Onni’s decision: Office or apartment towers in Hollywood?

Onni Group has beat back two appeals and received a preliminary nod for plans to build either office or apartment highrises in Hollywood.

The Vancouver-based developer was approved by the Los Angeles Planning Commission to build either a 17-story office building or a 33-story apartment tower at 1360 North Vine Street, Urbanize Los Angeles reported. It would replace a row of commercial storefronts.

At the same time, the commission rejected two appeals aiming to block the development, moving the project forward for consideration by the City Council.

Onni’s two-for projects, designed by Chicago-based Solomon Cordwell Buenz, are both sheathed in glass, with the apartments containing louver-like balconies.

Plans for the 17-story office building include 464,000 square feet of offices above 12,000 square feet of ground-floor restaurants.

Plans for the 33-story highrise include 429 apartments, including 36 set aside for affordable housing for very low-income households. The homes would rise above a 55,000-square-foot grocery store, 5,000 square feet of other commercial uses, and underground parking for an unspecified number of cars.

In both project alternatives, a dozen bungalows east of the tower would be preserved as homes or for use by restaurants.

Both projects were fought by a labor union affiliate and a local resident.

The Supporters Alliance for Environmental Responsibility, an affiliate of Laborers International Union of North America Local 27, argued the projects could have unanticipated impacts on health and air quality, and should be subjected to further study under the California Environmental Quality Act.

Donna Williams, who lives near the project site, argued in favor of further study on grounds the projects could impact historic buildings nearby.

A city staff report found no evidence to support granting the appeals, and recommended the commission deny both requests.

The 2-acre project is one of several which Onni has in the pipeline for Hollywood, according to Urbanize.

They include a proposed 260,000-square-foot office building near Santa Monica Boulevard and La Brea Avenue and a proposed 210,000-square-foot complex just north of Hollywood Boulevard.

The Onni development is not the first highrise slated for Vine Street to the south of Sunset Boulevard. Kilroy Realty’s On Vine campus across the street features a residential highrise in addition to offices leased by Netflix.

— Dana Bartholomew

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