Los Angeles, CA (November 16, 2016) –The Actors Fund and Thomas Safran & Associates announced today that they have been selected by the Los Angeles City Council from among four finalists as the development team to create The Hollywood Arts Collective, a $35-million vibrant, new mixed-use, affordable and market-rate housing community intended for artists. The development, to be built on Hollywood Boulevard between Schrader Boulevard and Wilcox Avenue will also provide a reinvigorated home for local non-profit arts organizations to support Hollywood as an accessible arts and entertainment district.
The selection process was facilitated through the Los Angeles Housing + Community Investment Department (HCID), which is also a partner in the project.
In addition to the 72 units of artist housing and space for community-based arts organizations, the plans include 25,000 square feet of street-level retail, gallery, theatre arts/rehearsal space, offices and an outdoor amphitheater. Pre-development activity is scheduled to begin in late 2017 or early 2018 after the transfer of the lease from the City of Los Angeles to the development team.
“My office worked in close collaboration with the Housing and Community Investment Department to ensure that future development of this surface parking lot is sensitive to Hollywood Boulevard’s unique historic fabric, provides badly needed affordable housing, and dedicates commercial space to support Hollywood as an Arts District,” said Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell. “I am eager to work with the community and the project team for a successful outcome as we continue Hollywood’s forward momentum.”
“This is an exciting win for artists, the local economy in Hollywood and for the City of Los Angeles,” said Joe Benincasa, President & CEO of The Actors Fund. “Housing is a vital need for arts and entertainment professionals and expanding access to the arts and artists has been a proven factor in revitalizing communities.”
“We love Hollywood and have been a part of its redevelopment since 1979,” said Tom Safran, Chairman of Thomas Safran & Associates. “We are thrilled to be selected by the City of Los Angeles and we look forward to building something truly exceptional.”
The existing level of public parking for the neighborhood will be preserved in the project, which will leverage the market-rate retail, office and residential space to support the affordable housing and subsidize affordable rents for non-profit arts organizations in the commercial space.
The lead community-based partner is the Youth Policy Institute (YPI), which is implementing the Los Angeles Promise Zone in East Hollywood. The project concept was developed in alignment with Promise Zone goals and will include programming to connect resident artists with underserved youth in the neighborhood.
“Every new building has the potential to be a point of community transformation,” said Dixon Slingerland, President & CEO of the Youth Policy Institute. “But someone or something has to crack open that potential. The community space facilitated by YPI will offer a home for local arts organizations and will connect artists and performers with youth and families from the community. It’s an opportunity for possibility and surprise.”
The origins of this project go back to a series of major grants to the original development team, starting in 2011. The National Endowment for the Arts, ArtPlace and MusiCares provided financial leadership over the first several years to support an initial community needs assessment and pre-development activities that paved the way for the current award.
The Hollywood Arts Collective site is one of 17 parcels currently being transferred from the City to development teams to encourage affordable housing and economic revitalization. Nearby, TSA also is a partner with the Los Angeles LGBT Center to development the 82-unit affordable senior housing and 26-unit affordable transition aged youth housing components of the Center’s new multi–purpose campus, The Anita May Rosenstein Center.
Contact: media@actorsfund.org
ABOUT THE ACTORS FUND
The Actors Fund is a national human services organization that helps everyone—performers and those behind the scenes—who works in performing arts and entertainment. Serving professionals in film, theatre, television, music, opera, radio and dance, The Fund’s programs include social services and emergency financial assistance, health care and insurance counseling, housing, and employment and training services. With offices in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, The Actors Fund is a safety net for those in need, crisis or transition.
ABOUT THOMAS SAFRAN & ASSOCIATES
Thomas Safran & Associates has built over 6,000 units of rental housing in California, and has been dedicated for more than 40 years to enhancing the world in which we live and enriching the lives of its residents. TSA has received such distinguished awards as the Golden Nugget Award for best mixed use and affordable housing; Lieutenant Governor Commendation for outstanding service in the public interest; Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housing award, recognizing TSA for Project of the Year; Urban Environmental Design award for TSA’s housing project design; and commendations from the California State Assembly and the State of California Senate, among many more. Visit tsahousing.com