The Millennium Project, which includes plans to develop two sites adjacent to the Capitol Records building, officially began the public review process this week.
Today marks the beginning of the public comment period for the draft environmental impact report (DEIR). [See the full report here.]
The developers, Millenium Partners and Argent Ventures, are proposing a project that aims to transform 4.47 acres of parking lots into 1 million square feet of residential, hotel, office, restaurant and retail space as well as a sports club.
The proposed plan is still being called a "conceptual plan" with a maximum building height of 585 feet for the east and west Vine Street towers.
The DEIR found that the project will have short-term impacts during construction on air quality and noise.
The long-term impact of the project came in the area of traffic. The traffic study indicates five intersections will be significantly impacted.
Proposed mitigation measures include widening intersections for additional turn lanes, donating money to the city to upgrade traffic signals and establishing a "traffic signalization program." With these measures, the unmitigated impacts would be reduced to two intersections, according to the report.
The buildings' designers, Gary Handel Architects and Roschen Van Cleve Architects, will collaborate with James Corner Field Operations, the landscape architects responsible for The High Line in New York City.
Expect public hearings on the project to begin in early 2013. The deadline to submit comments on the DEIR is Dec. 10 no later than 4 p.m.
“We have worked hard over the last several years to design a project that is a new Hollywood icon for the 21st century,” Philip E. Aarons, founding partner of Millennium Partners, said in a press statement. “And I believe that the DEIR shows how our project is not just fitting for the community but will fit into its vision for its future.”
"We have spent the last several years discussing our plans with the Hollywood community,” Aarons said, “and we look forward to continuing those conversations over the months ahead.”
According to a news release, the project has the support of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Capitol Records.
A website for the project was unveiled this week at: www.milleniumproject.net.
Related:
- Millennium Hollywood Project Begins Review Process
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2)http://la.curbed.com/archives/2012/10/first_plans_released_for_huge_towers_next_to_capitol_records.php Possibly more 'Comments' than any article ...Worth reading 3) The document is now available on the Department of Planning’s Website: http://cityplanning.lacity.org/ Click on “environmental section”; click on “draft DIER”. To read the full EIR click on MILLENNIUM HOLLYWOOD PROJECT. The Notice of Availability will be published this Thursday, October 25th and the comment period will run October 25, 2012 – December 10, 2012.
HIS vision for the future..His 'New Iconic Hollywood Landmarks' (skyscrapers) dwarfing the old ones..is not Hollywood's vision for IT'S future.. "We have spent the last several years discussing our plans with the Hollywood community,” Aarons said, “and we look forward to continuing those conversations over the months ahead.” Is he kidding? Maybe he can explain why Vine St. Height Limits were left out of the new Hollywood Community Plan? And whose campaigns were financed to reserve Vine for these Unlimited Height projects? And why City Planning started referring to his projects as 'The Capitol Records Projects' instead of the 'Millennium Projects' at all hearings? And why The Plum Committee went from utter shock and disbelief and tons of questions about the size of these buildings to not having one question at the following hearing.. Were they advised to shut up since all three also received campaign financing from Millennium? Reality check..Villaraigosa, Garcetti, and the pathetic City Council 'enablers' sold Hollywood to this developer.. AS IF any of them will vote 'no' to the unlimited heights (discretionary review) when most of them, past and present, have been, and are being, funded by Millennium and/or their Law Firm, for years..as is The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce...
Hollywood needs more density cuz people have been moving out of Hollywood due to the traffic, but with hundreds of multi-million condos in the Towers, people won't need cars. They can take the subway anywhere they want to go. It isn't fair that the millennium developer, however, has to pay any property taxes -- the city is giving tax rebates to the hotels downtown, and in April the city council gave a blank check other downtown hotels to rehab themselves. Aarons needs to be treated fairly and have at least 50 years of no property taxes. Bunker Hill got 69 years of no taxes. Hollywood has a long way to go to catch up to NYC with its 66,000 persons per sq mile; Hollywood Central has only about 22,000 people per sq mile. We need at least two dozen more towers to catch up to NYC. Also, Judge Alacron just bought off the richie loos in the Hills by allowing them to gate off their streets in the Hills to create private enclaves, thereby gutting the 20 year old prohibition on closing public roads. I guess they feared that too many people would drive into the Hills to try to look at the new towers down in the Flats, but now they get to close off their streets from the riff raff. Hollywood is zooming ahead.
Well, hell, are we trying to fit everyone who was ever born into one place? This brainwashing about "density" is going to kill off any uniqueness that Hollywood still possesses. Any open sky and lovely views of the hills and the sign. I don't believe that cities historically have been built so they can fit everyone in one place. Just sayin'. Don't believe that was the thinking back in the day. But now, the word is "density" uber alles. Insane. And the ruination of anything unique and reflective of history that is over 20 years old. Not to mention that the "density" thing will be out of style in seven or eight years and Hollywood will look like all the other anonymous cities spread across the country. Sad.
They might want to look to Millennium Boston Turnpike Controversy as guide of what to include. They fought and won case against Millennium Towers above Boston Turnpike (air rights..L.A. Freeways get ready) The Mayor (THERE) and City Politicos (THERE) were open to all input. WHERE IS The Mayor of L.A.? Here is the link of Citizens for Sensible Turnpike Tower Development http://www.fenwayaction.org/ctrd.html Questions suggestions there from Design for the Area, to Reconfiguration... How about Scaling Them Down? They did not want to live in the shadows of Millennium Towers.. They organized and won.
AGENDA http://www.hhwnc.org/node/2638/agenda Millennium 'presenting' Vine St. Skyscraper plans.. Q&A.. and accepting input on their projects from communities. Mon., Nov. 5th.....5:30PM WIll & Ariel Durant Library 7140 W, Sunset Blvd. L.A. 90046 Click link for more information
Hollywood powers-that-be, are AGAIN, disrespecting Hollywood history and community. Business as usual. Sick.
The need for "density" is a lie perpetuated so our city council and elected offcials can reap monetary rewards from the mega developers who line their pockets. That's just a fact. The more density they build into a concentrated area, the more federal funds they get for transportation, so they intentionally build density. There's no big rush of people flocking to Hollywood to live. The additional air pollution alone that will be created by this Millenium project is foul. They have no plan to deal with that, and it is considered "mitigated". That means that they feel the good outweighs the bad. So, they consider it good to increase traffic to the point of a nightmare, with no regard to the quality of life for those that live here. This plan would ruin the charm that this part of Hollywood has going for it, with the iconic Capitol Records building as it's center. The surrounding area is mostly low slung buildings and little shops that gives a neighborhood feel to the place around Yucca Ave. It IS sad.
Here's where you send it: Srimal Hewawitharana, Environmental Specialist II Los Angeles Department of City Planning 200 S. Spring St., Rm 750 Los Angeles, CA 90012
srimal.hewawitharana@lacity.org at City Planning..requesting the extension.. Try to attend HUNC/PLUM Meeting Thursday, Dec. 6th Seventh Day Adventists Church @ Hollywood Blvd. & Van Ness.. The meeting will be about this very subject. Visit Hollywood United Neighborhood Council website for more info..Agenda. etc. Hollywood Hills West NC and PLUM Committee rejected Millennium project for many reasons, their bogus, unacceptable Traffic Study being one of them. Plans are afoot by communities to have an Independent DEIR Traffic Study done.. Millennium would love to rush this through before Christmas.... An extension is desperately needed.