Stalled Echo Park multifamily project picks up again

Developer Dromy International Investment could be Echo Park’s latest comeback kid.

The Santa Monica developer has resubmitted plans for a 62-unit apartment complex at 2223 West Sunset Boulevard, nearly seven years after it filed initial requests with city planning.

The site used to house the Echo Park Community Garden but is now empty. Dromy purchased the 0.35-acre lot for under $1 million in 2009, according to CoStar.

The development, designed by Jay Vanos Architects, faced considerable community opposition when it was first proposed.

“[T]he problem with this development is that although the developer can legally build a structure this size, it’s not going to serve the community,” a resident wrote on the blog Echo Park Now, in November 2010. “In addition, the issue has blown up because of the developer’s lack of communication with the community (including even those living in houses they plan to demolish), and there’s a sense that they are pretty hot-headed.”

Residents also voiced unease about the prospect of heightened traffic, according to Eastside L.A.

The project, which originally entailed 64 units and 9,609 square feet of commercial space, was approved with conditions, according to city planning documents.

The latest case filing calls for 62 units and 9,997 square feet of commercial space.

Founded by Ely Dromy more than three decades ago, his eponymous company now boasts a portfolio of about two dozen multifamily buildings in the L.A. area, the biggest of which include the 51,000-square-foot apartment complex West Knoll Plaza in West Hollywood and the 101-unit Shangri-Lodge in Hollywood.

Neither Dromy nor Jay Vanos Architects  could be immediately reached for comment.