4th Quarter Newsletter 2022

ON THE HORIZON

3 GREAT THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN

2022

The Hollywood Fringe Festival returned to Theatre Row with in-person performances for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic and Pride came back to Hollywood, with Trans Pride returning to the LA LGBT Center. 1

2

EVENTS RETURNED

HIGHLAND AVENUE MEDIANS

The Highland Avenue medians received a lot of love last year. First, with new landscaping and complete replantings. Then, for the first time ever, the trees that lined them were illuminated, bringing light to Hollywood’s gateway.

Sycamore Avenue has seemed to really hit its stride with nearly a dozen high-profile new businesses opening on it within the last year. z 3

SYCAMORE GREW

I n November, Angelenos went to the polls to elect the people they trusted to steward the city. As it would turn out, they made it clear that they wanted change. For those in the Hollywood Media District, that meant three newly elected officials to represent them in City Hall—Mayor Karen Bass, and Councilmembers Katy Young Yaroslavsky and Hugo Soto-Martinez.

On December 11, 2022, Karen Bass won an historic race to become the 43rd Mayor of Los Angeles. Her victory made her the first woman and second African American to hold the City’s highest office. While campaigning, she promised to tackle some of L.A.’s biggest issues—homelessness and public safety, to name a few—and while this may sound like standard fodder for someone who wants to get elected, these are the kinds of goals Mayor Bass has worked toward her entire career.

Mayor Bass grew up in the Venice/Fairfax neighborhood and started her career as a front-line healthcare provider.

In 1990, she founded the Community Coalition, a non-profit organization that sought to address some of the public health crises—like substance abuse, poverty, and crime— facing underserved populations like the predominantly Black and Latino residents of South L.A.

In 2004, she served in the California State Assembly, eventually becoming its Speaker. This made her the first Black woman to lead a state’s legislative body in United States history. During her tenure, she managed

to work with the opposition party to stave off the state’s budget crisis brought on by the Great Recession. For that, she received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.

In 2010, she was elected to represent California’s 33rd congressional district (later the 37th) where she chaired the United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations and the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. While in Congress, she fought to protect small businesses during the pandemic and shepherded the passage of legislation that the Los Angeles Times called “the most significant child welfare policy reform in decades.”

When she announced her candidacy for mayor, Bass said that she would focus on addressing the causes of Los Angeles’s significant unhoused population and to end encampments around elementary schools and public parks. In keeping with her promise, her first act on the job was to declare a state of emergency on the matter.

Mayor Karen Bass, mayor.helpdesk@lacity.org

As mayor, I will do everything I can to make Los Angeles more affordable for all. Young people in our city shouldn’t have to grow up wondering whether or not they’ll be able to afford to live here when they get older.

Twitter , @KarenBassLA August 6, 2022

HUGO SOTO-MARTINEZ

LA City Council District 13

A lifelong Angeleno, Hugo Soto-Martinez grew up in  South Los Angeles to two Mexican immigrant parents who worked as street vendors. When the Councilman turned 14, a disabling back injury sidelined his father and led Soto-Martinez to drop out of high school and work at a hotel to support his family.

While working at the hotel, Soto-Martinez returned to high school and later started studying political science and criminology at University of California, Irvine. During his last year of college, at the prompting of a co-worker, the Councilman joined a trade union organized by some co-workers to win fair wages and free family healthcare.

This success led Councilman Soto-Martinez to become an organizer for UNITE HERE Local 11 and, later, with the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Soto-Martinez has also cited tackling the homelessness crisis as a top priority. He believes Measure HHH, which provided funding for permanent supportive housing, has helped, but the city needs to do more.  He supports the  United to House LA initiative, which calls for the protection of existing affordable housing, the creation of new affordable housing, and increased protections for renters.

Hugo Soto-Martinez, councilmember.soto-martinez@lacity.org.

We want to work with every neighborhood council, homeowners association, business interests, grassroots organizers, homeless advocates. It doesn’t matter who they are.

Hugo Soto-Martinez

in the Beverly Press December 7, 2022

KATY YOUNG YAROSLAVSKY

LA City Council District 5

Climate attorney Katy Young Yaroslavsky was born in Council District 5 and has spent most of her life navigating the political machinations of Los Angeles in an effort to help make the city a beautiful, safe environment in which to live.

“Before I could’ve articulated it, I intuitively understood that our natural world was worth fighting for — and in need of champions,” said Yaroslavsky. “Over the ensuing years, my conception of ‘the environment’ has expanded and shifted to focus primarily on people and communities, but my commitment to our planet remains steadfast.”

Indeed, her previous work in public service has been both extensive and impressive. After obtaining degrees from UC Berkeley, and UCLA Law School, Yaroslavsky worked to make L.A. neighborhoods more pedestrian-friendly, vibrant, and equitable while preserving what made them special in the first place — through inclusive and thorough community engagement.

In 2011, Yaroslavsky became the General Counsel and Director of Government Affairs at the Climate Action Reserve, an LA-based climate change nonprofit that works with the state’s Air Resources Board, environmental organizations, businesses, and governmental agencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Four years later, newly-elected Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl recruited her to serve as her Senior Policy Advisor covering the environment and the arts.

Prior to the November election in which she won the council seat for City District 5, she worked with the leadership of LA County’s cultural institutions—like the LA Philharmonic, LACMA, and the Natural History Museum—to make sure they remain accessible to, and reflective of, the many communities and cultures of LA.

Katy Young Yaroslavsky, (323) 866-1828. z

I entered this campaign to make Los Angeles the place we know it needs to become: a safer, healthier, more equitable city. I remain committed to getting started on that work my first day.

Twitter @KatyforLA, November 15, 2022

LAMBORGHINIS AND TRIUMPHS AND BENTLEYS OH MY!

Sure, Los Angeles has plenty of car dealerships, but none quite like Motor Cars LA on Sycamore Avenue. The 7,500 square foot showroom features a unique mix of the world’s most coveted vehicles, like the 2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale, 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG, and 1967 Ford Mustang GT500 Restmod currently in its inventory.

Where does Motor Cars LA find these rare gems? By tapping into its network of contacts across the country to source dealerships and private collections the modern exotics and classic cars sought by its highly discerning customers.

“[Opening here] was an easy decision for us,” said Stuart McIntosh, partner of Motor Cars LA. “The Sycamore District is now home to some of the finest retail shopping experiences and culinary destinations in all of LA County. We felt that we would be a good fit due to the nature of the vehicles we offer.”

Motor Cars LA, 953 N Sycamore Avenue. z

Ashared passion for health and wellness led a group of yoga buffs to found Mother’s Market & Kitchen . Their mission was simple—to promote a plant-based diet with fresh juicing and shelves stocked with organic foods. And, so, in 1978, they opened their first 2,500 square foot store in Costa Mesa.

In the four decades since, that one store has grown into 12 scattered throughout Southern California with the latest situated squarely in the Media District.

In addition to fresh organic produce and shelves filled with the best organic vegetarian and vegan products, Mother’s Market also features prepared items from its juice bar and café. For a healthy, vitamin-packed start to your day, try one of their Goddess of Greens juices—made with apple, celery, cucumber, spinach, parsley and, kale—or, a hearty breakfast bowl.

Mother's Market & Kitechen, 6677 W. Santa Monica Blvd. Unit 109. z

MOTHERKNOWSBEST

INVESTED DEVELOPMENT

The former Television Center at 6311 Romaine Street, part of Eschelon at 6311 Romaine Street from BARDAS Investment Group.

The Media District has been a hotbed of development the past few years—CIM Group’s 953 Sycamore Avenue (2019), AVA Hollywood (2021), and Heimat at 960 N. La Brea (2022), just to name a few—and the next several promise to bring more high-profile addresses to the BID.

“[The Media District] has some of LA’s best walk scores, bike scores, and delivery scores with plenty of options to eat and drink and a plethora of shopping,” said Duncan Wlodarczak, a newly elected member of the Media District Board of Directors and Chief of Staff for the Onni Group, developers of the forthcoming SMB Hollywood. “The convenience to entertainment and night life is very attractive, and along with access to hikes, trails and the general energy of the area make it a very desirable neighborhood.”

ECHELON AT 6311 ROMAINE ECHELON

ECHELON AT 6311 ROMAINE STREET

Developer: BARDAS Investment Group

Size: +/- 85,000 RSF

Completion date: Q2 2024

A $600-million redevelopment of the former Television Center at 6311 Romaine Street, which would transform a 6.4-acre property (once the Technicolor headquarters) into a 620,000-square-foot studio campus, rebranded as Echelon Television Center. The development spans two city blocks bounded by Santa Monica Boulevard to the north, Cahuenga Boulevard to the east, Willoughby Avenue to the south, and Cole Avenue to the west.

The Echelon project will preserve historic Art Deco buildings on the northern block, using them to frame a new office building that would replace smaller structures on Santa Monica Boulevard and a surface parking lot. To the south across Romaine, more parking will give way to four soundstages, a basecamp, and a six-story office building with additional production support space, rooftop bungalows, and outdoor decks.

SMB HOLLYWOOD AT 6933 SANTA MONICA BLVD.

Developer: Onni Group

Size: +/- 24,500 SF for resident use

Completion date: Q3 2023

A mixed-use apartment complex at 6091 W. Santa Monica Boulevard is a seven-story building featuring 231 apartments - including 15 affordable units - and 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Thirty-six units in total will be operated by Level Hotels & Furnished Suites, an extended-stay hotel brand owned by Onni Group.

The site will boast a luxurious outdoor pool and spa with cabanas and lounge chairs, a fitness center with state-ofthe-art cardio and weightlifting equipment, an outdoor pet run and private dog wash room, indoor lounge rooms that all feature wet bars, dining tables, lounge seating and a large screen TV, spacious outdoor lounges with fire pits and BBQs with dining options, a bocci and basketball court, a movie screening room, flexible co-working space with complimentary Wi-Fi, and a rooftop viewing deck with views of the Hollywood sign.

STARBUCKS AT 859 N. HIGHLAND AVE.

Developer: Starbucks

Size: +/- 797 SF retail space

Although the iconic main structure will be kept intact, a second drive-thru lane will be added to help ease congestion along Highland Avenue.

ECHELON AT 717 SEWARD STREET

Developer: BARDAS Investment Group

Size: +/- 85,000 RSF

Completion date: Q2 2024

An inspirational environment curated for high-end media and production companies. Programmable outdoor space provides the ideal sensation of indoor-outdoor living.

ECHELON AT 712 SEWARD STREET >

Developer: BARDAS Investment Group

Size: +/- 16,000 RSF

Completion date: Q1 2022

A boutique-style building featuring an expansive rooftop garden directly across the street from the new development at 717 Seward.

ECHELON AT 1151 LAS PALMAS

Developer: BARDAS Investment Group

Size: +/- 152,000 RSF

Completion date: Q2 2024

A master-planned creative environment marrying the old bowstring truss design with a modern creative space. z