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The City of West Hollywood invites community members to attend the fourth and fifth Neighborhood Conversations about the renovation of Laurel House and Park. The Neighborhood Conversations will be led by the architecture consultant team from Page & Turnbull in partnership with consultants Kimberli Meyer and Sara Daleiden who are guiding the development of the Artist Residency Program for the cultural resource. The meetings will offer an opportunity to preview initial designs and provide feedback on the architectural plan development for Laurel House and Park Artist Residency Program.
On Tuesday, September 26, 2023 there will be an in-person Neighborhood Conversation from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Plummer Park Community Center, located at 7377 Santa Monica Boulevard in Rooms 5 and 6. Drop-in; no RSVP is necessary. On Wednesday, September 27, 2023there will be a virtual Neighborhood Conversation session from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. via Zoom. Register in advance for this virtual meeting using the Zoom platform.
The City-owned real property at 1343 N. Laurel Avenue, known as Laurel House and Park, consists of a 30,000-square-foot lot, a 7,177-square-foot former single-family dwelling, and an unattached accessory structure that is approximately 2,379 square feet and consists of a chauffer’s cottage and garages. The original portions of the structures were built in 1917. The conversion of the original single-family residence into four apartment units and the southerly four-car garage addition were completed in 1941. The property was designated as a Local Cultural Resource by the City of West Hollywood in 1994.
In 2010, the West Hollywood City Council directed staff to develop a plan to open the grounds at 1343 N. Laurel Avenue as open space on a temporary/interim basis for public use. From 2013-2014, the City conducted an extensive community visioning process for the Laurel property. The community expressed support for several potential uses during the visioning process and prioritized several factors, including: access to more community gathering spaces; activation as an Arts and Cultural Center; maintenance and/or enhancements of the property’s use for peacefulness and beauty; preservation of the house and gardens, but activation through new features and programming; and, continued use for dog walking.
In 2018, the West Hollywood City Council received a report forwarded by the Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission focusing on Artist-in-Residence programs, including consideration of the use of 1343 N. Laurel Avenue as a potential Artist-in-Residence site. This recommendation was forwarded to the Council Subcommittee for further review and consideration. In October 2022, in a feasibility study update, the City Council confirmed that the site should be used for arts and culture programs and it directed staff to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a qualified architectural design firm to continue the programming and design process. Page & Turnbull was awarded the architectural contract to begin schematic design development for the Laurel House and Park.
For additional information, please contact Alicen Bartle, City of West Hollywood Project Development Administrator, at (323) 848-6323 or at [email protected]. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing please call TTY (323) 848-6496.
For up-to-date information about City of West Hollywood news and events, follow @wehocity on social media, sign-up for news updates at www.weho.org/email, and visit the City’s calendar of meetings and events atwww.weho.org/calendar. West Hollywood City Hall is open for walk-in services at public counters or by appointment by visiting www.weho.org/appointments. City Hall services are accessible by phone at (323) 848-6400and via website at www.weho.org. Receive text updates by texting “WeHo” to (323) 848-5000.
This property should be able to be enjoyed by the community as a whole. It should have programming and facilities that reach out to a broader spectrum of our residents and reflects the varied interests of our community. To cater to only the arts division/arts commission is a terrible waste of a valuable City resource.
Residents of West Hollywood need more venues to have classes and a variety of activities that engage young and old. Not just one narrow program discipline.
Last night’s meeting was skillfully opaque. Over staffed by consultants with project details unclear and dissipated. Not a professional presentation. This historic property which has been languishing for nearly 20 years seems doomed by absence of knowledge, inertia and designed to focus and benefit a minimal number of people……artists in residence. A seemingly colossal waste of money.
Why does the city (i.e. taxpayers) own this property?
you’re about 20 years too late to this party
A brief explanation would have been helpful however you were not even around for the debacle so why the snarky comment?
Public enjoyment of this Cultural/Historic Landmark has unnecessarily moved at a snail’s pace. Why is this do you suppose? Is it because the City has no real knowledge or insight into how to achieve a functioning landmark or for that fact a citywide Historic Preservation awareness and program? With the wealth of structures the City inherited by nature of becoming a its own jurisdiction, there was a strong, diverse and interesting foundation concerning architecture and cultural aspects. After instituting a Historic Preservation Ordinance, they remained ignorant and virtually uninspired to move forward. Why is that?
Cultural events there? Are they cray-cray? We can easily fit 50 homeless inside there, and another 50 or so on the front lawn. I heard them say there is a “housing crisis” at the meeting last night, so why on earth would they be so selfish as to do anything else? I’m sure the residents of Laurel Avenue would be thrilled to help solve the homeless “crisis”. And how about all the people who use Plummer Park, we could fit hundreds of homeless in there. I’m sure the residents of adjacent Los Angeles who use the park, which surrounds the… Read more »
Less cynicism and sarcasm please, try for a positive contribution.
Not sure what a “positive contribution” is, but I stand by pointing out the hypocrisy of the City claiming there is a housing crisis, then using City owned land for just 4 residents, when a lot more could live there. I mean if they really thought it was a “crisis”, why not tear it down, and put up another Hollyway Motel-style shelter there for 100 homeless. Is it a crisis or not?
Los Angeles does not surround Plummer Park on three sides. Where do you come up with this stuff? I know you hate poor people, but did you know that MANY of the apartments that you call decrepit have actually been totally updated inside? That they get market-rate rents? No, I bet you can’t get your head around that fact.
Why do people even engage with “weho queen”? I’ve run his comments through ChatGPT and Bard for fact-checking, and they consistently flag misinformation. The credibility of Wehoville could be enhanced by implementing identity verification for commenters. This would foster more informed discussions and productive debates on relevant issues. As it stands, the platform seems to allow “weho queen” to voice unchecked opinions, yet some of my fact-based comments aren’t published. This approach doesn’t reflect balanced journalism; it seems more like a platform promoting a particular narrative.
I just knew someone wouldn’t be able to read carefully. I wrote “park AREA on 3 of 4 sides”. The word “area” was meant to broaden it just a bit. On one of the sides, it’s 5 very short blocks to the L.A. border, around 600 feet. If I meant 3 sides, I wouldn’t have included the word “area”. I’m glad I could explain that to you. Why do you think I supposedly hate “poor people”? I admit I don’t like freeloaders, but they are very different from “poor people”. The day I need you to explain market-rate rents to… Read more »
Short-Term housing for four artists at a time on a government owned 30,000 sf lot.
The City of West Hollywood is declaring the end of the “housing crisis” with this plan.
They’re not wrong.