A plan to redevelop a parking lot just south of the US-101 freeway in Hollywood has cleared another obstacle.
View of proposed tower at 1725-1739 Bronson Avenue looking south from the US-101 freewaySteinberg Hart
At its meeting last week, the Los Angeles City Council voted to uphold the approval of a proposed 23-story high-rise at 1715-1739 N. Bronson Avenue, rejecting an appeal which sought to block the project's construction. The proposed development from DM Development and Massachi would include 128 apartments above semi-subterranean parking for 134 vehicles.
Entitlements approved last year by the Los Angeles City Planning Commission include density bonus incentives permitting a larger structure than allowed by zoning rules. In exchange, the tower is required to set aside 11 of the proposed one-, two-, and five-bedroom apartments as affordable housing priced for renters at the very low-income level.
Steinberg Hart is designing the tower, alongside landscape architecture firm Relm. The building, which would rise 270 feet in height, is intended to present a different form on each of its sides. A twisting glass facade and double-height amenity spaces would be embedded into the side of the structure.
View of proposed tower at 1725-1739 Bronson AvenueSteinberg Hart
The tower had faced two appeals at its prior Planning Commission hearing, and faced more opposition at the City Council. In August 2022, Casey Maddren of Citizens for a Better Los Angeles appealed the project's site plan review entitlement, arguing that the high-rise is incompatible with surrounding developments and would accelerate gentrification in Hollywood.
"As real estate investors continue to remove RSO housing from the market, as low-income and middle-income households face increasing rent burdens, as the homeless population continues to rise, luxury skyscrapers like this, which include a paltry number of affordable units, serve only to exacerbate gentrification and displacement," Maddren wrote. "To put it plainly, this high-end high rise seems designed to aggravate the inequalities that plague Hollywood and Los Angeles in general."
Additionally, Maddren objected to the granting of density bonus incentives and a Categorical Exemption from further review under the California Environmental Quality Act.
Bird's eye view of proposed tower at 1725-1739 Bronson Avenue in HollywoodSteinberg Hart
A staff report disputed the claims raised by the appellant, and recommended denial of the appeal, citing a lack of evidence.
The two joint venture partners, while new to high-rise development in Hollywood, are not strangers to the Los Angeles area. DM Development recently completed work on The Harland, a luxury rental development in West Hollywood, while Massachi is now in construction on a terraced apartment building elsewhere in Hollywood.
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- 1725 N Bronson Avenue (Urbanize LA)
