In June 2018, the West Hollywood City Council signed off on plans for a mixed-use project that would create a hotel surrounding the iconic Factory nightclub. One year later, developer Faring is back with revised designs for the Robertson Lane project.
The proposed development, located at 652 N. La Peer Drive, calls for the construction of multiple new structures surrounding the Factory - a historic gay nightclub - including a 241-room hotel, an event center, a nightclub, ground-floor commercial uses, and a 750-car garage. The hotel would occupy a nine-story, 113-foot-tall building located on the northern property line, parallel to Santa Monica Boulevard.
While the revised design from HKS Architects maintains many familiar features from the earlier iteration of the project, designed by Mithun, a report to the West Hollywood Planning Commission's Design Review Subcommittee details several changes.
The site layout has been reconfigured to remove a valet line in front of the hotel on La Peer Drive, enhancing the pedestrian environment along the street. A proposed paseo linking Robertson with La Peer has been retained, though the design of its La Peer entrance has been refined.
Additionally, the exterior skins of the buildings have been changed, and the proposed banquet room and ballroom have been relocated to the southern side of the property. This allows the events facility - billed as the largest in West Hollywood - to be integrated with the Factory building, which will be extended by 80 feet during the construction process.
Architect Gwynne Pugh writes that the Robertson Lane project is a "complex program that has been well conceived and integrated." He concludes that the project "will be a positive addition to the fabric of the city."
The redesign of the Robertson Lane has already received the endorsement of the West Hollywood Historic Preservation Commission, which considered the project at its meeting on June 24.
"Faring positioned the Factory Building in a way that will provide increased functionality, visibility, and access," said Chris Morris, the Los Angeles Field Director for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "Robertson Lane treads the very difficult line of respecting and promoting the intangible layers of history that make [The Factory] special and significant, while maximizing those physical and material qualities that make it suitable for a new life and a new use."
Faring, which is headquartered in West Hollywood, has several other projects planned within the city, including an office expansion of the French Market and a mixed-use building across the street from Robertson Lane.
