as the President and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for the past 24 years. His tenure since 1992 continues to oversee the great comeback story of Hollywood.

Hollywood Chamber, Transportation

Ballot Measure Would be a Giant Step for L.A.’s Mass Transit System

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A week ago, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (METRO) Board held a hearing on a proposed $120-billion plan to dramatically expand mass transit throughout the region. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce was on hand to support the Crenshaw Northern Extension. We have pressed for this project for several years, and so were pleased that it was included in the list of projects to be funded. However, we were disappointed that it is not scheduled to begin construction until 2049.

A little background for those not familiar with this project. The Crenshaw line is a north-south light rail line that will connect to an LAX people mover. Its northern terminus is at the Expo Line below the 10 Freeway. The proposal would extend that line north through the Mid City area and West Hollywood before terminating at the Hollywood & Highland Metro Station. I think most people would agree that it makes sense to connect the airport to the region’s top tourist destination. Hopefully, we can get this project’s timeline moved forward.

The important thing at the moment, though, is to get this plan approved on November 8th by the voters. That is not necessarily an easy thing, because all of the improvements (as currently proposed) would be funded by an extension of the existing sales tax for 18 years and an additional half-cent sales tax for at least 40 years, boosting the county’s base sales tax rate to 9.5-percent. The measure must be supported by two-thirds of the electorate.

In the past, L.A. voters have been supportive of mass transit, passing Measure R in 2008, and more recently, falling just short of the needed votes for Measure J in 2012, gaining 66.1-percent in support but needing 66.7-percent.

The new initiative calls for highway improvements as well as a dozen mass transit projects that would double our existing system. Having a transit system that gets people to where they want to go is key to the economic future of this region. It is also key to having a livable city.

One of the criticisms we often hear from opponents of mass transit expenditures is that the system doesn’t take people where they want to go – despite the fact that METRO is currently building five lines, more than any other place in the country. This new measure will expand the system even further. The sooner we get started on this expansion, the sooner there will be a system that gets people to more destinations.

The METRO network is the key to dealing with growth issues in the region, and is the only solution that I have heard from any source that makes sense. As is currently happening in Hollywood, future development would be encouraged in close proximity to transit stations. Yes, that may require up-zoning in areas near the stations, but by focusing development there, it also allows the City to preserve existing single-family neighborhoods elsewhere. As the system is built-out, residents will be able to utilize mass transit to get around. It is true that people will still have cars and use them, but by orders of magnitude, we will see significant improvement as the system is expanded.

There are three general suggestions to handle growth that I have heard that do not make sense. Some people suggest that we merely concentrate all development in Downtown L.A., but that is not an answer for growth. This region is so vast and spread out that you cannot accommodate all development in the center city. Besides that, if you do not encourage development within sub regions, those communities will deteriorate. New development is critical to revitalizing our neighborhoods.

The proponents of the proposed Neighborhood Integrity “no growth” Initiative don’t want increased density near transit stations. For them, the solution is to merely build-out under the current zoning citywide. The problem with that is it would spread development all over the city whether near transit or not, resulting in more congestion everywhere. Plus, you cannot justify the high cost of building a mass transit system if you cannot concentrate potential riders near the stations.

And then there are those who say they don’t care where development goes so long as it isn’t built near their neighborhoods. That is again not a solution and an abrogation of our responsibility. Development must go somewhere if we are to have a healthy economy, and it is better to have a plan than no plan at all.

Which brings us back to the Metro proposal that will likely be placed before voters this fall. There are hundreds of successful transit examples worldwide that point the way for Los Angeles. We have reached the physical limits of growth in this region. The basin is filling in. If our children are to have a future here, we have to find a way to grow and improve mobility.

Voters need to seriously consider the benefits of this expansion of our transit system and determine if those benefits justify the increase in sales taxes. Personally, I believe that the expansion is warranted. This region is on the right track, and with the support of voters we will continue in the right direction.

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Leron Gubler has been serving as the President and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for the past 24 years. His tenure since 1992 continues to oversee the great comeback story of Hollywood

Business, Culture, Employment, Hollywood, Hollywood Chamber, Jobs, Tourism

A New House Is Coming to Hollywood

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Recently I attended a gala press announcement hosted by the Japanese Consulate and Consul General Harry H. Horinouchi. I was particularly interested to learn about a cutting-edge initiative that is going to be very beneficial to Hollywood, and which is bound to become a new attraction for both locals and tourists.

Known as Japan House, the program is a new public diplomacy initiative from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to showcase the best of Japanese arts, culture, innovative technology, food, and more. The Ministry has selected three locations around the world to showcase the initiative – London, Sao Paulo and Los Angeles. Of particular interest to us is that Hollywood & Highland has been selected as the Los Angeles location.

The Los Angeles Japan House will bring the most authentic aspects of Japan to the world and will promote understanding and appreciation of Japan in the hopes of strengthening U.S.-Japanese relations. The concept is still being refined, but you can expect Japan House to open within 2017. You should also know that our own Beth Marlis, Chamber Chair of the Board, is on the advisory board to the Japanese consulate, working to make this a reality.

There are a few things that we already know about Japan House. It will consist of two separate locations at Hollywood & Highland. On the second floor, the facility will take up over 6,000-sq.ft., with a shop, café, multi-media room (and special presentations about Japanese culture), and a seminar room. On the fifth floor, there will be a Japanese restaurant featuring top Japanese chefs and an event space (in over 8,000-sq.ft.) which can accommodate 200 people.

This is exactly the type of attraction that Hollywood needs and can host better than any place else in Southern California. We already know that Hollywood is a magnet for people from the entire region. Enterprises such as the El Capitan Theatre, the Pantages Theatre, the Hollywood Bowl and Amoeba Records have proven that this is the place for entertainment. We are the top tourist destination in Los Angeles County as well – and with the pending opening of Universal Studio’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter – we expect that our desirability will continue to grow.

I believe that unique attractions such as Japan House have their greatest chance at success here. And they help our “brand” as well. For Hollywood to succeed, we must be able to continue to add new attractions that will draw people. We cannot sit back while other areas of Southern California open popular new venues.

Tourism, along with Entertainment and Health Care, are our three major employment sectors in this community. Thousands of jobs rest on our ability to continue to improve the Hollywood brand. The Hollywood Walk of Fame is one way that we constantly reinforce the brand, but we cannot rely just on the tried-and-true attractions.

We welcome Japan House to Hollywood and look forward to having their involvement in this community. As we learn more details about their plans, I am sure that the level of excitement will grow even more!

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Leron Gubler has been serving as the President and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for the past 24 years. His tenure since 1992 continues to oversee the great comeback story of Hollywood

Business, City of Los Angeles, Hollywood Chamber

Closure of Cashmere Sends Proper Message

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Two weeks ago, the Los Angeles City Council took action affirming the Department of City Planning’s decision to revoke a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for the Cashmere nightclub in Hollywood for multiple land use violations. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce applauds the action by the Council and the efforts of Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell.

Let me explain why the Chamber supports this action.

When an applicant seeks a CUP to open a club, the City establishes rules under which that club must operate. Those rules are set to protect the public – those who would visit the club as well as nearby residents and businesses. The types of rules that are set may include hours of operation, age restrictions, alcohol and food sales, capacity, and security requirements, among other things.

Over the years, there has been lax enforcement of CUPs. The Hollywood Chamber has been concerned for years about this and has urged proper enforcement. We were encouraged when the Planning Department set up its Conditional Compliance Unit a couple of years ago. We believed it was a step in the right direction. But progress has seemed to be painstakingly slow.

In the particular case of Cashmere, it had been the focus of numerous investigations by the LAPD over an extended period of time. Last August, a 20-year old male DJ died while employed at the nightclub. In another incident in 2014, investigators say a female college student was sexually assaulted at the club. Such incidents and investigations should have sent a message to the operator that steps needed to be taken to address the issues.

However, adequate measures were not taken. If an operator does not think there will be adequate enforcement, it can encourage some to flaunt the rules, which may have been the case here. The fact that the City has stepped in and taken the serious step to revoke the CUP sends a very strong message to those who don’t want to follow the rules. Without a CUP, the business is unable to continue operating.

Hollywood’s nightclubs are an essential component of our revitalization program. In the 1990s when things looked bleak as far as redevelopment, the clubs brought hope to the community. Early pioneers such as The Garden of Eden, Beauty Bar, Sunset Room and Deep helped to bring patrons to Hollywood. The clubs liked the edginess of Hollywood. Their success brought additional venues and Hollywood established a reputation as a nighttime hotspot.

A lot has transpired since those days as we have seen the revitalization of Hollywood take hold. Today, we see new retail, mixed-use residential projects, office space and hotels under construction.

While the clubs are no longer the backbone of the revitalization effort, they are still important. We have some great venues, which help us to provide nighttime entertainment. Most operators are outstanding, doing their best to adhere to their CUPs.

When the City clamps down on those who continually break the rules, it helps to establish the parameters for operating in Hollywood and it supports those clubs that do follow the rules.

Councilmember O’Farrell and the City took the right action in the case of Cashmere. While we hate to see any business close, we believe the message that was sent is good for Hollywood, good for our residents and visitors, and good for business.

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Leron Gubler has been serving as the President and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for the past 24 years. His tenure since 1992 continues to oversee the great comeback story of Hollywood

Economic Development, Hollywood Chamber

Columbia Square Shows How Development Helps the Community

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With all of the recent attacks on developers by NIMBYs (Not-in-my-backyard) who don’t want to see growth, I thought I would provide a case study on the positive aspects of new development.

Columbia Square is a perfect example. This $450-million, 700,000-sq.ft., mixed-use project by Kilroy Realty will have an “outsized” positive impact on Hollywood.

One of the most historic buildings on Sunset Blvd., Columbia Square was the West Coast home of CBS for many years. Built in 1938, it originated such shows as Jack Benny’s Lucky Strike Program, the Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, and The Swan Show starring George Burns and Gracie Allen. When CBS moved their studios out of Hollywood in 2007, its future was in question.

Now, thanks to the work and investment of Kilroy Realty Corp., Columbia Square is shining once more. The historic buildings have been restored and renovated as the L.A. hub for Neuehouse, a New York-based creative workspace collaborative. Acclaimed New York architect David Rockwell, who also designed the interior of the Dolby Theatre, designed the space. Architectural Digest gave the facility glowing reviews in January.

Writer Mayer Rus said of the space “If you’d like a window into the leading edge of creative work (and play) spaces in 2016, you need look no further than the recently completed NeueHouse Hollywood, the West Coast counterpart to the original Manhattan office hub for the so-called creative class. …the L.A. complex boasts a few attributes its Gotham forebear cannot claim: a building with an impeccable modernist pedigree; a site with a long and compelling history in the production of popular American culture; and the kinds of amenities one can enjoy only in a heavenly Mediterranean climate.”

Rus continued in the Architectural Digest article that “there are a number of restaurant and lounge experiences, including alfresco dining on the roof terraces – in facilitating discourse and comfort in the workplace.”

Not only has the historic building been preserved, which benefits the community enormously, but it is a place that visitors and residents can patronize and enjoy. Several restaurants have or are in the process of opening, including Rubies + Diamonds, Sugarfish, Sweetgreen and Paley.

Also preparing to move into Columbia Square is Viacom. CEO Philippe Dauman recently discussed the pending move into 180,000-sq.ft. of space with the L.A. Times. He noted that this will become the headquarters for their West Coast media networks and home base for about 700 employees from MTV, Comedy Central, VH1, BET, Spike, TV Land and Logo. It will provide them with new production stages, a lot of shooting space and a rooftop area for shoots with views of the Hollywood Sign. He noted that the Hollywood facility will be the largest mobile content studio in the industry.

Besides Viacom, Kilroy has announced that Fender Guitar has leased 40,000-sq.ft. and will be moving their headquarters from Scottdale, Arizona, to Hollywood. These will be new, high quality jobs for Southern California and Hollywood.

After the loss of dozens of entertainment firms over the past 20 years, the announcements by Viacom and Fender Guitar send a great message that Hollywood is back. However, of even greater import is bringing more than 700 quality jobs to the community. Hollywood has an opportunity to show that with smart growth, it is possible to grow a community with balanced jobs and housing. We are building both. We currently have 1,800 housing units under construction and more in the pipeline. In addition, there are several hundred thousand square feet of office space in development as well as several hotels.

This balance of different uses is what makes the revitalization of Hollywood so exciting. Locating jobs and housing in close proximity with nearby entertainment options and shopping are especially attractive to the Millennials who are locating here. When you consider the compact nature of Hollywood which makes it walkable, as well as its transit connectivity, one begins to see how growth can and should occur to make a community livable.

Due to this single project, we will see the preservation of a historic landmark, hundreds of construction jobs, hundreds more permanent jobs, new opportunities for dining as well as outstanding architecture. It is a win-win for the community. And it would not have been possible without the vision and investment of a developer.

Let’s keep this in mind when next you hear the negative attacks against development.

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Leron Gubler has been serving as the President and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for the past 24 years. His tenure since 1992 continues to oversee the great comeback story of Hollywood

Business, California, City of Los Angeles, Community, Economic Development, Hollywood Chamber

Why it is thumbs down on Neighborhood Initiative

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By now, you may have heard of a new anti-growth effort, the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative, being promoted by a group called the Coalition to Preserve L.A. The initiative would impose harsh restrictions on projects that require major changes to city planning rules – including putting a moratorium of up to 24 months on development projects that cannot be built without votes from elected officials to increase density. It would make it difficult to change the L.A. General Plan for individual real estate projects. It would place City employees directly in charge of preparation of environmental review of major projects. It would require the City Planning Commission to update the City’s community plans to be consistent with the City’s General Plan – even though these initiative supporters often fight any effort to update the community plans.

Let me say the obvious – that the goal of the initiative proponents is to stop any significant development within the City of Los Angeles. They claim that their initiative “will preserve the character of neighborhoods throughout the City of Los Angeles and improve the overall quality of life for city residents.” In actuality, it will worsen the quality of life for city residents – as there will be fewer jobs, higher housing prices, and more congestion.

In order to justify radical initiatives like this one, the proponents always paint City officials as inept and developers as villains out to make a buck and destroy the character of neighborhoods. They never want to discuss the reasons behind the City’s actions or where growth should occur. They have no solutions. They merely want to turn the clock back fifty years to the Los Angeles of another time.

The problem is that you cannot go back. Los Angeles is the least affordable place to lease or buy a home in the nation and has had the biggest housing price increase over the past 15 years in the U.S., primarily because it is so difficult to build anything here. One of the reasons why we have so much gridlock is because of people who over the years have refused to consider smart growth solutions that have been implemented in cities around the globe.

The Los Angeles metropolitan area has reached its physical limits. We cannot keep growing outward and forcing people to commute vast distances. We should not allow the interior areas of the City to deteriorate in order to “preserve” neighborhoods. We should not prevent affordable housing from being built in our city.

Smart growth advocates and planners will tell you that the successful planning model is to direct growth to occur along transit corridors. As our mass transit system is built-out, it will eventually enable people to travel where they need to go without using their vehicles. We are then able to preserve those single-family neighborhoods that are so valued by the initiative proponents. (This used to be referred to as the two-percent solution – to direct development onto two-percent of the land in order to preserve 98 percent of the land.)

Opponents argue that the mass transit system is not yet built-out and that we should wait until that occurs before we build around mass transit stations. However, if we wait, traffic will continue to worsen for everyone because housing and jobs will be built in places that only add to congestion.

They also argue that it is impossible to build new projects without creating more traffic. They are correct that there will be some additional traffic. However, by matters of degrees, the increase in traffic will be substantially less due to the nearby transit, and because jobs will also locate close to these stations. There are currently five mass transit lines under construction by Metro in greater Los Angeles – that is more than any place else in the nation. As these lines come into operation, it will be easier to see the wisdom of guiding development to transit corridors.

Hollywood is the poster child for those opposing development. They point to the 70 or so projects in the pipeline and argue that development will destroy the quality of life and the character of Hollywood. In my view, exactly the opposite is occurring. We are creating a great example of how urban development should happen – with walkable neighborhoods and jobs, shopping, and entertainment close by. Opponents seem to forget how bad things were in Hollywood 20 years ago. What has turned central Hollywood around is the new development. And this development is occurring in the center of Hollywood, close to mass transit. Parking lots are being replaced by exciting new development that make it an attractive neighborhood.

New development has made it possible to preserve historic structures. About 15 years ago, I was visited by representatives of the Los Angeles Conservancy who were concerned about the possible loss of two very historic properties – Columbia Square and the Palladium. Today, because of new development, both of those historic venues are saved and will again be show places.

I was recently told the story of a local resident whose children have moved to the East Coast with no intention of moving back to L.A. Why? Because they are tired of living in an urban area where it is impossible to get by unless you use a car and are stuck in traffic gridlock. Passage of this initiative will only perpetuate that ineffective and outdated model.

So I ask the proponents of this initiative to tell us exactly where they think development should occur. They have no answer to that question. And until they can answer it, then this initiative should be given no credence. If you like the current gridlock in L.A., it will never change with their plan. Their solution to go backwards is no solution at all. They would merely be preserving a model that we already know no longer works.

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Leron Gubler has been serving as the President and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for the past 23 years. His tenure since 1992 continues to oversee the great comeback story of Hollywood

Economic Development, Hollywood Chamber

Target Should Not Be A Target Any Longer

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For more than a year now, construction has been at a standstill on Hollywood’s new Target store at the corner of Sunset and Western Avenue.  This would be Hollywood’s first “department” store since Sears closed their nearby store in 2008.  This store will allow Hollywood residents to shop locally without having to leave the community for many necessities, and it will provide 250 critically-needed jobs for the neighborhood – if it is allowed to open.

Construction ceased because a neighborhood group sued, complaining that the City should not have granted an exception to what is known as the Station Neighborhood Area Plan (SNAP) that governs construction in the area.  A judge agreed and said the City should have changed the zoning on the property rather than granting an exception.

The City has now come back with a recommendation to meet the judge’s order by proposing a new Subarea F specific plan amendment to apply to large scale highway-oriented commercial projects.  This is a reasonable addition to the SNAP ordinance that addresses how superstores can properly fit into the urban context.

However from the tone of the first hearing last month, some residents are still not satisfied.  A few even called for the half-built Target to be torn down and rebuilt to the 35-ft. height allowed by the SNAP ordinance, with underground parking.

It may help to provide a little more background.  The SNAP ordinance allows mixed-use projects (retail and residential together) to be built to a height of up to 75-feet.  If a project is not mixed-use, it is only allowed to build as high as 35-feet. The City had felt the benefits of the Target project to the community merited an exception to SNAP to allow for the project to be built to the higher height.

Why are these residents so insistent on the 35-ft. height?  Some said that their desire is to have more mixed-use projects to meet the need for housing in the area.  Others pointed out that the Target in West Hollywood has underground parking and so this one should as well.

Now, by my latest calculations, there are 320 housing units under construction at the moment within the SNAP area and another 762 units in the pipeline.  That is nearly 1,100 housing units.  Exactly, how many housing units do they want to see?  Is it their object that every project that is built within SNAP be a mixed-use project?

As far as the desire to have underground parking, I would again ask why the parking must be underground.  The design of this project is such that the parking would be shielded and there would be other retail on the ground floor.  It is not going to be unsightly.  What is unsightly is this half-finished building.

Within the last month, two new mixed-use projects have been announced across the street on two sides of the Target.  Each of these will be six or seven stories and up to the 75-foot height limit.  So what would we be achieving by forcing the Target to be reduced to 35-feet?  Certainly not any view protection.  There is no reasonable rationale as to why a strictly-retail center should be limited to 35-feet when its neighboring buildings are at 75-feet.

The proposed new Subarea F designation for retail makes sense and should be approved.by the Planning Commission when it meets this coming Thursday, November 12th, at 8:30 a.m. at City Hall.  If you agree with me, I would urge you to attend the hearing and let the commissioners know that Hollywood needs this project and its 250 jobs.  It is time to move forward with a project that will benefit this community.

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Leron Gubler has been serving as the President and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for the past 23 years. His tenure since 1992 continues to oversee the great comeback story of Hollywood