Building Owners Take First Steps in Hollywood Facelift Initiative

An expo of companies offering services from outdoor painting to window filming to neon signs packed into one room in the W Hotel Thursday.

The goal: To make it easier for property owners to take steps to clean up storefronts along Hollywood Boulevard. 

Stack of business cards in hand, Navin Hemrajani exuded optimism about his property on the 6400 block of Hollywood Boulevard. He wants to take out a loan to clean up the storefront and add attractive signage. 

“It’ll make a nicer environment for tourists, visitors and the community," Hemrajani said. 

This is exactly what members of Hollywood Property Owners Alliance wanted to hear. In the early steps of the Hollywood Facelift initiative, storeowners are being encouraged to sign a contract and take up the responsibility for brightening the look and feel of the entertainment district. 

Thursday's mini-expo, attended by about 15 Hollywood property owners and managers, was held following the annual Hollywood Entertainment District's All Property Owners Meeting. 

The expo marked the first time that companies approved  by Hollywood's business improvement district for the "Facelift" initiative were gathered in one room. 

The companies at the expo will offer discounted rates to property owners who contact them within the next year. 

“We’re showing you everything we can do to help you out,” Thaddeus Smith, president of the Hollywood Property Owners Association, told the group. 

The Hollywood Property Owners’ Alliance is pushing to see every business starred and ready to go — “strong-arming in a nice way,” one property owner put it.

“It’s investing not only in the property but in the idea of Hollywood,” said Nejdeh Avedian of Property Management Group.

But some projects may be delayed if redevelopment funds cut by the state in the last budget cycle are not restored by the Los Angeles City Council next month. 

The City Council approved a pot of $1.5 million in loans for the commmunity redevelopment agency to distribute to applicants who meet contract conditions and maintain their properties over a 10-year period.

Loan size is dependent on property size, and a matching program is also in place for those who want to exceed the eligible amount, said project manager Neelura Bell. 

But with the city yet to finalize the budget for it's community redevelopment agency, the availability of the funds remains unclear. If funds fail to materialize, parts of the program will not happen right away, said project manager Jeffery Rouze. He compiled a booklet of vendors for property owners based on his experience with renovating the Hillview Apartments and the El Capitan Building in Hollywood's historic districts.

"Some property managers need more (help)," Rouze said. 

The cost of a basic uplift in a storefront, with façade repair, anti-graffiti films, new awnings and fresh neon signs, is estimated to cost around $15,000.

Those figures could easily run higher, though. Property owner Jan Martin spoke at the meeting about her efforts to revamp the front of a large windowed office building at the corner of Yucca and Vine.  

She said the total cost amounted to $60,000 with paint and labor.

“It was money we didn’t have, but it was so worth it,” Martin said.

The fixes Jack Amber has in mind runs in the ballpark of $150,000, he said. Next to a paint job, Amber said he wants to put in pulldown security gates, granite window frames and new awnings. 

He is among the property owners hoping to apply for a CRA grant. 

But Amber said it goes beyond simply asking storeowners to make fixes. He also said tenants and business owners on Hollywood Boulevard do not have enough competition to encourage making changes.

“If you really want to change Hollywood, you have to bring in new people,” Amber said.