ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUMMIT
T
he Hollywood Chamber of Commerce held our Annual Economic Development Summit on Thursday October 15th. The Summit, Hollywood NEXT: Adapting and Transforming Into A New Urban Environment, had an incredible turnout and engaged over 200 participants through multiple keynote speakers and breakout sessions. The Summit opened with networking and an opportunity to visit sponsor booths at our virtual Expo. The Summit officially kicked-off with remarks from Stenn Parton, Chief Retail Officer of DJM, who unveiled new development plans to update and rename the Hollywood and Highland Center to Ovation Hollywood. Los Angeles City Councilmember O’Farrell and Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti opened the Summit with keynote remarks, highlighting the importance of the Hollywood economy to the overall economic health of the City. Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Chairman of the Board Dwayne Gathers, facilitated a Fireside Chat with John Kilroy, President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Kilroy Realty Corporation. Dwayne and John held a passionate conversation on the future of economic development within Hollywood and the City of Los Angeles as a whole, touching on the affects in which the homelessness crisis and other economic hardships have on Hollywood. Participants had the opportunity to listen to panelists discuss multiple facets of Hollywood economic development through 6 breakout sessions. Panelists during the Reinventing Retail Session discussed the changes made to storefront 8
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SPRING 2021 ADVOCATE
commercial retail and bringing foot traffic to Hollywood amidst the pandemic. In the New Reality New Workforce panel discussion, presenters touched on the importance of intentional hiring, promoting current employees within the workforce, and prepping students for virtual learning and workforce development programs. During the Destination Tourism Comeback panel, a conversation around tourism projections in Hollywood, theme park re-openings, and the customer experience through the entertainment industry was discussed. Speakers featured in the Healthy Cities Healthy Streets panel reflected on lessons learned from the utilization of streets as public spaces, changes in transportation to ensure equal access, and how public spaces support economic development in Hollywood. Panelists in the Growing Connectivity in a Post-Pandemic World discussed digital equity, expanding infrastructure, and the future of 5G technology in the Hollywood community. The Development Map Reveal and Future Projects in Hollywood session summarized the statistics of over 120 development projects and talked about three exciting new developments within Hollywood. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce was excited to unveil, for the first time in Chamber history, a completely online version of the Economic Development Map. Users have the ability to access the map virtually and view all current development projects in the Hollywood area and search for projects based on project status, project type, and through the plotted map feature. The Hollywood NEXT Economic Development Summit
