MIXED-USER ON SLIGHTLY TOXIC GEHRY SITE MOVES AHEAD IN WEHO

The six-story mixed-user planned for the site of the Faith Plating building near La Brea and Santa Monica Boulevard–long in the worksand now called Domain–has taken a step forward with the planning commission unanimously approving the project, WeHoville.com reports. Concerns raised at the commission hearing weren’t about the existing building’s cred–it was designed by Frank Gehry in 1964–but about the site’s contamination from the chrome bumpers manufactured there. Environmentalists assuaged most fears by explaining the soil underneath the building is clay and doesn’t hold as much toxicity as once assumed. Some grumbles were heard over the intense amount of development springing up on the eastside of WeHo(a few examples here), but the planners said most of the building currently under construction would be completed by the time the Plating site was cleaned and ready for construction.

When done, the Walbern Developments project will hold 166 units, 33 of which are affordable, and 9,300 square feet of retail. The building will get shorter towards the back so it doesn’t crowd out the shorter residential buildings behind it. A centerpiece of Domain, designed by Studio One Eleven, is “a three-story portal”that allows for views of the Hollywood Hills and is painted in the same red as the neighboring Formosa Cafe.
· ‘Domain’ Project Approved For Faith Plating Site; Toxic Clean-up Concerns Remain [WeHoville]
· Gehry-Killing Mixed-User in WeHo Could Start Very Soon [Curbed LA]