Sunset Strip House of Blues Closing Early to Make Way for Big Hotel/Housing/Retail Project

The countdown to a House-of-Blues-less Sunset Strip began last summer, when news came out that construction would begin late this year on a new mixed-use hotel and residential project on the site. (The project has been kicking around for years, but before last August, there hadn't been any dates attached.) Last summer, reps for concert promoter Live Nation, which runs the HoB, said that the tin-covered venue would be able to stick around for at least two more years of gospel brunches, but the LA Business Journal now reports that operations actually will be shutting down on August 7 this year, with employee layoffs starting at the end of this month.

Taking the place of the HoB will be the Sunset Time project from developer Combined Properties. Designed by Kanner Architects, it will bring 149 hotel rooms, 40 condos, rental apartments "for low- and moderate-income people," and 35,000 square feet of retail space, plus a nightclub, says WeHoville. There will also be 6,000 square feet of digital billboards on the building, a notable feature of the project since its first appearance back in 2009 (though the square footage of the ad space seems to have shrunk since then).

The House of Blues has said it's looking for a new space somewhere in Los Angeles after a fruitless search for a suitable space in West Hollywood. There's still no clear timetable for demolition of the HoB building, but reports from last summer said that Combined hoped to begin construction in late 2015.

· Layoff Notices Sent as Final Bars Play at WeHo House of Blues [LABJ]
· WeHo's House of Blues to Close on August 7 [WeHoville]
· Mapping the Sunset Strip's Hotel Madness [Curbed LA]
· WeHo's House of Blues Project: Shake, Rattle and Roll, and Shine [Curbed LA]