We thought we had a pretty good view of the Hollywood sign. If some Chicago-based public scenery-hating developers have their way, a few greedy lucky residents may have the opportunity to live next door to the sign. Literally. The developers purchased Cahuenga Peak, just to the west of the “H,” in 2002 from the Howard Hughes estate for $1.675 million. Frankly, if we could buy a mountain for less than $2 million, then we probably would too. Anyway, Hughes planned to build a home for Ginger Rogers up there, but then she realized how crazy he was and dumped him. Needless to say, she didn’t get her house.
The developers plan to build – what else? – 5 luxury estates on top of the mountain. Fortunately for the some-odd-million people in the L.A. area who won’t be buying one of theses homes, Councilmember Tom LaBonge is leading a campaign to get the Trust for the Public Land to buy the mountain and make it part of Griffith Park. Expected retail price for your own mountain: $6 million. Those developers will make out just fine.
· Developers Could Change View Of Iconic Hollywood Sign [NBC4.tv]