The Melrose Triangle is getting another crack at it.
The Charles Company has submitted a new development application for the long-vacant site, aka Lake WeHo, the West Hollywood West Residents Association says. Jonathan Finestone, the association’s president, shared the update in an email to members on Tuesday. The application is working its way through the City’s approval process.
The new plans: 216 market-rate apartments, 66 affordable units, and roughly 120,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. It’s mostly residential — which hasn’t been the emphasis in earlier iterations of the project. Finestone said the association’s board has been briefed and he’s calling it a positive sign for the neighborhood.
How We Got Here
West Hollywood first approved a version of this project back in 2014. The site’s a 2.7-acre triangular lot at 9060 Santa Monica Blvd., right at the corner of Melrose Avenue and Almont Drive, where the City’s western border meets Beverly Hills. That original entitlement called for 76 apartments, a sizable office component, and street-level retail.
The project didn’t move. For years, it didn’t move.
The Charles Company revised the design multiple times — dramatically upsizing the office portion in 2020 at a point when office space was, in retrospect, a questionable bet, then overhauling pedestrian access and building massing in 2021. The Planning Commission signed off on a version in February 2022. Eight years after the original entitlement. That approval expired too, without a shovel going into the ground for actual construction.
There’s also the Arman Gabaee factor. He’s a principal of the Charles Company and he pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges in 2018. That didn’t speed things up.
The only physical work the developer completed was excavation for a parking garage, which started in 2021. Then it just sat there.
By summer 2024, the site’s drainage failed and the pit flooded. Residents started calling it Lake WeHo. It wasn’t a term of endearment. The City cited the property owner, opened a code enforcement case, and LA County mosquito control was out treating the standing water.
At the February 18, 2025 City Council meeting, Community Development Director Nick Maricich told councilmembers the project’s entitlements had expired and there was nothing new proposed for the site. The Council voted to require the Charles Company to backfill the excavation — about 270,000 cubic feet — using certified fill material. It’d take roughly 27,000 truckloads. Councilmember Erickson pressed for reassurance that the dirt wouldn’t bring contaminants into West Hollywood. Building and Safety Manager Ben Galan said it’d be certified before it arrived on site.
The backfill started in March 2025. It’s still going.
WEHOonline reported in January that Melrose Triangle was one of more than 15 approved West Hollywood projects that hadn’t been built. City staff said the site wasn’t in the housing element inventory, which limited what the City could require the owner to do.
Community Meeting May 27
The Charles Company will hold a community meeting via Zoom on Wednesday, May 27, at 6 p.m. The presentation starts at 6:10 p.m.
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/5292528440?pwd=N3JKRmttRUx5L0QvU1EwQVJTcEZnZz09&omn=89050843995. Meeting ID: 529 252 8440. Passcode: 1825.
Reservations are suggested. Send them to melrosetriangle@gmail.com. Questions for the developer can go to the same address. Official public notice is being mailed to nearby properties in the coming days.
Who is the actual owner of this parcel. Has it been paid for in full or is there a loan on the property? Crazy that it has sat vacant all these years.
Why should we trust this same company to come through with actually building the proposal. I haven’t seen any trucks delivering dirt to fill “Lake WeHo”. I wonder why I deal couldn’t be made to move the dirt from the Beverl Hills development surrounding BH Hilton. There was plenty of dirt a mile away to fill that signs within the year’s time the city demanded it filled. I don’t trust anyone on city staff, city council. and planning commission’s to get anything accomplished. We keep asking the same developers to save us or say our hands are tied. The only… Read more »
Exactly. The lack of ethics, knowledgeable individuals and expertise on city staff, city council and planning commission has proven to be beyond shocking. Each move appears to be self serving in the advancement if one’s career up the proverbial ladder for grander CV’s and greater financial gain. It seemed so simple in a 1.9 sq. mile location , so easy to manipulate all the players. They all have left a trail of evidence.
great news, build it! and apply the additional housing towards fulfilling additional housing required by SB79 if the new K Line stations end up qualifying for upzoning. this is the perfect location for additional housing density, both transit and pedestrian friendly and accessible on streets that can accommodate the additional volume.
Can anyone tell me what is considered “affordable rent?” Thanks.
I keep asking the same question at commission and council meetings. Nobody on staff or commissions can answer that. Nothing they approve is affordable. All I know is that you are considered low income if you make $96,000 a year or less. West Hollywood has lost it’s way
THAT IS THE QUESTION!!! We had a neighbor that was on some sort of Russian placement, about 13 years ago. I asked, how does one get on the list?? He knew the question was one he could not answer and broke out in tears. This housing thing is garbage.
Wish it was more units but sounds good!
Here’s hoping that this more residential iteration can be massaged into a satisfactory reality on a reasonably short timetable. 66 affordable housing units is a win. Given all the previous false starts, the City really needs to hold the developer’s feet to the fire. Appropriate scale, inviting design, sufficient parking and smooth vehicular access/ egress are key factors in determining the project’s community reception and success.
Jay, I’m sure Solomon will say his whatsits are tied. The Planning Commission is just a waste of time.
Amen
Not sure they will provide sufficient parking or vehicular access. We have a city council member, Chelsea Byers, stating she will do everything in her power to “inconvenience motorists”. Motorists = Residents. SB79 and State Laws no longer require parking minimals for any development within a major transportation corridor. With the K Line extension, developers can use that as another reason to not provide parking.
Just build the damn thing already!
This overall project was approved in 2014. Now it is twelve years later and the same company who couldn’t build on the property lot is asking for another chance.
It looks to me that the city is being taken for another ride.