area newsletter JUNE 2018 • WESTSIDE
20 18 TM
Community News Luxury condo tower planned for Westwood Construction permits have been sought by developer Indivest to build a 29-story tower at the intersection of Gayley Ave. and Wilshire Blvd. in Westwood. The building would feature a unique triangular footprint, mirroring the shape of the lot, and drawing inspiration from New York City’s iconic Flatiron Building. The project has been geminating for nearly 10 years and at one point was planned as either a 250-room hotel or a 144-unit condominium development. The project will now move forward exclusively as a residential building. No timeline for the project has been announced.
City of Malibu moves to buy vacant land
Malibu’s City Council recently voted unanimously to purchase nearly 30 acres of undeveloped land, to be set aside for the community. The property includes a 18.48 acre parcel at Heathercliff Rd. and Pacific Coast Highway, 9.5 acres at 23675 Civic Center Way, and 1.11 acres at Civic Center Way and Webb Way. All three lots are being
sold by the Malibu Bay Company, the company founded by famed Hollywood dealmaker Jerry Perenchio, who died in May 2017. With approval from the council, city officials will now be tasked with negotiating a deal and securing the funding. Though no price has been set, the sellers were initially seeking $150 million for the company’s entire 70 acre portfolio. Perenchio’s Bel Air estate was also listed for $350 million.
VA Program offers safe parking for homeless vets
A nonprofit agency called Safe Parking LA will initiate a program with the Veterans Administration to provide overnight parking to homeless veterans living in their vehicles. Under the program, participants will be assigned a parking space at the VA campus in West LA and provided access to social services and eventually transitional housing. The program will begin with 10 vehicles, but will expand to offer space for potentially dozens more. It is believed that there are more than 8,500 Angelenos currently live in their vehicles, though the VA program will be limited to those who are also veterans.
Community News Creative campus renovation under way in Santa Monica
indicate that inventory is down 25% in the central and southern parts of LA, and down 19% in downtown. Inventory in westside communities such as Santa Monica, Bel Air, and Pacific Palisades are down 13%. As a result, prices for houses on the market are up, with nearly 50% of properties being sold above their original asking price, an increase from 38% in 2017. Likewise, 42% of sales in March 2018 were above $1 million, compared to 37% from the same period a year ago.
Earthquake warning app coming to a number of smartphones soon A complex of industrial warehouses near the intersection of Colorado Ave. and Cloverfield Blvd. are currently being converted into a creative office campus. The construction will result in four contemporary structures with a central landscaped courtyard in a location convenient to the 10 freeway, and across the street from the AO Santa Monica housing complex, as well as offices of Universal Music Publishing and the Game Show Network. The development is expected to be completed by the end of 2018.
Lower housing inventory raises prices in LA
Housing inventory in the Los Angeles market is down compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. Experts
If you feel anxiety waiting for the next big earthquake to strike the Southland, perhaps you will take some solace when an earthquake warning app is released for smartphones. Early Warning Labs, a tech company based in Santa Monica, has developed such an app and is currently beta testing it with select users in Los Angeles. Those users received a warning on their cell phones about 30 seconds before a recent 5.3 earthquake occurred in the Channel Islands. Similar technology has been implemented successfully in Japan and Mexico, with residents of Mexico City receiving a 60 second warning before a devastating 8.1 earthquake happened in September 2017. The QuakeAlert app was developed in partnership with the United States Geological Survey, and is scheduled to be released publicly by the end of the year.
Restaurant
Spotlight
Belcampo Meat Co.
Pizzana
Felix Trattoria
1026 Wilshire Boulevard Santa Monica
11712 San Vicente Boulevard Brentwood
1023 Abbot Kinney Bouelvard Venice
This Santa Monica spot is partbutcher-shop and part-restaurant. Belcampo Meat Co. sources all of its grass-fed organic beef from its own sustainable farm. The restaurant is known for serving innovative dishes like mutton chops, goat tartare, and the infamous cheeseburger, which comes on a toasted brioche bun with a slice of Cheddar, caramelized onions, and house sauce. Guests can also order custom cuts from the professional meat cutters and choose from an extensive selection of specialty groceries to complete their meal preparations. Belcampo is open Tuesday – Friday from 11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m., Saturday – Sunday from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Friday & Saturday from 5 – 11 p.m., and Tuesday – Thursday from 5 – 10 p.m.
Would you believe us if we told you that one of the best pizza spots in the city was in Brentwood? So what’s unique about Pizzana? The center of the pizza is less floppy and the dough here is made by hand in the Neapolitan tradition and then fermented and proofed for 48 hours. Chef Daniele Uditi insists his pizza taste like home— Naples. The pizza menu includes a classic “Margherita,” “Funghi” (Italian creama, fontina, shiitake and oyster mushroom, caramelized onion), as well as “Pepperoni,” and a “Messicana” (chorizo, cilantro lime sauce, pickled sweet chile, jalapeno, and queso fresco). The restaurant also serves appetizers, salads, and dessert—but don’t expect cupcakes. Pizzana is open Sunday – Thursday from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m., and Friday – Saturday from 11 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Wondering where you should be eating in Venice? For outstanding pasta on the Westside, look no further than Felix. This upscale Italian place on Abbot Kinney in Venice is booked almost every night of the week for one reason: their incredible pasta. The handmade pastas here are brought to you by a chef who’s done time at Spago, Rustic Canyon, and Bucato. Their menu includes pastas, pizzas, entrees and desserts—all rooted in Italian tradition with a California edge. Between 10 – 20 pastas are offered daily and are listed according to their region in Italy. Their oxtail ragu pairs nicely with a Haitian Divorce (mescal and aged rum, cherry and Pedro Ximenez). If you plan on having dinner here, sit by the pasta-making window; you’ll catch the staff kneading and rolling dough. Felix is open Sunday – Thursday from 5:30 – 10 p.m., and Friday – Saturday from 5:30 – 11 p.m.
SIGHTS & SOUNDS in LOS ANGELES
Annenberg Space for Photography 2000 Avenue of the Stars #10 Los Angeles, CA 90067 CURRENT EXHIBITION: Not An Ostrich: and Other Images From America’s Library April 21 - September 9, 2018 Noted curator Anne Wilkes Tucker has displays nearly 500 images selected from the archives of the U.S. Library of Congress including photos that are rarely seen by the public as well as iconic portraits of Abraham Lincoln, Cesar Chavez, and Elizabeth Taylor. The exhibit shows a vivid cross-section of the history the United States in photographic form.
LACMA
MOCA Grand Avenue
5905 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036
152 North Central Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90012
CURRENT EXHIBITION:
CURRENT EXHIBITION:
A Universal History of Infamy: Those of This America January 27 - October 6, 2018
Jackson Pollock’s Number 1, 1949: A Conservation Treatment March 4 - September 7, 2018
As part of LACMA’s community art education program, this exhibition is presented at their satellite gallery at Charles White Elementary School, featuring the work of contemporary Latino artists, writers, and activists, alongside pieces from LACMA’s permanent collection. Public hours are on Saturdays, 1-4 pm.
In collaboration with the Getty Conservation Institute, MOCA is undertaking an extensive restoration of a Jackson Pollock painting in a gallery that will be open to the public. Three other Pollocks from the MOCA collection will also be displayed.
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