Solo investor increases stake as Hollywood revival heads south.

JOSEPH Helms, associate pastor at Gateway City Center Church, was watching a repeat of "Cops when he saw a bust go down in front of the building at Santa Monica Boulevard and Vine Street that he had just leased.

He's certain it was an old episode. The neighborhood, he said, "has cleaned up a lot."

Much of the rejuvenation of the stretch of Santa Monica from Vine east to Gower Street has been the result of one man's efforts.

Cliff Cole, president of Colony Bancorp of Malibu, is general partner in limited partnerships that own 22 buildings in a three-block stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard. Most of the buildings had been boarded up, home to squatters and providing cover for prostitutes and drug users.

Cole bought his first building in the neighborhood, 6161 Santa Monica Blvd., in 1988. The red brick building, built in 1928 to house a film prop shop, was destined to be converted to a mini-storage facility when a larger storage business opened at Highland and Santa Monica. Instead of going up against the competition, the owners sold it to Cole, who sunk $1.5 million into renovating the building, where he now maintains his offices.

After weathering the real estate depression of the early 1990s, Cole bought more buildings; since 2001, his portfolio has grown to 22. Today, he's landlord to a host of entertainment and publishing companies, the church and a family fitness center called Focus Fish.

"A lot of it is just coming in and turning on the lights," Cole said. "It's pretty simple. You put bright lights on the buildings at night. Guys don't like to do their tricks in the light."

Paul Beauvais, who owns and runs Focus Fish with his wife, Kristy Zornes Beauvais, concedes the neighborhood has its grittiness, but the 7,000 square feet he's renting at 6121 Santa Monica Blvd.--the old Metromedia property built as the headquarters of the Ice Capades--is perfect for his business.

Beauvais said he's confident there's momentum in the neighborhood. "I find a tremendous amount of energy," he said. "That's why we picked this spot, why we weren't scared of it."

Famous neighbors

The revival of Santa Monica Boulevard east from Vine would be a modest return to the days when some of the biggest names in Hollywood spent time nearby. Some are still there.

On the south side of Santa Monica, east of Gower, is Hollywood Memorial Park, final resting place of Peter Lorre, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Rudolph Valentino, John Huston and Cecile B. De Mille. The cemetery, founded in 1899, remains a top tourist attraction.

Just south of the cemetery is the Paramount lot that goes back to 1926 when Paramount purchased a studio built by De Mille. Paramount later took over the adjacent RKO Studios.

The area fell into decline in the 1970s, and while not much improved in the intervening years, Hollywood's recent revival has started trickling southward, right into Cole's market.

A new Social Security Administration building is planned for Vine Street, just north of Santa Monica. Prospective tenants keep calling on Cole, too, but he's out of space. He said the 150 tenants in 250,000 square feet of his 22 buildings leave him with a 5 percent vacancy.

Leron Gubler, president and chief executive of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, said the Hollywood Media District Business Improvement District's eastern boundary might be at Vine Street, but he thinks the success by Cole and others are the result of the BID's efforts.

One limitation to the neighborhood is a lack of amenities for professionals. The south side of Santa Monica is industrial-type retail: sign stores, sheet metal, business machines, auto parts and service. Still, Larchmont Village, Gower Gulch and Melrose Avenue are close enough to handle most lunch and retail needs.

To be sure, Santa Monica is not about to become the new Montana Avenue. Helms said the church has just moved from a storefront at Santa Monica Boulevard and McCadden Place and will handle an issue that Cole and Beauvais can't.

"We saw lots of homeless and lots of prostitutes in the neighborhood and no one was doing anything for them," he said. "We're here to take care of that part."

Comeback Corner

Investment along Santa Monica has increased.

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