A presentation scheduled for the February 23 meeting of the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council's Land Use Committee offers a first look at a proposed office complex on the border between Hollywood and Hancock Park.

Aerial view looking westBARDAS Investment Group

The development, proposed by West Hollywood-based BARDAS Investment Group, would rise at the northwest corner of Melrose Avenue and Seward Street, replacing a surface parking lot and a single-story commercial building which was completed in the late 1920s.  Plans call for the construction of a new five-story, 74-foot-tall building containing nearly 68,000 square feet of offices, as well as ground-floor retail and subterranean parking.

According to an informational packet submitted to the neighborhood council, the proposed office building would extend an existing corridor of media-focused businesses along Seward Street, which includes Sunset Las Palmas Studios and a handful of other new and planned office developments.

Conceptual renderings depict the BARDAS project as a contemporary low-rise building, composed of a series of stacked, offset masses.  Setbacks at the ground-floor and upper levels would be used to provide a series of terrace decks and patios for use by tenants.

View of outdoor deckBARDAS Investment Group

The proposed development is being designed to the standards of California's Green Building Code, and would also use drought-resistant landscaping, according to the information packet.

Construction would require the approval of discretionary entitlements by the City of Los Angeles - including a zone change and a zoning administrator's determination.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a lull in new leasing activity, new office space in Hollywood has become a hot commodity in recent years, as companies such as ViacomCBS and Netflix have established large footprints in the neighborhood.

6101 Melrose AvenueBARDAS Investment Group

BARDAS, the developer behind the Melrose + Seward project, is planning several similar office projects elsewhere in Los Angeles, its website.  The Los Angeles Times reports that the company was founded with the intent of buidling smaller projects that offer similar amenities to sprawling campus-style developments leased by companies such as Google and Amazon.