II. PROJECT DESCRIPTION...2009/01/01 · two structures, housing an operational florist shop,...

1601 & 1605 Vine Street Project II. Project Description Draft Environmental Impact Report Page II-1

II. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

A. PROJECT LOCATION

The Proposed Project site address is 1601 & 1605 N. Vine Street, Hollywood, CA 90028, at the northwest corner of the intersection of Vine Street and Selma Avenue. See Figure II-1, Regional and Vicinity Location Map for the project site location. The project site is located within the CRA’s Hollywood Redevelopment Plan area.

B. EXISTING CHARACTERISTICS

Regional Setting

The project site is located in the Hollywood community of the City of Los Angeles, approximately 0.4 miles south of the Hollywood Freeway (US 101) and approximately 0.6 miles north of Santa Monica Boulevard (SR 2). These highways provide regional access to the project site. Highland Avenue, La Brea Avenue, Western Avenue, Sunset Boulevard, and Hollywood Boulevard are the secondary highways serving the project area.

Local Setting and Land Uses

The project site is an underutilized, approximately 0.43-acre site developed with a surface parking lot and two structures, housing an operational florist shop, locksmith, and hamburger stand, located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Vine Street and Selma Avenue (see Figures II-2 and II-3). The existing surface parking lot contains approximately 55 parking spaces, and includes two billboards. The surface lot would be demolished, and the billboards removed, along with all existing on-site structures under the Proposed Project. General land uses in the vicinity of the project site include various commercial, residential and retail properties. The Hollywood Walk of Fame constitutes the sidewalk immediately adjacent to the project site to the east, along Vine Street.

East of the project site, across Vine Street, is the future site of the Hollywood and Vine Project, which is currently under construction. The development will include residential, hotel, and commercial uses upon completion and operation. On the southeast corner of the intersection of Vine Street and Selma Avenue is a large surface parking lot (see Figure II-4, Views of Surrounding Uses).

Directly south of the project site, across Selma Avenue, is the Sunset + Vine mixed-use development comprised of ground-floor retail and upper-floor residential units. There are residential units with windows toward the project site directly south across Selma Avenue. Immediately west, directly adjacent to the project site is the five-story Encore Hall Senior Housing development (see Figures II-5, Views of the Surrounding Uses Figure II-6, Views of the Project Site and Surrounding Uses).

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Figure II-1Regional and Project Vicinity Map

Source: Thomas Guide and Christopher A. Joseph & Associates, 2008.

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Legend

Project Site

View 1: View looking northwest at 1601 & 1605 Vine Street project site from the southeast corner of Vine Street and Selma Avenue.

View 2: View looking northwest at 1601 & 1605 Vine Street project site from the southeast corner of Vine Street and Selma Avenue.

View 3: View looking west at 1601 & 1605 Vine Street project site from across Vine Street.

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PHOTO LOCATION MAP

Source: Christopher A. Joseph & Associates, 2008.

Figure II-2Views of the 1601 & 1605 Vine Street

Project Site and Surrounding UsesViews 1, 2 and 3

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View 4: View looking north at 1601 & 1605 Vine Street project site from across Selma Avenue.

View 5: View looking northwest across 1601 & 1605 Vine Street project site from southern edge of project site.

View 6: View looking east across 1601 & 1605 Vine Street project site from western edge of project site.

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Figure II-3Views of the 1601 & 1605 Vine Street

Project Site and Surrounding UsesViews 4, 5 and 6


View 7: View looking northeast across Selma Avenue atthe Hollywood & Vine Mixed-Use project construction sitefrom the southeast corner of Selma Avenue and Vine Street.

View 8: View looking east across Vine Street at the Hollywood & Vine Mixed-Use project construction sitefrom the project site.

View 9: View looking northeast across Vine Street at the Hollywood & Vine Mixed-Use project construction sitefrom the southwest corner of Selma Avenue and Vine Street.

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Figure II-4Views of Surrounding Uses

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View 10: View looking west at the Sunset + Vine mixed-use development from the northeast corner of Vine Street and Selma Avenue.

View 11: View looking south at Sunset + Vine mixed-usedevelopment from the eastern edge of the 1601 & 1605 Vine Street project site.

View 12: View looking southwest at the Sunset + Vinemixed-use development from the northeast corner of Vine Street and Selma Avenue.

PHOTO LOCATION MAP

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Figure II-5Views of Surrounding Uses

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View 13: View looking west across the 1601 & 1605 Vine Street project site at the adjacent Encore Hall development from the southwest corner of Vine Street and Selma Avenue.

View 14: View looking northwest across 1601 & 1605 Vine Street project site at the adjacent Encore Hall development from the southern edge of project site.

View 15: View looking north along the west side of the 1601 & 1605 Vine Street project site from the south side of Selma Avenue.

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Figure II-6Views of the Project Site

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Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles January 2009


North of the 1601 & 1605 Vine Street project site is the Ricardo Montalban Theater. The theater has an adjacent parking lot to the west with a small alley entrance through the western edge of the project site from Selma Avenue (see Figure II-7, Views of the Project Site and Surrounding Uses).

C. PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS

Development of the project site includes the demolition of a street level public parking lot and two existing structures: flower shop/locksmith and hamburger stand, and the construction of an office building with ground floor lobby and retail uses.

The proposed development would include an eight-story office building, with a ground floor divided into lobby and common areas (4,900 square feet) and retail space (2,012 square feet) (see Figure II-8, Ground Floor Plan). Above the ground floor lobby and retail space would be seven floors of office space, at approximately 14,277 square feet per floor for a total of approximately 100,386 square feet of office space (see Figure II-9, Typical Floor Plan). The structure would be one tower, eight stories tall, at a maximum height of 131 feet including roof structures. The Proposed Project would provide required parking (approximately 194 spaces) on-site within a five level subterranean garage (see Figure II-10, Typical Subterranean Parking Level). Six handicapped parking spaces would be provided at street level, along with bicycle racks and a loading area. Vehicular access to the project site would be located along Selma Avenue.

Table II-1 Proposed Development Summary

Proposed Use Building Area Ground Floor Retail 2,012 square feet Ground Floor Lobby and Common Area 4,900 square feet Office Space (7 Floors) 100,386 square feet Total Building Floor Area 107,298 square feet Source: Gensler Architects, June 2007.

The proposed building would be designed in a way that is of similar height and massing to the buildings in the immediate area, contributing to the environment of urban Hollywood (see Figure II-11, Conceptual Rendering).

The main entrance to the building would be from Vine Street near the Selma and Vine intersection, through a building lobby with a glass façade toward Selma Avenue. Access to the ground floor retail would be located along Vine Street. The ground floor of the building would also provide bike racks, showers, and lockers for the patrons of the building to utilize. The building would contain four elevators roughly through the center of the building. There would be two emergency stairs in the core of the

View 16: View looking northwest at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre from the east side of Vine Street.

View 17: View looking northwest at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre from the east side of Vine Street.

View 18: View looking north across 1601 & 1605 VineStreet project at parking lot on western edge of Ricardo Montalban Theatre.

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Figure II-7Views of the Project Site

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Figure II-8Ground Floor Plan

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Figure II-9Typical Floor Plan

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building. Both the stair cases and the elevator shaft traverse the entire height of the building. Each of the office space floors contains an electrical and mechanical room as well as restroom facilities.

Construction Timeline

The construction phase of the Proposed Project would include three basic phases. The demolition phase would include removal of the existing 800 square-foot floral and locksmith shop, 300 square-foot fast-food restaurant, and surface parking lot at the project site, and would last approximately one month. The grading and excavation phase would prepare the site for construction, including subterranean excavation, and would last approximately three months. The last activity would entail the construction and development of the proposed office building, which would occur over approximately 20 months, with one additional month for finishing. Overall, construction of the Proposed Project is expected to occur over a 24-month period. For the purpose of analysis, it is assumed that the beginning of construction would occur in September of 2009. Completion of construction and operation of the project would occur in 2011.

D. PROJECT ALTERNATIVES

This EIR considers a range of alternatives to the Proposed Project to provide informed decision-making in accordance with Section 15126.6 of the CEQA Guidelines. As described below in greater detail, the alternatives to the Proposed Project that are analyzed in this EIR include: A) No Project Alternative; B) Reduced Density Alternative; and C) Alternate Use Development.

Alternative A – No Project Alternative

The No Project Alternative is the circumstance under which the project does not proceed, and no other project is built in its place. The CEQA Guidelines (Section 15126.6(e)) provide that the “no project” analysis shall discuss the existing conditions at the time the Notice of Preparation is published, as well as what would be reasonably expected to occur in the foreseeable future if the project is not approved based on current plans and consistent with available infrastructure and community services. At the time the NOP was published for the Proposed Project, there was no evidence that another project would be forthcoming in the event the Proposed Project is not approved. Because there is no evidence in the record to this effect, and no previous applications for the property are available, the No Project Alternative assumes that the project site will remain in its current condition. Therefore, under the No Project Alternative, the project site would remain in its current state, a surface parking lot with two structures operating locksmith, florist, and restaurant uses.

Alternative B – Reduced Density Alternative

Under the Reduced Density Alternative, the project site would be developed with a commercial development similar to the Proposed Project. However, the size of the development would be reduced by approximately 25 percent. A total of approximately 79,954 square feet of office space, 1,650 square feet



of retail use, and approximately 3,179 square feet of lobby and common area would be provided. The height of the buildings would also be reduced by two floors, resulting in a six-story building (approximately 100 feet tall). Parking would also be reduced accordingly, resulting in four levels of subterranean parking and one partial ground level of parking, with a total of approximately 146 parking spaces. All other aspects of the project would be the same as described under the Proposed Project.

Alternative C – Alternate Use Development

Under the Alternate Use Development, the project site would be developed with a residential/commercial mixed-use development as opposed to the Proposed Project which would entail an office development. The Alternative Development would be an 8-story tower with approximately 56 condominiums. The ground floor and lobby space of the Alternate Use Development would be developed with approximately 4,914 square feet of retail space and 3,271 square feet lobby space (the same as the Proposed Project). The remainder of the structure would contain 56 condominiums, spanning seven floors with eight units per floor, each at approximately 1,600 square feet for a total of approximately 89,600 square feet of residential space. Parking would be provided as required by code, in approximately four subterranean parking levels and one partial ground level of parking. All other aspects of the project would be the same as described under the Proposed Project.

E. PROJECT OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the Proposed Project, as set forth by the project applicant, are to:

• Provide office facilities to support the Hollywood community.

• Contribute development that is consistent with the evolving development nodes located at Hollywood and Vine and Sunset and Vine.

• Provide commercial facilities to support the office tenants of the Proposed Project and the Hollywood community.

• Promote patronage of the nearby Metro Rail Red Line by creating development near transit hubs.

• Provide pedestrian oriented retail uses along the street level; and

• Provide adequate parking to serve the new uses.

These objectives are generally consistent with the overall objectives of the Community Redevelopment Agency’s (CRA’s) Hollywood Redevelopment Plan.



F. DISCRETIONARY ACTIONS

The Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (CRA) is the lead agency for the Proposed Project. In order to permit development of the Proposed Project, approval of one or more of the following discretionary actions would be required:

• Disposition/Development Agreement with the CRA;

• Preliminary Parcel Map pursuant to LAMC Section 17.50 for resubdivision and merging;

• Zone change from C4-2D-SN to C4-2-SN to remove existing “D” development limitations and to increase permitted FAR from 3:1 to 4.5:1 for the project site and additional CRA approval to increase permitted FAR to 6:1;

• Height district change from Height District 2D to Height District 2 with the removal of “D” development limitations incidental to the requested zone change; and

• Site Plan Review;

• Other approvals (as needed), ministerial or otherwise, may be necessary, as the City finds appropriate, in order to execute and implement the project. Such approvals may include, but are not limited to: architectural design, landscaping, lighting and signage in accordance with the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety; City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation permits for driveways/curb cuts; storm water discharge permit; issuance of permits from the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety that may include permit approvals for grading, approval of the haul route for the export of demolition debris and import and export of soils, approvals for foundations, retaining walls, and structural improvements; vacation of existing City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works easements; installation and hookup approvals for public utilities and related permits. Additional discretionary or ministerial action may include sewer and water hook-up permits from the City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and a Site Plan review by City Planning Department.

Other reviewing agencies for the Proposed Project may include:

• Los Angeles Fire Department.

• Los Angeles Police Department.

• South Coast Air Quality Management District.

• Regional Water Quality Control Board.

• Los Angeles Department of Transportation.

• Bureau of Engineering.

II. PROJECT DESCRIPTION...2009/01/01 · two structures, housing an operational florist shop,...

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