New Restaurants Seen as Tenant Bait at Design Center.

PACIFIC Design Center owner Charles Cohen, in Los Angeles for his monthly visit to the West Hollywood landmark, said he's committed to opening the vast blue and green buildings to the public, and that part of that effort will be the two new restaurants coming from restaurateur Charlie Palmer.

New York-based Cohen, who bought the buildings in October 1999 for $157 million, said Palmer would set up one venue in each of the two buildings, with Astra opening in mid-summer on the third floor of what is known as the "Blue Whale" and spilling out onto a 30,000-square-foot terrace. The Astra Lounge will open in mid-September on the ground floor of the green building, known as Center Green, in a location that has been the site of plenty of other failed attempts.

Both will be accessible to anyone wanting to eat lunch during the workweek and available during off-hours and weekends for private functions. Cohen is convinced that with, viable dining on site, he will fill the long-sparsely populated buildings.

The three top floors of the nine-story Center Green - 50,000 square feet each - have never been occupied. The PDC is hoping to draw new life to the center by converting the floors to "creative" office space. Leasing agent CB Richard Ellis Inc. has just launched its marketing blitz to recruit tenants to the redesigned space, which will have new elevators installed to provide separate showroom and office access.

The outside of the buildings, now dark and hulking after dusk, will be lighted to make them more inviting.

"People should want to know what's in these buildings and want to come in these buildings," Cohen said, adding that art and design exhibits will be installed in common areas.

Cohen and others at PCD claim they are getting great response from potential office tenants in search of large and medium chunks of space.