Vinyl still rules! Amoeba Records finds new Hollywood locale

Rejoice analog enthusiasts, Amoeba Music has found a new home.

After years of speculation, the Berkeley-headquartered company announced on its website Wednesday that it is moving its Hollywood location this fall to 6200 Hollywood Blvd. at the corner of Hollywood and Argyle boulevards, or about three blocks away from its present location at 6400 Sunset Boulevard.

Amoeba will lease the space from DLG Real Estate Capital Partners, which owns the mixed-use, six-story 6200 Hollywood Boulevard building, opening the complex in 2018. According to information services company Compstak, DLG purchased the 55,113-square-foot parcel in 2011 for $15 million.

The complex, dubbed “El Centro,” includes 507 apartments and bungalows. It is also adjacent to other musical landmarks including the Fonda, home to live rock concerts, and the Pantages, an L.A. hub for musicals.

The announcement ends a five-year saga for the beloved record store that began in 2015 when Amoeba sold the Sunset location (which it had resided in since 2001) to developer GPI Companies for $34 million. GPI Companies proposed a 26-story complex to replace the Amoeba locale, and the City Council approved the developers’ plans last June.

Amoeba Chief Executive Mark Weinstein assured music consumers in a 2018 interview that the new Amoeba location would not venture far from its Sunset locale.

But Amoeba had been silent on a new location until today when rapper Tyler, the Creator announced via video where Amoeba was moving toward.

As Amoeba moves on, plans to replace its present record store face legal hurdles. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has filed two lawsuits to block GPI’s residential tower, arguing the project violates the Fair Housing Act and runs afoul of the state’s environmental review process. Both lawsuits are in California appellate court.