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Business & Tech

Program Aims to Give Hollywood Boulevard Buildings a Face-Lift

The Hollywood Entertainment District hopes to persuade business owners to improve the facade of their buildings before the 2012 Academy Awards.

The Hollywood Entertainment District is working on an ambitious plan to dress up Hollywood Boulevard over the course of the next calendar year.  

The effort, “Hollywood Facelift,” aims to improve the appearance of buildings along Hollywood Boulevard before the 2012 Academy Awards.

“We did an extensive demographic research study on the BID [Business Improvement District],” said Kerry Morrison, the executive director of the Hollywood Entertainment District. “We asked residents, visitors and property owners about their impression of Hollywood, and the overriding theme was that it was grimy and dirty. It led to some soul-searching, and we decided we had to change that perception.”

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Many details of the project are still in the works, including the overall cost of the program, as this type of renovation has apparently never been attempted by another business improvement district.

“This is about connecting with business owners and encouraging them to stand outside their buildings and take a critical look at them,” Morrison said. “We’re finding that folks are very receptive to this.”

Morrison said the effort is long overdue. “This area has a lot of old buildings, and many of them haven’t been painted in decades.”

The Hollywood Entertainment District has been in existence for more than 10 years and spans Hollywood Boulevard from La Brea Avenue to the 101 Freeway. It is funded by 225 property owners who assess themselves more than $3.4 million annually.  Most of the budget pays for street cleaning, landscaping and security. The budget had not addressed building facades until now.

Two phases are planned for the face-lift: The first one asks business owners to commit to the program by signing a “contract with Hollywood.” The second phase involves a seminar that gives the owners tools and incentives to clean up their buildings.

The Hollywood Entertainment District is in discussions with Sherwin-Williams to supply the paint, and a consultant will be hired to find local contractors to perform the work at a discount.

“This is uncharted territory as far as we know,” Morrison said. “And if someone only agrees to clean their windows, we’ll take it. But if their neighbor starts taking better care of their place, and then the guy on the other side of him does too, the passion can be contagious.”

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