Back in the 1960s, Hollywood elites including movie stars, business moguls and even the former president of the United States flocked to the area between Beverly Hills and Santa Monica, known as Century City.
Now, developers are increasingly turning to the neighborhood’s glitzy history to market their new high-rise properties, which differ from the sprawling estates that characterize Los Angeles, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The roughly 180-acre neighborhood suffers from a reputation of being office-focused, rather than family friendly, characterized by aluminum skyscrapers and a lack of basic neighborhood amenities like public parks.
But neighborhood residents and developers in the region are seeing other benefits in the area.
Early buyers at Related Companies-redeveloped the Century condos at 1 W. Century Drive are now witnessing their profits double as they sell to celebrities like Matthew Perry and Candy Spelling.
Down the street, developer Woodridge Capital Partners is undergoing a $2.5 billion redevelopment of the Century Plaza Hotel that will include a 394-key Fairmont Hotel and over 268 condos spread among two 43-story towers. Miami-based developer Crescent Heights is looking to get a piece of the pie, as well, and recently opened a 40-story rental building dubbed Ten Thousand.
One retail developer has taken quite a gamble on the area. Shopping mall giant Westfield recently poured $1 billion into its 1960s-built Century City Westfield Mall, which will now include extravagant amenities and bring nationally-acclaimed restaurants to the area. [WSJ] – Natalie Hoberman