In one of our past linkages we mentioned something about the Coffee Table on Rowena getting bulldozed over for the antithesis of the laid-back Silver Lake vibe - the luxury lofts. LA Alternative reports that the owners of the Coffee Table have agreed to occupy a ground floor restaurant space in the new development, once its completed. The developer of the project went before a committee of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council to discuss the project.
[Developer Paul Pagnone], addressing the packed auditorium that included council member Tom LaBonge, said he does not want to turn Silver Lake and Rowena Ave. into Wilshire Blvd. Due to the remodeling, the Coffee Table must be demolished, which has the full support of restaurant owners Brett Schoenhals and Michael Zamarripa. Still, some residents oppose the development. Pagnone received more than a few bouts of boos throughout the meeting. “The opposition was very strong and massive at the beginning of the mitigative process,” says Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov, the SLNC chair of the Urban Design and Preservation committee. “I gather from both sides that, little by little, a common ground has been found for open communication.”
Knowing that the Coffee Table is not gone for good seems to have calmed a few frayed nerves, and as architectural snobs we're glad to see there are no Caliterranean/Tuscan influences in the design renderings.
· Rowenavation [LA Alternative]