Spruce-up gives new glow to longtime landmark retail site.

TO the east along the Sunset Strip are the House of Blues, the Saddle Ranch Chop House and Dublin's Irish Whisky Pub. To the west are the Viper Room, the Roxy and the Rainbow Bar & Grill.

Between them sits Sunset Plaza, 15 acres of storied retail space that has been owned by West Hollywood-based Montgomery Management Co. for eight decades.

The stretch, between La Cienega and North San Vicente boulevards, is in the midst of a major facelift aimed at maintaining its status as one of Sunset Boulevard's most celebrated shopping destinations and frequently filmed locations.

While new businesses have been added recently, existing ones are investing millions of dollars to reinvent themselves.

One notable example is Le Dome, the legendary Hollywood eatery that had fallen on hard times before reopening its doors last October after a $1.7 million renovation--and new ownership that included construction magnate Ronald Tutor. The transformation to an Italian-Mediterranean look from French art deco has made the site a stop for Paris Hilton, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ashton Kutcher and Enrique Iglesias, among other young stars.

"After 25 years, a place gets tired," said Eddie Kerkhoff, managing partner of the Dome Group. "It's like a lady who wears the same dress all the time."

Others businesses undergoing makeovers include Clafoutis, a French restaurant that reopened late last year after its owners spent months redoing its interior and facade.

H. Lorenzo chose to remain open, operating out of a giant tent behind the store until renovations that began in mid-January are completed in two weeks. The store offers high-end European designs ranging from a $39 T-shirt to a $7,000 leather coat.

"I think Rodeo Drive is very touristy," said Lorenzo Hadar, who has owned the store for 21 years. "Local people shop there much less than they used to."

Picking up tab

Demand for space at Sunset Plaza is so high that tenants pick up the tab for all improvements in exchange lot tree rent of varying lengths. "We'd rather give time instead of money," said Francis S. Montgomery II, president of the company.

The land underneath the plaza has been in the Montgomery family since his great-grandfather, Victor Ponet, purchased what was then 280 acres of open space in 1892.

Ponet's son-in-law, Francis Montgomery Sr., developed the stretch for retail, along with residential space just off Sunset Boulevard, in 1924, while eventually selling the bulk of the land to other investors and developers.

During the second half of the 20th century, tenants and their clientele thrust the area into Hollywood legend. Dino's Lodge, owned by Rat Packer Dean Martin, was the central locale for the "77 Sunset Strip" detective show. (The building has since been torn down.)

"Sunset Plaza really lends to the legendary status of the strip," said Daniel Guerrero, communications manager for the West Hollywood Convention & Visitors Bureau. "There's been a long lasting glamour to it."

Part of the allure is the Montgomery family's selectiveness. It left one Sunset Boulevard unit vacant for 18 months before finally signing a lease with soap actress star Lauralee Bell and business partner Shauna Stein. This spring, the two will open On Sunset, a women's clothing boutique. "We were waiting for the right person to show up to occupy the space," said Montgomery. Among the complex's 43 tenants, there are only a few chains, including Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Nicole Miller, Chin Chin, Hugo Boss and Armani Exchange.

Parking on the street and behind the shops and restaurants is another draw that keeps the complex in demand, and keeping lease rates at $5 to $7 per foot triple net per month. Nearby spaces with no parking command much less.

"Sometimes, the ones with no parking, you'd struggle to get two bucks," said John Tronson, a principal with Hollywood-based Ramsey-Shilling Commercial Services Inc., which leases space nearby. (Montgomery does all of its leasing in house.)

"In those locations where there is no off-sight convenient parking, that's the kiss of death for retail."