Community Corner

What's Going on at 1811 Orchid Ave.?

Neighbors are seeking answers to expected demolition plans for the vacant property in Hollywood Heights.

[Updates added at 5:15 p.m.]

A resident in Hollywood Heights is looking for answers regarding the expected demolition of a building at 1811 Orchid Ave., which would be replaced with an apartment building.

Chanita Russo, a resident in the Las Orchidias apartments, which sit across from the Bonita Terrace side of the property, is worried that tearing down the existing structure may pose a health hazard, and that the new building could impact the privacy she and other tenants in her building currently enjoy.

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Patch has not yet found a formal proposal for the Orchid Avenue property, which is owned by CIM Group. So far, we've found in city records that there are plans to build a 16-unit apartment building on the property. Those records, viewed on the Department of Building and Safety's website, also contain a request for a demolition permit. It appears in those records that the request for demolition has not yet been approved. 

According to draft minutes from a May 2 meeting of the Hollywood Heights Association board, at which the project's designer David Maman spoke about the plan:

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  • CIM Group plans to remove three existing buildings on the lot. There's talk of underground parking with 31 spaces. The entrance would be from Orchid Avenue. The design would aim to echo the Spanish style of the Las Orchidias building. The project would be three stories high, with five 1-bedroom, nine 2-bedroom and two 3-bedroom units.  
  • Plans have been submitted to the city for permits.  The earliest start of demolition would be two to three weeks (from the May 2 meeting date). Demolition would be quick but construction of the apartment building would take more than a year. Developers have the support of the owners of the Magic Castle. Construction equipment and workers would be staged from the Magic Castle parking lot. Ingress and egress for the finished development would be from Orchid Avenue. The construction crew would be on the site only during regular hours, with work starting no earlier than 7 a.m. 

A spokesperson for CIM Group informed Patch late Friday afternoon that demolition will not start next week. 

The buildings currently on the lot, which is adjacent to the Magic Castle parking lot between Franklin Avenue and Bonita Terrace, appear to have been built in 1916 and 1922, according to the Los Angeles County Assesor's Office records.

Russo emailed Hollywood Patch after hearing rumors that demolition is scheduled for next week on the parcel. Her concerns:

"When I wrote the letter to the Hollywood Heights Association on April 20 it was because I saw my next door neighbors moving and I asked if it was because they were going to start building soon. That's when I found out the demolition has been approved. There are 9 units in my complex and we would be heavily inconvenienced not just from the 1 1/2 year construction time once the permits are approved. 

[Wednesday] a few of us tenants wrote letters via email to our landlord asking for help as to what we can do to stop this. The building plans face our complex which would hinder all privacy with that building looking directly into our homes. My apartment has 2 bedrooms plus our bathroom that faces the front of the building which means that apt complex and my neighbor below's living room. We have never used curtains so this would be awful for all of us plus we would lose any parking on our short little street.

The tenants at Las Orchidias, historical landmark on Bonita Terrace/Orchid Ave are concerned for our health and safety due to possible ASBESTOS exposure which has been proven to cause cancer during a scheduled demolition next week of 1811 Orchid Ave Project in Los Angeles by CIM Group which is directly in front of our 9-unit complex. We as tenants are concerned for our health and safety are requesting documentation that there was an inspection for asbestos in the roof or any other toxic materials prior to approving the scheduled demolition."

Patch is continuing to pursue more details about the project. Stay tuned. 

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