Construction of downtown Hollywood high-rise may start soon

The hotel and apartment building would be the second big project on Young Circle by Chip Abele, who developed nearby Hollywood Circle

Block 40 rendering
Block 40 rendering

The developer of a high-rise, mixed-use building at a prime location in downtown Hollywood expects to start construction soon.

Developer Charles “Chip” Abele won approval in 2005 for the long-pending project combining 166 apartments and a 103-room Hilton Garden Inn in a 19-story building dubbed Block 40.

A spokeswoman for Abele told the Sun-Sentinel construction of Block 40 could start as soon as September and will take two years to finish.  Litigation, the Great Recession and permitting issues have kept the developer from breaking ground sooner.

Abele has asked the city government to close one block of eastbound Hollywood Boulevard during the construction work, according to Jorge Camejo, who runs the city government’s redevelopment agency. The developer also seeks closure of 19th Avenue between Harrison Street and Hollywood Boulevard.

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The location of Block 40 on the southwest side of Young Circle was the site of the Great Southern Hotel, a longtime Hollywood landmark that city founder Joseph W. Young built in 1924. It closed in 1991.

Abele plans to preserve some of the walls of the Great Southern and part of its interior by incorporating them in the Block 40 development.

Abele led the development of a nearby mixed-use property on Young Circle called Hollywood Circle.

City commissioner Caryl Shuham told the Sun-Sentinel that Block 40 “will bring some vitality to that part of downtown.” [Sun-Sentinel] – Mike Seemuth