West Hollywood Gateway Awarded 2005 California Redevelopment Agency Award
The
City of West Hollywood was recently awarded the 2005 California Redevelopment
Agency (CRA) Award of Excellence in the category of Office/Commercial
Retail for the Gateway Project which is located at the intersection
of Santa Monica Boulevard and La Brea Avenue. The Gateway Project features
retail shops and restaurants and is anchored by thriving Target and
Best Buy stores.
In receiving the award, CRA acknowledges that the Gateway project created additional revenues and employment opportunities for the community, offered innovative approaches to creating an aesthetically pleasing and efficient building that has effectively integrated into surrounding land uses.
This 257,000 square foot retail and restaurant complex has created 800 permanent jobs. Target, one of the anchors, was the number one performing store for the chain nationwide for two weeks. The store continues to be among the top 10 performing Target stores.
Allyne Winderman, deputy executive director of the redevelopment agency, commented, "The success of this center shows the great need in the area for this type of retail." Its success has had a ripple effect; the stores across the street have had improved business as well.
The CRA is comprised of more than 340 redevelopment agencies and 260 private sector companies. MBH Architects worked as the executive architect for the project while the Jerde Partnership was the design architect. The project was developed by J.H. Snyder Co.