One year after shelling out more than $300 million to purchase the landmark Hollywood & Highland Center, Gaw Capital USA and DJM have announced plans for a major revamp the 19-year-old shopping complex.

The 475,000-square-foot complex, located next to the TCL Chinese Theatre, will be rebranded Ovation Hollywood as part of a project that will transform the five-story structure's upper floors into offices for rent.  Upon completion of the renovation, the property will house:

  • 135,000 square feet of retail;
  • nearly 100,000 square feet of offices;
  • 85,000 square feet of restaurant and dining areas;
  • 65,000 square feet of entertainment space; and
  • 40,000 square feet of event space.

In addition to changes to the programming of the existing Hollywood & Highland Center, the planned renovations also include cosmetic updates to the property.  The Gensler-designed project calls for updates to the property's color scheme and exterior-facing signage, as well as redesigns of pedestrian corridors to make them more inviting.

The most substantial changes are proposed for the center's central courtyard.  Originally designed to reference the Babylon set of the D.W. Griffith film "Intolerance," the proposed renovation calls for a new look that would reference Hollywood's Art Deco heritage.

Construction of the roughly $100-million project is scheduled to begin before the end of 2020 and conclude in 2021.

While the perils of the coronavirus pandemic have depleted the throngs of pedestrians which typically flock to Hollywood Boulevard, the Ovation site nonetheless remains at a prominent location near the Hollywood Bowl and Dolby Theatre that attracts more than 25 million visitors each year.

The project coincides with a new master plan for the Walk of Fame, which calls for expanding sidewalks and adding new street trees to the corridor.

DJM and Gaw Capital's revamp comes as coronavirus accelerates the well-documented struggles of brick-and-mortar retail in ther era of e-commerce, as well as Hollywood's resurgence as a destination for new media companies.  Large blocks of office space built by Kilroy Realty and Hudson Pacific Properties have recently attracted companies such as Viacom and Netflix to the neighborhood.