area newsletter APRIL 2019 • WESTSIDE
20 19
Community News Culver Studios breaks ground on Amazon expansion
Construction has begun on an expansion at Culver Studios, creating space that will largely be occupied by Amazon Studios, the media production arm of the e-commerce giant. The project involves the construction of five office buildings and two parking structures on the Culver City lot, effectively doubling the amount of production space from 358,000 square feet to 720,850 square feet. Amazon, which began leasing space at the historic facility in 2017, is expected to take 70% of the new space as well as the entire Culver Steps development that is being built across the street. Culver Studios was originally founded in 1918 by early cinema pioneer Thomas Ince and was the production home of classics such as “Gone With the Wind” and “The Andy Griffith Show.” Although the new structures on the lot will have a modern style, the project design will retain and incorporate several of the existing buildings, including the iconic Colonial-style mansion that served as Ince’s original headquarters.
Santa Monica prevails in Airbnb cases
The City of Santa Monica recently scored a legal victory when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a decision dismissing a case filed by Airbnb and HomeAway.com. The lawsuit attacked the city’s short-term rental ordinance, which forbids homeowners from renting out their properties for less than 31 days and requires would-be landlords to acquire licenses and pay hotel taxes. Four defendants were recently prosecuted successfully under the law, resulting in probationary sentences and in two of the cases fines of more than $10,000 per defendant. Airbnb and its supporters claim that Santa Monica’s ordinance is too restrictive and that the city’s burdensome taxes are why the average hotel room in the city costs $271 a night.
Community News Proposed law targets restrictive zoning
bridge that will connect the offices to the reserved 100,000 square feet of retail space. This deal follows Google’s recent expansion into Playa Vista’s 300,000 square foot Spruce Goose hangar, where they also own land entitled for an additional 900,000 square feet of offices.
The Mountain is now slightly cheaper
A California state legislator recently introduced a bill, designated SB 330, which would target cities’ abilities to restrict housing development. Specifically, cities would be prohibited from rezoning properties for less intensive uses, from placing moratoriums on housing development, and from increasing requirements on new housing projects. These restrictive policies, called downzoning, have led to communities in Southern California being zoned for much fewer residences than would be possible, which has contributed to our current housing shortage. According to research by the UC Berkeley School of Law, zoning in cities like Santa Monica results in new projects taking nearly 4 times longer to be approved.
Google to lease Westside Pavilion The transformation of the Westside Pavilion from a shopping mall into an office complex is still underway, but its owners have already secured a tenant to occupy the entire space: Google. The internet company has entered into a 14-year lease for the 584,000 square foot campus, set to begin once construction on the new facility is complete. The erstwhile shopping haven has been renamed One Westside, and will retain its high ceilings and multiple atriums, as well as the pedestrian
With the asking price now reduced by an amount that a typical buyer could never hope to afford, the property known as The Mountain is now available for purchase for only $650 million. Located atop the highest peak in Beverly Hills, the 157-acre parcel of undeveloped land was once owned by Princess Shams of Iran and legendary TV producer Merv Griffin, and was placed on the market last summer with an eyepopping price tag of $1 billion. Despite boasting 360 degree views, from downtown to Catalina, the owners were forced to drop a digit from their latest demand in hopes of finding a deep-pockets investor interested in developing the property.
Restaurant
Spotlight
n/naka
Burger Lounge
Lukshon
3455 Overland Avenue Palms
213 Arizona Avenue Santa Monica
3239 Helms Avenue Culver City
n/naka serves a modern version of kaiseki, the Japanese style of cuisine where a meal is served through a series of small courses. Their seasonal menus offer thirteen predetermined dishes such as kanpachi with bell pepper gelee, steamed seabass with uni butter, and miyazaki wagyu beef. The dishes are prepared and served with exacting precision, often blurring the line between food and art. Meals typically cost about $200 and a vegetarian menu is also available. Reservations are only offered through their website, and are typically snatched up as soon as they’re made available.
A west coast chain with locations through out California, Burger Lounge serve grass-fed burgers, as well as delicious quinoa, turkey, chicken, and fish sandwiches. Sides include green salads as well as traditional fries and onion rings. Burger Lounge prides itself on its fresh, organic ingredients and its gluten-free options. The fast casual joint is known for its sleek modernist style and simple, yet perfectly prepared food. Burger Lounge also has locations in Brentwood, Marina Del Rey, and Culver City.
Lukshon is the creation of Sang Yoon, the chef behind noted burger place Father’s Office. But this restaurant’s mission is upscale Southeast Asian food. The menu features dishes such as a Burmese tea leaf salad and a lobster roll banh mi. Other favorites include the Hawaiian butterfish, the Sichuan dumplings, and the Chinese eggplant. Lukshon offers a five course tasting menu for $70, an expansive wine list, and a creative selection of desserts.
SIGHTS & SOUNDS in LOS ANGELES
LACMA
Petersen Automotive Museum
5905 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036
6060 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036
J. Paul Getty Museum 1200 Getty Center Drive Los Angeles, CA 90049
CURRENT EXHIBITION:
CURRENT EXHIBITION:
CURRENT EXHIBITION:
Charles White: A Retrospective February 17 – June 9, 2019
Auto-Didactic: The Juxtapoz School September 29, 2018 - June 2019
Eighteenth-Century Pastel Portraits August 28, 2018 – October 13, 2019
Charles White was an artist whose work depicted African American people in a dignified and heroic light, mirroring his activism on behalf of civil rights during the mid-20th century. A noted teacher at what was then the Otis Institute of Art, White influenced later generations of African American artists such as Alonzo Davis, David Hammons, and Kerry James Marshall. This exhibit was organized in collaboration with the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Modern Art and includes 100 drawings, prints and paintings.
Juxtapoz Magazine, known for featuring “lowbrow” and pop surrealist artists that would otherwise be considered as outside of the mainstream art world, has teamed with the Petersen Auto Museum to create a group show of artists whose work is often inspired by hot rod culture. The exhibit features many car-centric paintings and sculptures, as well as a number of vehicles that converted into moving works of work. The exhibit includes work by Robert Crumb, Ed “Big Daddy” Roth and Robert Williams.
Celebrating a medium that is often overlooked in other time periods, this exhibit delves into the favored form of portraiture in late 18th century Europe. Pastels allowed the artist to create classically beautiful works without the arduous process that oil painting often requires. This flexibility coincided with the growing class of people who patronized portrait artists, creating a unique body of work that represented both an evolving craft and an evolving society.
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