Marriott’s Edition hotel on Sunset Boulevard at Doheny got the blessing of the Design Review Subcommittee of the city’s Planning Commission last night with the provision that it incorporate more pedestrian-friendly elements on its Sunset Boulevard frontage.
The subcommittee asked that the design incorporate pedestrian pathways, perhaps with some sort of public art, in the 90-foot-deep lawn in front of the hotel that the project’s designer described as a “public park.”
It also asked that a restaurant proposed for the western corner of the building be directly accessible, and more visible, from Sunset Boulevard.
The City of West Hollywood is working to make all new development along Sunset Boulevard, a major east-west traffic artery, more pedestrian friendly.
The recommendation of the subcommittee, whose members are Roy Huebner, David Aghaei and John Altschul, will go to the West Hollywood City Council. While the Council approved the project in 2010 and agreed to additions to it in 2012, the developer did not present the actual design at those times.
The design is a collaboration between Ian Schrager, who pioneered the “boutique hotel” concept with examples such as the Delano in Miami and the Morgans hotels in New York, and John Pawson, the British minimalist designer.
The 148-room hotel will be the West Coast flagship of the Edition hotel concept, developed by Schrager, who also is known for partnering in the 1970s with Steve Rubell on New York City’s Studio 54. The hotel will include 20 condominiums, a restaurant, a rooftop bar and a spa. It will have 376 parking spaces.
The hotel essentially is two buildings that will appear as one, with the Sunset Boulevard-facing portion 13 stories high. The south side of the project, facing Harratt Street, will have nine stories of hotel rooms and condos atop a two-story parking garage. That side of the hotel will be covered with various forms of native plants according to Christina Zimmerman of Ian Schrager Company.
At least 2 of the planning commissioners and a city council member took part in a dinner at Boa Steakhouse that cost in excess of $5,000 while these plans were pre- unveiled. With some fancy wine and a few drinks it all seemed to be well digested.
The law and meetings is very clear. Well ok its a little wordy just like me sometimes but here are some links as they pertain to this sort of action taken by these members. http://ag.ca.gov/publications/2003_Intro_BrownAct.pdf http://caag.state.ca.us/publications/2003_Main_BrownAct.pdf If staff and council do actually read Weho ville Let them decide for themselves if they are breaking the law. Six years as president of my own plan review board meetings “if its not on the agenda I will not discuss it” “if you want to be on the agenda just ask I am happy to have it discussed in a regular or special… Read more »
Jonathan – The design meeting I went to had 3 items on the agenda. They moved 9040 to second. They started at 5:30, got to 9040 around 6, and asked for public comments around 6:20. Hardly a burden. They elevated public comments into the middle of the section so people didn’t have to wait around. As for crime in WeHo – there is crime here, of course. But you can check it out if you don’t believe me – our crime rates are far lower than most urban areas. We aren’t 100% safe of course, but Jeffrey Prang is right… Read more »
Chris First thank you for the time you choose to spend commenting and your choice of going to the meetings as stated I truly respect the time taken. If I see you at a meeting I will take the time to reach out and at least introduce myself. We may one day share our thoughts in person always a little easier. Or just agree to disagree. Thats ok too. Please do not take my response here as snarky or combative I do not mean that towards you or any fellow commenter. I always appreciate reading your comments which you post… Read more »
Jonathan, instead of writing these long posts on Wehoville, why don’t you go to planning meetings and City Council meetings to let those that matter hear all your complaints and ideas?
Allison Thank you for your question. My answer is not meant to be either defensive in nature or combative towards you or your question. First I would hope the city leaders and or staff are reading the articles here on Weho ville as it may give them before their meeting a better pulse on some of the community concerns. Sad but maybe they pay no attention here either. Worse no ones really reading its just us …eeek To bad the city does not have a pre portal to organize all the for and against thoughts and actually answer some of… Read more »
Some people are just *never* happy and can’t be pleased. Reminder..this is just the initial design review…long way to go..
Hank did a fine job on recapping the meeting. Not sure why the people with concerns and complaints didn’t bother to attend a meeting on the subject with notice given here and elsewhere. During the public comment session, no one spoke against the project. Why not? How is the city expected to deal with potential problems beyond the ones they’ve already remedied if people don’t bother to show up? I speak to all of my neighbors (dog walking does that). My sense is that, now that the parking will be off Sunset, this neighborhood (pretty upscale and community sensitive) is… Read more »
I have some concerns too. I had no idea with the earlier renderings that there were two buildings. The 13 tower in the front..and this 9 story tower placed back into the neighborhood off Harratt. While not a fan of it stretching that far back…I think Todd Bianco is correct. We need to see the architecture of the building. No doubt the final product will not be this lush. The other thing is the roof top area on this 9 story bldg. I think that a rooftop bar should only be allowed on the Sunset Blvd bldg..away from the residential… Read more »
Again where are our leaders ? Where is the pro active thinking ? We can have great projects and great solutions but no one seems to be paying attention. Every new project in Weho should be required to add a 20% premium in guest parking spaces. We should be looking at co-funding through tax breaks or city dollars to provide a public portion of 2-4 hour free parking on all new projects. Add two levels and the city makes money even still in the long run and provides the much need parking spread throughout the community. Every new project should… Read more »
I attended the meeting last night (as a nearby resident with concerns). To my relief, the greatest concern that I and my neighbors had – that guest parking would be directed off Sunset – was assuaged by the design, which has all parking and vehicle traffic, except for 20 permanent residents (condo owners) who will enter on Harratt, a minor issue. My other two concerns – 1) where staff will park – this has yet to be dealt with (that is down the line), which is something for us to keep in mind and 2) the top floor bar with… Read more »
While I think the concept is great, the renderings show a very ambitious landscape plan that, if it’s even feasible, won’t happen overnight. We should see a rendering of the building without the landscaping to get a clearer picture of what it will really look like, towering over the neighborhood. The 90′ deep front lawn being billed as a “public park” will likely become a popular destination for local dog walkers and may be the closest thing that area has to a dog park. Again, not a bad idea, but it may not be a smart choice in the era… Read more »