R.W. Selby Gets Nod to Revamp Hollywood Walk of Fame

R.W. Selby could soon redevelop part of Hollywood’s Walk of Fame with 633 apartments, offices, shops and restaurants.

An affiliate of the Brentwood-based developer led by Rick Selby was approved by the Los Angeles City Planning Commission to build the mixed-use project on two sites at 6626-6636 West Hollywood Boulevard and 1623-1645 and 1638-1644 North Cherokee Avenue, Urbanize Los Angeles reported.

The affiliate, J+J Hollywood, would bulldoze a swath of commercial properties and parking lots.

Plans for the project, dubbed Hollywood Central, call for four apartment buildings containing 633 units, 29,600 square feet of offices and 41,700 square feet of shops and restaurants on the south side of Hollywood Boulevard at Las Palmas and Cherokee avenues.

The western site, south of the Walk of Fame between Las Palmas and Cherokee, would replace a parking lot with three highrises with 393 studio and one-bedroom apartments above an underground parking garage for 353 cars.

The new structures would include a seven-story building with 46 units above 4,250 square feet of ground-floor shops and restaurants; a 15-story building with 281 units and 30,200 square feet of retail; and a seven-story building with 66 apartments and 7,700 square feet of ground-floor offices.

R.W. Selby would employ density bonus incentives for larger buildings than allowed by local zoning rules in exchange for 40 affordable apartments for very-low income households.

The eastern site, across Cherokee Avenue, would replace commercial buildings with a 13-story tower with 240 apartments above 30,000 square feet of ground-floor offices and a restaurant, with underground parking for 109 cars.

The developer has also used density bonus incentives for taller buildings in exchange for 27 affordable apartments for very-low income households.

The four buildings, designed by Long Beach-based Studio One Eleven, have a semi industrial look, with bay or floor-to-ceiling windows surrounded by brick, stone, and metal. The larger complex would include pedestrian walkways flanked by shops and restaurants, with landscaped seating.

Construction would take 31 months, with completion estimated in 2027, according to an environmental study.

The project is among a handful of large Hollywood developments in the works, including the multi-tower Crossroads Hollywood development on Sunset Boulevard, according to Urbanize. Since the pandemic, the Hollywood Walk of Fame has also seen a resurgence in foot traffic and hotel occupancy, according to a study.

In 2022, R.W. Selby was building a modular, 202-unit apartment complex on a parking lot at 1601 Las Palmas Avenue, in Hollywood.

R.W. Selby & Co., founded by Selby in 1975, has acquired more than 7,000 apartments in Southern California and greater Las Vegas, including student housing near UCLA, according to its website and LinkedIn pages.

— Dana Bartholomew