Caught between popular areas, seedy strip starts to see revival.

THE 10-block stretch of Sunset Boulevard tucked between Hollywood and West Hollywood long has collected the castoffs of its bookend neighborhoods--but very little from investors.

That could be changing, what with Hollywood Boulevard to the north seeing a gradual and sustained revitalization.

Incremental developments are adding up. The new owner of the Travel Inn at Vista and Sunset, known for years as a host of prostitution activity, has submitted plans to build a Hampton Inn at the site. Trendy pizzeria Cheebo opened at Sunset and Sierra this spring. And the International Cinematographers Guild, which has been at 7715 Sunset Blvd. since 1959, will move its headquarters into a refurbished office building across the street this month.

"There are a lot of people in the real estate business looking at that market," said John Tronson, a principal at Ramsey-Shilling Commercial Real Estate Services Inc. "Everybody's waiting to see if the Hollywood revitalization sticks."

An obstacle to further development has been the inability of developers to assemble parcels necessary for larger-scale projects. The area is made up primarily of owner-occupied morn-and-pop shops occupying 2,000 square feet, Tronson said, and few have been willing to sell or leave.

One large project being considered at the western end of Sunset, just before it transitions into West Hollywood's Sunset Strip, is a mixed-use development on the site of the former Directors Guild of America building. The DGA, which moved into a new building across the street in 1989, is in talks with Legacy Partners to develop the property, but nothing has been finalized, said DGA spokesman Morgan Rumpf. Its former headquarters was recently demolished to make way for a parking lot.

Slow transition

Marc Wanamaker, president of the Los Angeles City Historical Society, said many of the landmarks that used to dot the area are no longer there. One of Hollywood's earliest theaters, the Oriental, was located at the site of a Guitar Center location from the 1920s to the 1950s. At the time, the theater was near a junction of the old Red Car trolley cars, which ran diagonally through the intersection of North Gardner Street and Sunset. Beginning in the 1940s, the Four Trees Restaurant attracted the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Humphrey Bogart. Through the 1960s, the area was home to small, independent retailers.

These days, the area has become a low-rise wasteland of cheap retailers, fast food joints and motels; it's also infamous as the site of actor Hugh Grant's 1995 arrest for committing a lewd act with a prostitute.

"There's still a few hookers, but it's not like it used to be," said Jim Tartan, who serves on the board of the adjacent Spaulding Square Neighborhood Association. Tartan, also a member of the Community Police Advisory Board, said residents have successfully lobbied for more police patrols and street signs prohibiting left turns into the neighborhood at night.

One trouble spot has been the Travel Inn, which is expected to demolished and replaced with a larger Hampton Inn, said Robert Lamishaw, president of JPL Zoning Services Inc., a consultant to the property owner.

Melissa O'Brien, director of brand communications at Hilton Hotels Corp., which owns the Hampton Inns name, said an application has been submitted to build a hotel at the location, but negotiations are still ongoing. If approved, the Hampton Inn would likely require ground-up construction, she said.

Plans are under review, having received support from business development groups, but not all neighbors are pleased. Tartan said the Hampton Inn would require a variance from current zoning, which limits the height of buildings along Sunset.

Across from the Travel Inn, where a Denny's once attracted late night club-goers, is the shell of a Roman's Fresh Bakery & Grill. Construction stopped on the fast-food eatery several months ago, due to financial constraints, but property owner Stanley Black, of Black Equities, said the Sherman Oaks-based startup will have the restaurant, its second, opened by the end of the year.