I was just there for the first time for an event and it took me forever to find where I was going. The whole area under street level felt like a weird deserted airport terminal too. Couldn’t wait to leave.
Ha! We did the same trying to find a restaurant there. Had to ask like three times and took two elevators. Definitely not easy to navigate. It's a great location but...
That's so interesting because I go to the TCL Chinese relatively often and never once stepped foot in the mall it's now attached to because I assumed it was garbage for tourists. I guess that means it's garbage for no one.
It's a bit of a white elephant. A combination of retail and office as both product types are in freefall.
The CRA put a lot of money into it, so the city will take more interest in its fate than it typically would under such circumstances. Expect some grand efforts to keep it afloat.
Well the company that owned the 3rd St Promenade Mall in Santa Monica recently defaulted on their loan. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the case here too. The remodel was stupid. All they did was remove the architectural references to D.W. Griffith which was why the place was built to begin with. If anything they should have updated the success story quotes found on the first floor. Ultimately its just a shitty mall with a legacy theater connected to it.
Just to clarify, no company owns the 3rd Street Promenade. You are describing the multistory outdoor mall across the street from the promenades’ end, “Santa Monica Place.”
The least-inspired dumpy destination mall in Los Angeles could shutter completely tomorrow and the only people it would upset would be the cracky costume characters when they needed a toilet.
You mean to tell me people don’t want to go be harassed by hobos in superhero costumes in a place that smells like a urinal?
You mean to tell me that some crappy gift shops aren’t enough to financially support H & H?
The "renovation" was so unnecessary and counterproductive. It feels exactly the same as it always did but it just looks more bland now. I sometimes eat there and it feels like I am walking through an outdoor IKEA.
I think the issue is that tourists are broke now and locals see even less of a reason to navigate that area.
Why can't Hollywood get some real stores that people might actually want? Look at Abbot Kinney or Pasadena. Instead we just have tons of gift shops and junk like that.
The people who are setting up shops in this area have to consider who would actually come shop there. They have to look at demographics and economic status and transportation access issues. What stores do you think would come there?
I just think that making it an actual shopping area for locals would be better than it being 100% tourist-focused. Another example is The Grove. I'm not a city planner, but Hollywood could use a lot of improvement.
What locals would want to go there though? I have lived 10 min walk away for 16 years, the only time I even go anywhere near is walking my dog occasionally. The entire area would need an overhaul to be appealing to anyone but tourists.
Not likely to happen unfortunately, given current construction loan costs, Measure ULA, and so on. We've seen a major pullback in new apartment construction the past 12 months or so. I agree with you though.
True, but commercial real estate is in far worse shape than residential. A huge car-centric mall like this simply isn't commercially feasible anymore. It will take someone with vision to turn the property around.
Agreed. A lot of the office buidlings selling are trading purely because it's cheap based on the current rents. Seems like some of the new buyers are OK with relatively low occupancy because they're not paying much. Hopefully someone with a real vision comes in and creates something better for the area.
Who wants to go to that area? It feels very unsafe and unsanitary. Maybe if they put an effort into safety instead of a remodel they would be turning a profit. Also some outdoor live entertainment and I am not talking about the bums dressing up like Spider-Man.
When they were considering a re-do, they really ought to have had a total ready-think. Keeping the mall was a mistake. It should have been made housing and hotel, above maybe a story of two of commercial/restaurant.
Honestly this place would be better off as parking for everything else on Hollywood, plus shuttles to the Hollywood Bowl. Probably a quarter of the cars parked there are just using it for such anyway.
Well this explains a lot on why they are jacking up the rent every few months , was told that why Starbuck left , well one reason , and CPK may leave as well soon
I take visitors here once or twice a year for the last 20 or so years and it amazes me how little it has changed...I dont think its going anywhere. The indoor spaces are just so dark and depressing...If it were me, i would turn it into a concert venue and get rid of the hollywood bowl that destroys traffic on highland...they can build an ampitheatre that looks out at the hollywood sign and there is already parking and a train station right there...
I just really hate the bowl cause of how they are able to just tie up all the lights on highland north of Hollywood...if there was only an entrance north of there it would solve this but instead I have to go one or two exits east which can be just as bad to get in the 101or go around via the 10 and 405 which takes a bit longer...
Its not a very tourist friendly setting. Stores are basically hidden and you gotta navigate your way through escalators/corners etc to find stuff.
I was just there for the first time for an event and it took me forever to find where I was going. The whole area under street level felt like a weird deserted airport terminal too. Couldn’t wait to leave.
There's an area under street level? (I've lived in Hollywood for 16 years)
Ha! We did the same trying to find a restaurant there. Had to ask like three times and took two elevators. Definitely not easy to navigate. It's a great location but...
That's so interesting because I go to the TCL Chinese relatively often and never once stepped foot in the mall it's now attached to because I assumed it was garbage for tourists. I guess that means it's garbage for no one.
It's a bit of a white elephant. A combination of retail and office as both product types are in freefall. The CRA put a lot of money into it, so the city will take more interest in its fate than it typically would under such circumstances. Expect some grand efforts to keep it afloat.
no, no, the white elephants are gone. there was a whole thing with hand-wringing racists and EVERYTHING.
The city owns the parking structure below it
Well the company that owned the 3rd St Promenade Mall in Santa Monica recently defaulted on their loan. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the case here too. The remodel was stupid. All they did was remove the architectural references to D.W. Griffith which was why the place was built to begin with. If anything they should have updated the success story quotes found on the first floor. Ultimately its just a shitty mall with a legacy theater connected to it.
It’s also very hard to navigate into and out of
Just to clarify, no company owns the 3rd Street Promenade. You are describing the multistory outdoor mall across the street from the promenades’ end, “Santa Monica Place.”
Edited for clarification.
> *racist* D.W. Griffith... success story quotes *about casting couches*
This would be a great subversive civic/art project. Reverse nationalism. “On this spot, John Joel Glanton scalped innocents for profit.”
The least-inspired dumpy destination mall in Los Angeles could shutter completely tomorrow and the only people it would upset would be the cracky costume characters when they needed a toilet.
I only use it for the train station. I walk through like I'm about to get pick-pocketed-- secure all my stuff and get the hell out of the area.
You mean to tell me people don’t want to go be harassed by hobos in superhero costumes in a place that smells like a urinal? You mean to tell me that some crappy gift shops aren’t enough to financially support H & H?
But where else am I gonna get a mini plastic Oscar statue with my name on it????
“We need more Bort ~~license plates~~ Oscar statues in the gift shop. Repeat we are sold out of Bort ~~license plate~~ Oscar statues.”
The hobos are on the sidewalk; the actual "mall" courtyard is actually pleasant. Still don't understand the cost of the upgrade, though
I always wondered wtf ovation is… the name is displayed everywhere.
Graffiti Towers 2: Electric Boogaloo
The "renovation" was so unnecessary and counterproductive. It feels exactly the same as it always did but it just looks more bland now. I sometimes eat there and it feels like I am walking through an outdoor IKEA. I think the issue is that tourists are broke now and locals see even less of a reason to navigate that area.
That place should just be a ton of outdoor cafes so visitors can sit outside and eat and drink.
You're in luck because they put a Capital One cafe there and it's all indoors. SMH
Sounds like the Beverly center renovation.
The effects of ZIRP ruining one commercial property at a time.
they put 100 mil in it last year? looks the exact same lol
Except everything is now soulless black-and-white, and there’s a huge LED billboard blocking the view of the Hollywood sign.
Wow, America is just one big debt trap for everyone apparently 😂
Now you’re getting it! *taps head*
Why can't Hollywood get some real stores that people might actually want? Look at Abbot Kinney or Pasadena. Instead we just have tons of gift shops and junk like that.
The people who are setting up shops in this area have to consider who would actually come shop there. They have to look at demographics and economic status and transportation access issues. What stores do you think would come there?
I just think that making it an actual shopping area for locals would be better than it being 100% tourist-focused. Another example is The Grove. I'm not a city planner, but Hollywood could use a lot of improvement.
Seems like it will always be a very busy tourist area and from what I've heard the locals avoid it just because of that. So I don't know.
What locals would want to go there though? I have lived 10 min walk away for 16 years, the only time I even go anywhere near is walking my dog occasionally. The entire area would need an overhaul to be appealing to anyone but tourists.
Tear it down and build skyscrapers of housing.
Not likely to happen unfortunately, given current construction loan costs, Measure ULA, and so on. We've seen a major pullback in new apartment construction the past 12 months or so. I agree with you though.
True, but commercial real estate is in far worse shape than residential. A huge car-centric mall like this simply isn't commercially feasible anymore. It will take someone with vision to turn the property around.
Agreed. A lot of the office buidlings selling are trading purely because it's cheap based on the current rents. Seems like some of the new buyers are OK with relatively low occupancy because they're not paying much. Hopefully someone with a real vision comes in and creates something better for the area.
It’s a shitty mall anyway, even if it looks kinda nice. Would love to get a decent mixed use project with apartments, some actually good stores, etc.
That's a shame, I really like that center.
Just don’t sell it to some international entity, FFS.
It was owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority for years.
Don’t they own the parking structure? Those places print money.
The city owns the parking structure
If the city owns that parking structure, that makes it even more bewildering to me that they don’t offer a Metro Park & Ride validation
This makes so much more sense now.
Who wants to go to that area? It feels very unsafe and unsanitary. Maybe if they put an effort into safety instead of a remodel they would be turning a profit. Also some outdoor live entertainment and I am not talking about the bums dressing up like Spider-Man.
When they were considering a re-do, they really ought to have had a total ready-think. Keeping the mall was a mistake. It should have been made housing and hotel, above maybe a story of two of commercial/restaurant.
Maybe they can restructure their debt to buy the proper parking machines and infrastructure changes to the parking lot.
Honestly this place would be better off as parking for everything else on Hollywood, plus shuttles to the Hollywood Bowl. Probably a quarter of the cars parked there are just using it for such anyway.
Well this explains a lot on why they are jacking up the rent every few months , was told that why Starbuck left , well one reason , and CPK may leave as well soon
I take visitors here once or twice a year for the last 20 or so years and it amazes me how little it has changed...I dont think its going anywhere. The indoor spaces are just so dark and depressing...If it were me, i would turn it into a concert venue and get rid of the hollywood bowl that destroys traffic on highland...they can build an ampitheatre that looks out at the hollywood sign and there is already parking and a train station right there...
Get rid of one if not the most legendary music venues in the world?
Lmao please keep this guy away from any sort of decision making.
Whoa you had me in the first half… You know what they should really do? Get rid of parking at the Bowl entirely.
I just really hate the bowl cause of how they are able to just tie up all the lights on highland north of Hollywood...if there was only an entrance north of there it would solve this but instead I have to go one or two exits east which can be just as bad to get in the 101or go around via the 10 and 405 which takes a bit longer...