Creative office building planned in Media District, on Melrose
AN ALL-WHITE building with floor-to-ceiling windows, viewed from the east on Seward. Melrose is at left. Proposed as a five-story, media-focused project, it adjoins the John C. Fremont Library.
A five-story creative office building targeted to media companies and designed with an open space, post-pandemic perspective, is planned at the northwest corner of Melrose Avenue and Seward Street.
Floor-to-ceiling windows, an open stairwell and ample outside spaces are among features of the project by developer Bardas Investment Group.
Plans include 68,000 square feet of new office, retail and open space in four buildings at 6101-6107 Melrose / 713-735 N. Seward. The project includes two existing historic buildings that are part of the 100,000-square-foot campus.
The design by architect Ben Toam of Otherworks (formerly with Rios) also includes ground-floor food services and subterranean parking to be entered from Seward.
The new development/adaptive re-use project is envisioned as an anchor at the end of the Seward Media Corridor, which is home to — among other entertainment companies — Netflix, one of Bardas’ tenants. The Media Corridor extends north to Santa Monica Blvd.
The Fremont Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library is next door on Melrose.
OUTDOOR spaces, above and below right, are among features of the Bardas Investment Group development, at Melrose and Seward.
Project requirements include a zoning and height change and a traffic study; so far an application has been submitted to the City Planning Dept.
West Hollywood developer and founder and managing principal at Bardas, David Simon, has also met with business and community groups, including the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council’s Land Use Committee.
Simon was part of the team that developed Columbia Square in Hollywood. “I’ve always been focused on media spaces from a real estate perspective in L.A.,” he said.
The 74-foot-tall commercial development at Melrose and Seward will replace a parking lot and a late 1920s single-story commercial building. That building’s sole remaining tenant is Big Sunday, the massive local volunteer group. Big Sunday will be moving by the end of the year (See story on page 19 of Section 1).
Renderings show a white corrugated metal façade and setbacks on Melrose with terraces and balconies above. The project will create a new pedestrian access.
Simon explained that, prior to the pandemic, “everything was heading towards outdoor space, but it really accelerated it, and that was the main focus of the building. And, Southern California has the climate for it.
“Our goal is to keep the media companies in L.A. and not have them move out.” And keep the jobs here as well, he added.
Locally, in commercial real estate, life sciences and entertainment properties are thriving, unlike many other commercial business sectors, explained Simon.
Entertainment companies are not interested in the high-rise buildings of the past.
“Media companies are very finicky on the type of space they want — creative environment, low density, space to collaborate and ease getting in and out.” Simon hopes to break ground in 12 to 18 months, and to complete the project in approximately three years.
Category: Real Estate