One might think the home of the Oscars would sell for a hefty pricetag. But it didn’t go quite that way in a deal between the City of Los Angeles and the successor agency to the Community Redevelopment Agency — which will ultimately be absorbed by the city.
The Los Angeles City Council adopted a motion last week that authorizes the city to buy the Dolby Theatre from CRA/LA for a mere $100,000 plus $3,000 in closing costs, Curbed reported.
Mayor Eric Garcetti approved the purchase in February 2016 after the city won the bid in 2015.
The city is essentially buying the Dolby back from itself. It paid $30 million towards the construction of Dolby Theatre and $60 million towards its parking structure in 1999. The theatre opened in 2002, which is also the year it began to host the Academy Awards.
The theatre is one of the properties — Angels Landing and Westlake Theatre among them — that CRA/LA is required to unload after the dissolution of the CRA. CRA/LA only exists to sell the remaining entities owned by the CRA. At some juncture, it will be absorbed the city.
CIM Group, owner of the Hollywood & Highland shopping center next door, will continue to operate the Dolby until the end of its 99-year lease. [Curbed] – Naiwen Tian