HOLLYWOOD | Development News

[saiholmes]

Santa steps up to save parade
Supporters of the canceled holiday event stage rally along Walk of Fame in Hollywood.
By Bob Pool, Times Staff Writer
March 29, 2007



It was only a week ago that Hollywood leaders announced that there would never be another Hollywood Christmas Parade.

But there Santa Claus was Wednesday, parading down the boulevard's Walk of Fame with a ragtag band of supporters behind him.

"Save the Hollywood Christmas Parade!" they shouted during a three-block march as tourists snapped photos and locals stared.

"This is a grass-roots effort to get the community to launch a campaign that can save the parade," explained organizer Greg Durfee, a Hollywood resident. "Adults need to slow down. The parade doesn't have to be canceled."

Executives with the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which staged the parade for 75 years, disclosed March 21 that they had reluctantly decided to cancel the annual Thanksgiving weekend event. The 2006 parade was the final one, they said.

"We're disappointed and sad. But we're out of the parade business," said Jeff Briggs, chairman of the chamber's board of directors.

Briggs and other leaders of the business group said the chamber had lost about $100,000 staging the 2006 parade. Financial projections indicated that losses would be double that if a 2007 parade were held, he said.

The parade cost about $1 million to produce. Most of its expenses were covered by television broadcast fees tied to a percentage of TV ad revenues, grandstand ticket sales and various sponsorships.

Durfee said his campaign would focus on finding major sponsors willing to underwrite the parade, preferably for a 10-year period.

"We're not taking any donations. We want people to e-mail companies like Coca-Cola and Paramount Pictures," said the 44-year-old Durfee — who described himself as an operator of a small production company and a fan of the Christmas parade since he was 7 years old. He asked that supporters e-mail savetheparade@yahoo.com for details.

Durfee climbed into a red Santa suit and attached a white beard to lead the march. A costumed character, "Norky the Peneagle," joined him. With the body of a penguin and the head of an eagle, the figure is a "goodwill character" from the North Pole, said Marina del Rey entertainment promoter Brady Farmer.

The pair were quickly joined by several backers carrying hand-printed signs. By the time they walked from Las Palmas Avenue to Highland Avenue, about a dozen others had fallen in behind.

"It would be great to have another Christmas parade," said marcher Luciano Rauso, 11, of Burbank.

"Yes, it's very crucial," agreed onlooker Tom White, 29, of Los Angeles.

Near the Kodak Theatre, Santa and Norky began encountering Hollywood's other characters — the costumed actors who pose for tourist pictures near Grauman's Chinese Theatre. One of them was dressed like a "Pirates of the Caribbean" buccaneer.

"Johnny Depp! Help save the parade," shouted one marcher.

"I've always wanted to be in a parade," replied Capt. Jack Sparrow look-alike Thomas Fox.

"This is a parade. Join us," Farmer said.

"I'm kind of on a break right now. I can't," Fox said.

The sidewalk in front of the Chinese Theatre was blocked off for the premiere of the movie "Blades of Glory," so the marchers crossed Hollywood Boulevard and briefly continued on. But they stopped before reaching the Chamber of Commerce office next door to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

"We don't want to get into anything political," said Durfee. "I don't want to say anything negative about the Chamber of Commerce. They've done a great job for 75 years."

Briggs and chamber President Leron Gubler could not be reached for comment late Wednesday afternoon.

But a spokesman for Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti, who represents parts of Hollywood, said Garcetti is anxious to learn more about the save-the-parade campaign. "That's an interesting development, and our office looks forward to learning more about their efforts," said aide Josh Kamensky.

As for Durfee, he plans to parade down the boulevard in a Santa suit each Wednesday — until a way is found to return Santa in a real Christmas sleigh.

[saiholmes]

This is Hollywood? Hell yes.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=457467

[LAsam]

^Thanks for the advertisement!

[vicecityguy]

Last updated: March 30, 2007 08:04am
$160M, 400,000-SF Office Project Launches
By Bob Howard






WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA-Developer Charles S. Cohen of New York City broke ground Thursday for the long awaited “Red Building,” the third and final phase of the Pacific Design Center at the corner of Melrose Avenue and San Vicente Boulevard. The $160-million, 400,000-sf class A office building will join two others, known as the Green Building and the Blue Building, on the 14-acre campus.
Cohen, who is the head of Cohen Brothers Realty Corp., says that demand for office space on the Westside of Los Angeles, one of the region's tightest office markets, was one of the driving factors in the decision to start the new project. He notes that the office portions of the PDC’s Green and Blue buildings are fully leased.

Recent market reports show the West Hollywood office market as one of the tightest submarkets in an overall Westside L.A. office market where demand remains extremely strong. The direct vacancy rate in West Hollywood stood at about 4.5% at the end of 2006, with only a 5% overall availability.

Among the amenities planned for the new building are a valet motor court with elevators to its two sky lobbies, concierge service at the lobbies, and a landscaped area called Palm Court sitting six stories above the Pacific Design Center plaza. Other features at the design center include an on-site fitness center, two restaurants created by chef Wolfgang Puck, a branch of the Museum of Contemporary Art and a screening facility known for celebrity events such as Oscar Night parties.

Like the two before it, the Red Building is being designed by architect Cesar Pelli. The executive architect for the project is Gruen Associates, with Area Design Inc. as interior architect and Thomas Balsley Associates as landscape architect.

The Red Building's 400,000 sf of office space is expected to be available for occupancy in 2009. In addition to its office space, the Pacific Design Center is one of the West Coast's leading showroom facilities for the design industry, with more than 130 showrooms representing 2,100 product lines.



With 1.2 million square feet, the PDC is home to the area’s top decorating and furniture market, with showrooms, public and private spaces, and an outpost of the Museum of Contemporary Art. Developer Charles S. Cohen says the Red building should be completed within 24 months. During its gestation, Red has evolved to become a 400,000-square-foot structure with two state-of-the-art office towers—six and eight stories high respectively—sitting atop seven levels of enclosed parking for 1,500 cars. The building will accommodate a variety of office floors ranging from 14,000 to 36,000 square feet. “Because we have divided the building in two, we are able to create a very high sixth-floor level courtyard, which will be just a terrific space to be in, with palm trees and phenomenal views of the Hollywood Hills. You will feel as if you can touch the hills.”

[godblessbotox]

..hollywood. not west hollywood.

i dont think i have ever even seen the blue building

[klamedia]

Yes, two very different places.

[saiholmes]

shouldn't be a problem.

[Robert Stark]

I created a West Hollywood thread but it got locked.

[Fern~Fern*]

Originally Posted by Robert Stark

I created a West Hollywood thread but it got locked.

^ Geez I wonder why "Stark"?

America cannot all look alike.... it's about diversity Dude!

[godblessbotox]

w-hotel lot... empty parking spots
image hosted on flickr

[djm19]

now break that sucker up!

[soup or man]

The entire W lot is green fenced off. Including the 2 little buildings on the upper right. And possibly those poor buses.

[godblessbotox]

yes the buses are now going to become embedded into the foundation.

on a side note, any one have any thoughts on how hollywood and vine metro is going to stay open durring all this?

[soup or man]

^ I doubt the subway will present a problem. Wilshire/Vermont as well as Solair (Wilshire/Western) remained open while construction went on top.

[godblessbotox]

cool cool. thanks

[saiholmes]

New operator plans to renovate Palladium
Live Nation will invest millions in top-to-bottom upgrade of the Hollywood landmark, which is to reopen in September 2008.
By Valerie Reitman, Times Staff Writer
April 12, 2007

The Hollywood Palladium, the 66-year-old Art Deco palace on Sunset Boulevard that has hosted legends from Frank Sinatra to the Grateful Dead, will get a top-to-bottom renovation by a new operator and reopen next year.

Live Nation, the Los Angeles-based live music company, said Wednesday it plans to invest "millions" in a more than yearlong renovation as it enters a 20-year lease on the concert hall.

City officials said they were thrilled.

"Live Nation's restoration of the Hollywood Palladium synthesizes the best of Hollywood's past, present and its future," said City Council President Eric Garcetti, who represents the area, as the deal was announced Wednesday. "Hollywood's next golden age is here, and the Palladium will be the first stop to watch it up close."

The theater opened Sept. 23, 1940, with performances by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and Frank Sinatra. Over the years, it has played host to the Emmy Awards, the Grammy Awards, the Rolling Stones, James Brown, Led Zeppelin, Madonna, Barbra Streisand and hundreds of others.

Live Nation said it would renovate the 4,000-capacity live music venue and reopen it in September 2008. It plans a major upgrade to the stage infrastructure to accommodate larger productions and an overhaul of interior and exterior areas to bring the hall up to date while preserving its "original aesthetic integrity."

Other improvements include doubling restroom facilities and putting them in more easily accessible locations, modifying the auditorium to provide better views from all areas, doubling the amount of back-of-house space, and increasing the number of beverage sale counters.

"When you look at the inside and the outside, we expect it to be every bit as beautiful as when it opened in 1940," said John Vlautin, Live Nation spokesman.

Live Nation owns or operates 160 theaters worldwide, including the Wiltern on Wilshire Boulevard, the House of Blues on Sunset and the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine.

The last concert at the Palladium was performed by Wolfmother in December.

Alan Shuman, president of Palladium Investors Ltd., the privately held group that has owned the theater for 22 years, said he decided to stop operating at the end of last year and lease it out to others to operate.

Last August, a deal fell through to sell the theater to a Beverly Hills developer, Combined Properties Inc., which planned to retain the concert hall but develop the adjoining parking lot, possibly with stores and homes.

[Pudong]

Perdonarme pero no se bien inglés, si alguien sabe español me gustaría saber cuál es el estado de la reforma de la torre Sunset & Vine:



¿Alguien tiene alguna foto de la zona? Cuando estuvimos en Los Ángeles se nos olvidó visitar la parte de Sunset Boulevard de Hollywood, me quedé con la pena porque me interesaba mucho ver el Palladium, Cinerama, Crossroads of the World y el Hollywood High School, Amoeba music... aun y todo en la guía de L.A que nos compranos advierte "este tramo de Sunset está frecuentado por prostitutas y vendedores de droga. Es aconsejable quedarse en el coche con la spuertas cerradas y sin objetos de valor a la vista. Si decide salir del coche y darse un paseo, no dé la impresión de andar sin rumbo fijo; guarde la cartera en un sitio discreto y no lleve joyas."
No se si será verdad eso... me cuesta creerlo al tener tantas cosas de interes... ¿No hay vida en esa zona teniendo tantos cines y tiendas de música? ¿El Palladium, Cinerama y el Hollywood High School ya no están en funcionamiento?

Muchísimas gracias, besos!

[godblessbotox]

all i got is, i dont speak english and sunset and vine...


so sayith the google translate:
"To pardon to me but not well English, if somebody I know Spanish would like to know which is the state of the reform of the tower Sunset & Vine: Somebody has some photo of the zone? When we were in Los Angeles forgot to us to visit the part of Sunset Boulevard of Hollywood, I remained with the pain because it interested much to see the Palladium, Cinerama, Crossroads me of the World and Hollywood High School, Amoeba music… and everything in the L.A guide that compranos notices “this section to us of Sunset is even frequented by prostitutas and drug salesmen. He is advisable to remain in the car with spuertas closed and without objects of at sight value. If a stroll decides to leave the car and to occur, it does not give the impression to walk without fixed course; keep the portfolio in a discreet site and it does not take jewels.” If it will be truth that… is not cost to believe it when having so many things to me of interest… Is no life in that zone having so many cinemas and stores of music? The Palladium, Cinerama and Hollywood High School no longer are in operation? Very many thanks, kisses! "

[godblessbotox]

prostitutas!

[redspork02]

Hes saying he came to Hollywood but did not visit Sunset Boulevard, he did go to Hollywood Boulevard and they told him not to have anything of value visible, but it didnt seem to him to be true.
If anyone can post pics of the area hes wondering if all the famouse places mentioned above are still operating....