City Council narrowly approved changes to two long-in-the-making projects — the Robertson Lane Hotel Project and the adjacent Treehouse Project — which have grown more and more unwieldy for the city even as they were merged into one Monday night.
A litany of alterations to the project forced its developers to return before City Council, who found many problems with what they were presented this week.
The staff report listed the following alterations:
“The project proposes to amend an existing entitlement and approve a new adjacent commercial project as part of the overall Robertson Lane Specific Plan. Changes to the approved project include a change from one hotel building to a building with two volumes connected at the fourth level, a reduction of 114 hotel rooms (from 237 to 123), an addition of 34,869 square feet of office space, reconfiguration of other approved uses, a reduction of 224 parking spaces (from 750 to 526), and an overall reduction in the FAR (from 258,042 square feet to 239,128 square feet, including the Treehouse Project). The Treehouse Project consists of a two-story volume above grade with restaurant and outdoor dining uses, and two levels below grade that include a nightclub and associated storage space. The parking and loading for both portions of the project are located within the subterranean parking garage below the Robertson Lane Hotel Project component. The project parking is entirely valet operated with operations occurring in the B2 subterranean parking level as well as in the designated valet and rideshare spaces in the public rights-of-way. “
Chief among the points of contention was parking, or lack thereof. Councilmember John D’Amico, who with Mayor Lauren Meister voted no on the project, likened the situation to “inviting a casino to town.”
Both feared that drivers would instead use city parking spaces instead of paying the developers’ higher prices. D’Amico also worried that excess heat and light reflected off the development’s glass facade would be troublesome for future visitors of the just-completed West Hollywood Park.
In an 11th-hour turn of events, the developer agreed to provide 100 spaces during evenings for employees at a reduced rate.
How we are another year into this eye sore with absolutely no progress made is truly baffling. At what point does the city step in and say, either get it done or we’re pulling your permits?
We need more media exposure on these stalled projects to remind the developers and the city that the public is watching.
Actually, “Casino” comes from the Italian word for Casa-house. A casino can be a little house. In modern-day Italian, a casino is a brothel (also called casa chiusa, literally “closed house”), a mess (confusing situation), or a noisy environment; a gaming house is spelt casinò, with an accent.
We will now refer to him as John DeCasino for we know he is nobody’s amico (friend.)
What’s up with all the running water going into the sewer drain at the corner of Almont and Melrose? This is the Treehouse development. Is there well water being drained? Is it possible the water isn’t worth capturing and thus discarded? Seriously! Does anyone know? Lot of water running constantly.
That’s the Melrose Triangle project – another long-delayed project that keeps morphing into something different than was promised the community. When it gestates for 20 years, economic conditions tend to change and “guessing” what will be “in demand” whenever it’s finished (10 more years?) is nearly impossible. That developer, like the one for Robertson Lane, don’t seem to have the financial backing to get their projects built. The ground water has been flowing at a prestigious rate into the sewer system for years. It would have been enough to water every square inch of landscaped land many times over. I’ve… Read more »
Inappropriate comparison to Robertson Lane re financing. These two projects emanate from entirely different philosophies. Also years ago I believe the water situation appeared at NW corner of Melrose & San Vicente during library construction.
Wasn’t this the project that was supposed to retain some elements of the old Factory? Is this correct and is this still part of the plan?
Yes they are incorporating approximately 55% of the Factory Building
The city council declared war on hotels that pay the occupancy tax that pays for city services, and now everyone is removing hotel rooms. I’m shocked.
Actually Jake Stevens, the project’s spokesperson, made it clear that there was no market for the larger hotel. We are pushing the number of new hotel rooms close to a point where we will start to see an inundation that causes the room rates to fall and our TOT tax fall with it. That was in a report a few years back from a consultant hired by the City to look at this issue.
Monocultures tend to die or destroy the land. Sometimes both.
In modern Italian, “casino” is a slang word for “mess”.
Couldn’t you just say “missagosh”?
Ha ha, Steve.
Mishegoss, Steve.
Can they just start building the damn thing. At this point I won’t live to see the completion and I am only 43.
…and now almost 44. We just walked by the property tonight and thinking, what the hell is up with this developer?? Their request for changes were approved AGAIN in August, yet here we are 7 months later and nothing has changed. The city should put all Fering development requests on hold until this project gets underway. It’s pathetic.
Where was the critical thinking about much needed parking from Mayor Meister, the “parking expert” when possibly she and other Council Members were free handing their policies.
Excuse me Critical Thinking but I advocated for keeping the parking as is (700+ vs. 525). That’s why I voted no on the project. This is a Specific Plan and the City deserves more than it got.
It certainly did, Lauren.
I agree with Lauren. Once again – and this keeps happening again and again and again in West Hollywood – the promised developments that get the backing of the community inevitably morph into a bland mess (witness the mediocrity up on Sunset and the mixed-use projects on the City’s east side). How long will we have to wait for this, the Melrose Triangle and the French Market projects to be actually built?
Can only imagine the traffic and noise that this Goliath will add to already backed up Santa Monica Blvd. and my neighbor. This entire project appears to be a disjointed disaster.
Finally. Get. It. Built.
“Both feared that drivers would instead use city parking spaces instead of paying the developers’ higher prices.”
Oh, now they are worried about parking spaces? That’s rich considering they had no problem voting to allow the OutZones to take away street parking permanently or spend the tens of millions on the park expansion without adding a single parking space.
I know…right?! The stupidity of it all.
Leave to a qualified “Wing Nut” to make this determination as “A Casino” . Apparently the talents of Project Manager are arbitrary dependent upon the occasion or political connection.
Parking spaces lost to Outzones was negligible. What, 2 or 3 spaces per Outzone? To help a local business survive? Most of these were bars, and I would hope people weren’t driving to them, anyways, and being responsible with not drinking and driving. I’m a huge scooter advocate, and I’ll use one to go out to the bars, then Uber home. I never have to worry about parking. Driving, I do not even consider an option.