Residential tower near Hollywood & Bronson gets the go-ahead

DM Development and Massachi is one step closer to building a new high-rise just south of the US-101 Freeway in Hollywood.

At its meeting last week, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission voted to approve a proposal from the two firms which calls for redeveloping a property located at 1725-1739 N. Bronson Avenue with a 24-story, 270-foot-tall tower featuring 128 apartments above semi-subterranean parking for 134 vehicles.

Among other entitlements, DM and Massachi have sought the approval of density bonus incentives permitting a larger structure than allowed by zoning rules. In exchange, the developers would set aside 11 of the proposed one-, two-, and five-bedroom apartments priced as affordable housing priced for renters at the very low-income level.

However, the project team also anticipates that the apartments at the Bronson tower will command lower rents than competing developments in the Hollywood area. In an August 2021 interview, DM Development founder and chief executive officer Mark MacDonald indicated that some "micro suites" within the project would be priced in the $2,000s per month if already completed. The upper floors of the building, however, would offer similar prices to other nearby high-rise residential developments.

Steinberg Hart is designing the tower, leading a team which also includes landscape architecture firm Relm. The building, as related in the August 2021 interview, is intended to present a different form on each of its sides, with a twisting glass facade and double-height amenity spaces embedded into the side of the structure.

At ground-level, the project also includes elements which relate to the neighboring Lombardi House - billed as the last single-family home along Hollywood Boulevard still at its original location. Massachi owns the property, which now serves as an event space.

At the time the developers announced the project, construction was expected to commence as early as the fourth quarter of 2022, with the tower opening for renters by the third quarter of 2024.

The vote to approve the Bronson tower was coupled with the denial of two appeals of project's tract map, which were filed by the union-affiliated organizations Supporters Alliance for Environmental Responsibility (SAFER) and the Coalition for Responsible Equitable Economic Development Los Angeles (CREED LA). Both organizations objected to a Class 32 exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act granted to the project, and argued that the proposed tower should be subject to a full environmental impact report. A staff report recommended denial of both appeals, stating that neither appellant had presented sufficient evidence to prove that the Class 32 exemption had been granted in error.

"We are so elated at the overwhelming positivity and support for our project from a diverse coalition of stakeholders including union groups, resident neighbors, and major employers in Hollywood," said Massachi founder Alex Massachi in a statement. "It's truly a testament to the quality of the team my joint venture partners Mark and I weaved together for this catalytic project."

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.

• 24-story apartment tower to rise just north of Hollywood Boulevard (Urbanize LA)