The center's entrance |
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| Location | Hollywood, Los Angeles, California United States |
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| Address | 6801 Hollywood Boulevard |
| Opening date | November 9, 2001 |
| Developer | Trizec Properties |
| Owner | CIM Group |
| Architect | Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects |
| No. of stores and services | 75+ |
| No. of anchor tenants | 1 (Kodak Theatre) |
| Total retail floor area | 640,000 square feet (59,000 m2) |
| Parking | On-street, parking garage |
| No. of floors | 5 (retail) |
| Website | Official website |
The Hollywood & Highland Center is a shopping mall and entertainment complex at Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue in the Hollywood district in Los Angeles. The 387,000-square-foot (36,000 m2) center also includes Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the Kodak Theatre, home to the Academy Awards. The historic site was once the home of the famed Hollywood Hotel. Located in the heart of Hollywood, along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it is among the most visited tourist destinations in Los Angeles.
The complex sits just across of the El Capitan Theatre and offers views of the Hollywood Hills and Hollywood Sign to the north, Santa Monica Mountains to the west and downtown Los Angeles to the east. The centerpiece of the complex is a massive three-story courtyard inspired by the Babylon scene from the D.W. Griffith film Intolerance. The developer of the shopping center built part of the archway and 2 pillars with elephant sculptures on the capitals, just as seen in the film, to the same full scale. It gives visitors an idea of how large the original set must have been.[1]
Tenants include 75 shops [1], two nightclubs and restaurants [2], a movie theater, The Highlands nightclub and Level 3 nightclub and a bowling alley called Lucky Strike Lanes. The portion of the center facing Hollywood Boulevard houses retail tenants such as GAP, American Eagle, Banana Republic, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Sephora, Swatch, and Express.
Hollywood & Highland also houses 65,000 square feet (6,000 m2) of gathering spaces including the Grand Ballroom, used for the Oscars Governors Ball. The chef Wolfgang Puck operates his regional headquarters out of the complex. The center also includes television broadcast facilities that in 2004 included the studios for the daily talk show On Air With Ryan Seacrest.
The 637-room Renaissance Hollywood Hotel is also part of the site. The LACMTA Red Line's subway station of the same name is beneath the structure.[2] Also, Metro Local lines 212, 217, 222, 656 and Metro Rapid 780 serve Hollywood & Highland.
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Developed by Trizec Properties and with funds from the Community Redevelopment Agency, Hollywood & Highland opened after three years of construction[3] in November 2001 and is part of an overall effort to revitalize Hollywood Boulevard.
The project is an example of joint development, in which a public agency leases the right to develop a parcel in exchange for improvements to the property, in this case, an enhanced portal to the Hollywood/Highland Metro Red Line station. TrizecHahn leased 1.35 acres (5,500 m2) of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority land for 55 years at a rate of $492,000 per year (with additional increases added every five years based on the Consumer Price Index) and four 11-year optional extensions.[4]
Leading up to the construction of the development the City of Los Angeles was persuaded, through its Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), to contribute at least $90 million in 1998 toward the initial construction of Hollywood and Highland. This was in addition to the costs of constructing the Red Line subway station below the mall.[5]
Trizec Properties Inc. sold its interest in the development for over $200 million in 2004 to CIM Group. This was a substantial loss and represented an investment failure as it was estimated that Trizec spent at least $625 million to develop the center.[6]
The current owner, CIM Group, describes itself as a premier real estate fund manager that makes private equity and/or debt investments in urban communities throughout North America. CIM is headquartered in Hollywood in the TV Guide Building located across the street from Hollywood and Highland. (CIM also owns and manages the TV Guide Building.) CIM has active projects in Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Orange County, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Oakland, Washington D.C., Austin TX, Boulder CO, as well as other communities. One of their better known projects in the Los Angeles region is the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.[7] CIM rebranded Hollywood and Highland and repositioned the center with higher end tenants. In 2005, the center underwent renovations to add additional features such as escalators leading visitors from Hollywood Boulevard directly to the third floor of the central courtyard, new signage, and new stores.
The Hollywood and Highland complex opened in 2001 with a conditional use permit that enabled, among other things, for the complex to have special exemptions of Los Angeles billboard ordinances. Despite objections of some residents and neighbors, in 2002 this agreement was amended and extended for an additional 20 years. L.A. City Councilman Eric Garcetti, who represents the district of Hollywood, supported extending this special permit.[8]
The design of the center has been criticized. In 2007, "Curbed L.A.", an online magazine, named Hollywood and Highland the "winner" of their Ugliest Building in Los Angeles contest. In selecting Hollywood & Highland, they cited its aesthetics, pedestrian unfriendliness, confusing circulation, and "mish-mash of architectural styles".[9]
The center may have played a role in attracting development to other parts of Hollywood. The TV Guide Hollywood Center (also owned by CIM[10]) across the street reconstructed the ground floor has attracted new tenants such as American Apparel, Baja Fresh, Hooters, and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Further east on Hollywood Bouelvard., several new, more upscale shops and restaurants have opened. Several blocks further east at Vine Street, two major projects have been announced, including one with a W Hotel.
The sidewalk in front of Hollywood and Highland is considered a coveted location for recent additions to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and as such is one of the few locations where the star memorials are "doubled up" rather than being placed linearly, in order for more stars to be accommodated in front of the center.
In February 2006, it was announced that the clothier H&M is opening a location just across the street from Hollywood and Highland, and in May 2007, it was announced that the Spanish retail chain Zara will be opening nearby as well.[11]
In February 2005, the Academy Awards statuettes were put on display for public viewing at Hollywood and Highland before the ceremony on March 5. Visitors could have a picture taken outside with a giant prop Oscar that was to be used on the red carpet and in the exhibit could learn about the history of the Academy Awards, see the statuettes that were to be presented, and even get their picture taken holding an actual Oscar statuette. It became extremely popular, so the Academy decided to continue it. The exhibit opened on February 9, 2006 and closed February 24, when the Oscars were removed and paraded down the red carpet into the Kodak Theatre.
The Renaissance Hollywood Hotel is where contestants from reality shows America's Got Talent and So You Think You Can Dance stay during the Semi-Finals and Final Rounds.
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