Development duo saw nightclubs as primary attraction.DAVID David, in the Bible David, d. c.970 B.C., king of ancient Israel (c.1010–970 B.C.), successor of Saul. The Book of First Samuel introduces him as the youngest of eight sons who is anointed king by Samuel to replace Saul, who had been deemed a failure. Gajda and Jose Malagon just knew Hollywood was poised for a comeback. "Take a famous area with good bone structure, it hits rock bottom, and then all the developers come in," said Gajda, a co-owner with Malagon of development group Hollywood Media Center. "I felt that could happen." Gajda, chief executive of Hollywood Software Inc., and Malagon, who owned Fine Line Events, an event planning Event planning is the process of planning a festival, ceremony, competition, party, or convention. Event planning includes budgeting, establishing date and alternate date (rain date), selecting and reserving the event site, acquiring permits, and coordinating transportation company, didn't intend to become major Hollywood players when they sought a Cahuenga Corridor home for their business offices 12 years ago. But their combined experience with redevelopments in New York's Greenwich Village Greenwich Village (grĕn`ĭch), residential district of lower Manhattan, New York City, extending S from 14th St. to Houston St. and W from Washington Square to the Hudson River. and Miami's South Beach taught them how to spot the signs that a neighborhood was ripe for a rebirth. From watching South Beach's redevelopment, Malagon learned that nightclubs can be catalysts for a community's metamorphosis metamorphosis (mĕt'əmôr`fəsĭs) [Gr.,=transformation], in zoology, term used to describe a form of development from egg to adult in which there is a series of distinct stages. . "Club-goers will go to a club in an industrial district if it is a happening club," he said. Restaurants then pop up to feed clubgoers, and once they are eating and partying in the area, they might want to work and, eventually, move there. Last, retail opens up. Convincing others of the signs was more difficult. Gajda and his partner spoke of turning Cahuenga into a 24/7 entertainment zone. "People looked at us like we were crazy," he said. "People would kind of roll their eyes and say, 'You've got to ,be kidding.'" Said Kerry Morrison, executive director of the Hollywood Entertainment District. After all, a needle exchange program needle exchange program Syringe exchange program Public health Any program intended to slow the spread of AIDS among IV drug users, in which a governmental or charitable agency exchanges sterile needles for dirty, potentially HIV-contaminated needles used by IVDAs once leased space in Gajda and Malagon's office building on the corner of Selma Avenue and Cahuenga Boulevard. They kicked off the corridor's rehabilitation at the 26,000-square-foot former Schwab's haberdashery on Hollywood Boulevard For uses other than the original street, see Hollywood Boulevard (disambiguation). Hollywood Boulevard is a boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States, beginning at Sunset Boulevard in the east and running northwest to Vermont Avenue, where it straightens out and Ivar Avenue. After stripping down the building's outer layers, they discovered that a skeleton of original arches remained. Engineers and sculptors restored the old arches, which Malagon estimated had been 90 percent destroyed. "And now, we think it is one of the nicest buildings on the boulevard," he said. Today, the Ivar and Cinespace, two hot nightspots, occupy the building. "A community can be neglectful ne·glect·ful adj. Characterized by neglect; heedless: neglectful of their responsibilities. See Synonyms at negligent. ne·glect and the result is a neglected-looking community," said Nyla Arslanian, president of the Hollywood Arts Hollywood Arts is a full-service art center opened in Hollywood, California. The program is unique in that it is designed to give homeless, runaway and at-risk teenagers access to the arts both for art therapy and to teach job-readiness and life skills that will help them get off Council. "Having concerned and involved property owners helps change the environment." Since Gajda and Malagon took the plunge, the area has become a focal point focal point n. See focus. of the city's nightlife. Popular clubs like Tokio, Cinespace, the Ivar, Xes, White Lotus White Lotus Chinese Buddhist millenarian movement that was often persecuted because of its association with rebellion. The movement had roots in 4th-century worship of the Buddha Amitabha, whose devotional cult inspired Mao Ziyuan to form the White Lotus Society, a pious , Star Shoes and Beauty Bar all call Cahuenga Boulevard home. With a wide array of club and restaurant offerings, Malagon and Gajda said that housing and retail are the next fronts to tackle. Malagon suggested that complete rehabilitation of the area will take five to eight more years. Besides the former Schwab's site, Gajda and Malagon have worked on getting Caffe Etc. and Citizen Smith, an American bistro, to the 1600 block of North Cahuenga Boulevard. Gajda and Malagon's portfolio consists of nine Hollywood buildings. As the development portfolio expands, Gajda is slowly winding down his work at Hollywood Software Inc., which he sold in 2002 to Access Integrated Technologies Access Integrated Technologies is a large company concerned in, amongst other things, motion pictures. It bought all of Boeing's digital cinema equipment assets, intellectual property licenses, and existing theatre contracts. Inc. Malagon dissolved Fine Line Events two years ago. With nothing but development on their plates, Gajda and Malagon are addressing the limited parking situation in the neighborhood, considering alternatives including a valet service valet service n (for clothes) → planchado valet service n (for clothes) → pressing m; (for car) → and pushing the City Council to conduct a parking study, which has already begun. Small-Scale Developers David Gajda and Jose Malagon Born: Dearborn, Mich., 1956; declined to disclose Position: Co-owners, Hollywood Media Center Accomplishments: Restoration of Schwab's haberdashery facade on Hollywood Boulevard and Ivar Avenue; leading effort to address parking issues in the Cahuenga Corridor with the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and Hollywood Entertainment District Quote: Gajda: "Before, you couldn't even walk down the boulevard and find something to eat. Now, from a residential standpoint, don't think there is anything that can compare." Malagon: "I realized there was a lot of work that needed to be done. Most people wanted to do the same thing, but didn't know how to do it and couldn't do it on their own." |
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