A long-stymied proposal to redevelop a parking lot on Hollywood Boulevard with an apartment tower took a small, but significant step forward last week with the publication of the project's final environmental impact report. 

The project, slated for a property at the southwest corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Gower Street, calls for the construction of a 22-story, 252-foot-tall building that would feature 220 residential units with 3,270 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 279 parking stalls on podium and basement levels.  Plans call for a mix of studio, one-, and two-bedroom dwellings, of which 11 would be restricted to very low-income households. 

The proposed tower, as designed by HKS Architects, would be wrapped with aluminum exoskeleton underlaid with glass panels.  Plazas and outdoor seatings are planned along the ground plane, while signage and artistic displays would disguise above-grade parking levels.

Hollywood & Gower is expected to be built over a period of 24 to 26 months, placing the project's construction timeline between 2020 and 2023.

The property, which is owned by an entity affiliated with Metropolitan Life Insurance Group, has been slated for a high-rise development for over a decade.  However, approvals granted for a 20-story building were overturned by a lawsuit in 2012.