L.A. Rejects Appeals Aimed at Stopping Sunset Boulevard Mixed-Use Project
By Nick Trombola February 26, 2024 3:14 pm
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Plans for a mixed-use development in Hollywood will move forward following the city’s denial of multiple appeals looking to stop the project, Urbanize reported last week.
The proposed seven-story, 41-unit project at 7979 Sunset Boulevard, dubbed Sunset/Laurel, will replace a gas station across the street from the iconic Laugh Factory comedy club. In early December, the City of Los Angeles initially approved developer Massachi’s plans for the property, which include a split of studio-, one- and two-bedroom apartments and roughly 4,500 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.
Later that month, appeals authored by seven local residents, including Laugh Factory owner Jamie Masada, were filed to the city’s Planning Department to prevent the project moving forward. The appellants argued that local traffic and parking problems will worsen; the scale of the project is not appropriate compared to the rest of the neighborhood; and that the community was not sufficiently notified of the project by the city before approval.
Yet a Planning Department staff report released last week recommended denial of the appeals. The report countered that the proposed building’s size was actually permitted via a density bonus incentive, which was granted to Massachi in exchange for dedicated very low-income housing units, and that the property’s zone prohibits minimum parking requirements.
A representative for Massachi commended the city’s decision, telling the Commercial Observer that the firm had met all objective criteria for the project. Masada did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The project’s latest news comes on the heels of several other notable happenings along the Sunset Strip. New York City-based investment group Regal Ventures purchased a retail property on Sunset Boulevard from CIM Group for nearly $30 million earlier in January, Commercial Observer reported at the time. Meanwhile, former Beverly Hills Planning Commissioner Farshid Joe Shooshani in November filed plans with the City of West Hollywood to build a spherical studio and billboard space on the famed street.
Nick Trombola can be reached at NTrombola@commercialobserver.com.
