WEHO LIKES GEHRY-KILLING MIXED-USER’S SEE-THROUGH DESIGN

The Domain project, slated for the site of West Hollywood’s Frank Gehry-designed Faith Plating facility, is moving along, got high marks from the city’s design review board this week. The mixed-use building from Walbern Developments was designed by Long Beach-basedStudio One Eleven, based on designs produced for the site’s previous owner, according to Wehoville. Walbern is proposing to build a six-story, 166-unit residential building with groundfloor retail–the building would step down to three stories at the back, and feature athree-story portal to show off views of the Hollywood Sign from Santa Monica Boulevard. The building will have a second-floor public seating area, and a pool for residents.

Design review board member John Altschul called the project “magnificent” and “gorgeous”; he did worry over Domain’s size, but noted that “the whole neighborhood is getting big.” He was referring to the two Monarch Group developments going up on La Brea (at Santa Monica and Fountain respectively) and the proposed Movietown Plaza project on Santa Monica, all just a few blocks from Domain.

The Planning Commission is expected to vote on the project later this Spring. If the project is approved, Walbern will have to clean up the contaminated site–a byproduct of Faith Plating’s 95 years in business–before construction can begin.
· ‘Domain’ Project at Faith Plating Site Gets Positive WeHo Design Review [Wehoville]
· Gehry-Killing Mixed-User in WeHo Could Start Very Soon [Curbed LA]