There is so much drama these days around the old Old Spaghetti Factory property in Hollywood! CIM Group bought the site in August last year and plans to build an already-entitled mixed-use tower. First there were accusations that the scandal-plagued County Assessor's office had improperly reduced the site's value (to lower its tax burden) under a previous owner. And now the La Mirada Avenue Neighborhood Association has filed a lawsuit saying that "CIM Group violated the terms of various city agreements by razing [the] 1924 building...City officials called for a portion of the building to be preserved when they approved the project and a $9.9-million taxpayer subsidy, according to the group," reports the LA Times. The building started life as a fancy car dealership in 1924. Back in February, CIM demolished the restaurant, including its historic facade--they had previously planned to maintain the facade and incorporate it into the new building, but found it was too far gone, and with preservation group Hollywood Heritage's blessing, decided to remove, protect, and reinstall some elements instead.
Apparently La Mirada's lawyers have "obtained emails from city officials saying that the facade was supposed to be preserved and that a demolition permit had been issued without clearance from the planning department. The group said a demolition permit was illegally issued after the structure had been razed. The association also demanded that city officials force CIM Group to give back $3.7 million already provided for the project." They also say that the agreement with Hollywood Heritage wasn't good enough, and that "a private agreement cannot alter the city's public requirements for the new building."
· Hollywood group sues L.A. over demolition of 1924 building [LAT]
· Hollywood's Old Spaghetti Factory Razed, But Tower Groundbreaking Remains a Mystery [Curbed LA]
· Old Spaghetti Factory Will Be Recreated For Sunset Blvd. Tower [Curbed LA]
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