Construction Starts on $43 Million `Smart-Growth' Project in North Hollywood; Tallest Residential Tower in Valley; City's Top Brass Turns Out.

Business Editors

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 29, 2004

Spearheaded by the top tier of city and county officialdom, ground-breaking ceremonies were held today (Jan. 29) for the $43 million NoHo Tower in North Hollywood, which was referred to as "a quintessential smart-growth, transit-oriented development."

Attending dignitaries included Mayor James Hahn; Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who also is chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority; Councilmember Tom LaBonge (Fourth District); and Paul Hudson, Chairman of the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA/LA) Board of Commissioners.

The turnout by the city's top echelon of public officials indicates the importance of transit-oriented projects in the city's effort to get people out of their cars and into rail and buses.

"Bringing housing and jobs to the Valley are top priorities of mine, and this project does both in spectacular fashion," Mayor Jim Hahn said. "NoHo Tower not only gives working families a dramatic place to live, but constructing such an impressive project puts a lot of people to work."

Developed by Santa Monica-based JSM Construction, Inc., the project, which will include 14 units for low-income tenants, not only capitalizes on the NoHo metrorail station but also on the Rapid Transit bus terminal just a block away, CRA chairman Hudson pointed out.

"This is really a quintessential smart-growth, transit-oriented development," he said.

"NoHo Towers proves what we have believed all along: North Hollywood is a hot real estate market that is attracting private investment, new residents, businesses, and the arts," said Hudson. "Today, CRA/LA is involved in actions to develop 600 more housing units in North Hollywood with new retail and commercial space as well as public art. And with the help of the Urban Land Institute, North Hollywood is on its way to becoming the community that local residents have always envisioned."

Noting that the project will generate some $450,000 a year in property tax revenues, developer Craig D. Jones, JSM president, said that in addition to becoming the most visible image-setting icon of the NoHo Arts District, the project will signal the viability of the North Hollywood area as a major, new commercial core for the overall Valley.

"The area is already zoned for high density development, has considerable vacant and under-utilized land, superior accessibility to major freeways as well as mass transit facilities, and is in close proximity to all Hollywood studios and production facilities," noted the 37-year-old developer.

NoHo Tower, designed by DE Architects, will incorporate state-of-the art sustainable building products specified in the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program, said architect Don Empakeris, a principal of DE.

Dramatized by a convex glass curtain wall, the building will be built over a recreation deck -- including a large landscaped area, pool, spa, and gym -- located six stories above the street. Highlighted by floor-to-ceiling window walls, the 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom apartments, with private balconies, will have sweeping mountain views.

"The exterior material will reflect the building's underlying contemporary statement through its utilization of floor-to-ceiling glass, patterned wall panels, and metal handrails," the architect added. Completion of the project is planned for the summer of 2005.