With the Academy Museum all set to go into the old May Company building at LACMA, it's easy to forget the city block just south of the Arclight on Vine that was originally supposed to be the museum's home; the Academy spent years acquiring the property and it sat waiting patiently for most of the aughts while French architect Christian de Portzamparc's plans for the museum stalled out for lack of funding. Part of the site, between De Longpre and Homewood, finally became the outdoor screening site Oscars Outdoors in 2012. But now, with the stretch of Vine south of Sunset finally starting to come to life, the entire block has sold for $46 million to developer Kilroy Group, which plans to build a big mixed-use campus aimed at entertainment types. (Kilroy is putting the finishing touches on another Hollywood/entertainment industry project, the high-end, mixed-use Columbia Square off Sunset and Gower.)
Kilroy's vice president says the company is ready to spend as much as $285 million to construct 475,000 square feet of offices, apartments, and retail. The campus will have three office buildings, 220 apartments, and shops and restaurants on Vine, which should translate to a major reactivation in this kind-of-dead area. The existing buildings on the site, including the handsome old Big Lots store, are set to be demolished once the approval process is through, in about a year and a half (until then they'll be rented out).
Meanwhile, a few blocks to the south, a new hotel is replacing the creepy Vagabond Inn, there's new supportive housing in the old Galaxy Inn, and then there's that Oinkster—looks like we're finally seeing the rise of south Vine.
· Kilroy Purchases Hollywood Film Academy Site for $46 Million [LABJ]
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