Mixed-Use Living Taps into Hollywood’s New Tenant Base

The new El Centro Apartments and Bungalows in Hollywood is targeting a new tenant base in Hollywood. In the last few years, office growth in the Hollywood market has attracted major companies to migrate to the market—like Netflix and Viacom—and the shift has created new demand for high-quality and more sophisticated living options in the market. A joint venture between DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners and Clarett West Development has completed development of the El Centro Apartments & Bungalows targeting this new demographic.

“We focused on trying to create a respite from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood Boulevard,” Andy Rifkin, a managing partner at DJL Real Estate, tells GlobeSt.com. “We’re looking to do something a little more sophisticated with this project, and we brought in a design group called Commune. The combination of very strong landscape plans and a very focused, modern design plan was really what we wanted for El Centro.”

The developer has been an active developer in Hollywood, and has witnessed the shift in tenant demand after completing its last apartment project a few years ago. “We certainly saw Hollywood changing. We did the project across the street three-to-five years earlier,” says Rifkin. “It is interesting because at that time Hollywood was just starting to turn, and we were looking to do something a little simpler. As we saw Hollywood become more sophisticated with a different tenant base, we thought we could offer something a little more modern and luxurious. This project is targeting the upscale tenant base.”

Once the developer had an opportunity to build this apartment complex, it wanted to create a property that would appeal to new professionals working in the market. “We wanted to hit a very interesting price point,” says Rifkin. “As we thought about El Centro, we felt like we needed to develop a project that would be interesting and exciting for these new workers and the people coming to the area.”

The property, a low-rise, four-building, 507-unit property, also has a full amenity package over a sprawling land site in Hollywood. “We are fortunate that we have a lot of land and could do a low-rise structure with gardens and pools and business centers,” adds Rifkin. “We are able to really offer a full range of amenities to guests given the structure of our project.”

In addition to amenities, the developer is also focused on services, to build a complete package of what tenants are looking for today, especially tenants working in the high-end office properties in Hollywood. “We are not only thinking about the physical project, but we are also offering a level of service to our tenants through the host program,” says Rifkin. “We have a staff of people to provide services to our guests.” DLJ launched leasing efforts in August and is already 25% leased.

Rifkin didn’t comment on the developer’s long-term business plan, but said that they are currently focused on stabilizing the asset, which he estimated would take the next year.