In dribbles, they came last evening.
Curiosity was the motivation, they said.
In silence, they moved from easel to easel in the hollow, unaesthetic lobby of 3855 Hughes Ave., across the street from the classy Kirk Douglas Theatre.
The tiny queue of visitors might have reminded you of clubby-type gray-haired aficionados shuffling around an art museum.
Don’t you always wonder what they are truly thinking when they pause for unending moments before a great painting and intellectually deconstruct the work?
Hands clasped behind their backs, they glide, knowingly, from one display to another, occasionally nodding, maybe grunting “uh huh,” or “hmm,” mumbling almost audibly, never quite letting on how they really fee about what their eyes are drinking in.
Mostly, they shmoozed in pillow-soft whispers with representatives of a development team, 9901 Luxe LLC, that is planning to put up a six-story mixed-use building on the block-long site known for the Mann Theatres and the giant walled murals on Washington Boulevard, in an isolated Los Angeles strip of Downtown, across the street from Culver City.
In the smallish gathering, there was no sign of Los Angeles City Councilman Herb Wesson, long a favorite son of Culver City. His name was used approvingly on the special invitation for last night that was mailed to 1200 prospective guests.
While City Hall officials standing a few feet away, hands jammed deeply into their pockets, helpless to genuinely participate in the decision-making process, the consultant-types roaming the lobby distributed an encased Project Summary with data destined to change throughout the process.
• Six-story building, 90 feet to the top of the parapet.
• 131 apartments, 11 percent for “very low income” households, over ground-floor commercial, which was described as a combination of fast-food and upscale restaurants plus retail.
• 191 total parking spaces, 146 for residential, 45 for commercial, including ground level and three levels of subterranean parking.
Edric Janian of Byco Inc., which owns office buildings in Culver City, was the first visitor to what was billed as an open house. “I am here because I am curious about what will be going on at this site,” Mr. Janian said. “I don’t really have an opinion yet. But certainly I have positive feelings about any type of changes that will be taking place for the better, hopefully. At this point. I am very curious.”
Mr. Janian was asked what would constitute improvement?
“Well, I can compare it to what has been going on in Downtown Culver City, with the promenade, the sidewalks, the cafe zones and the influx of restaurants,” he said. “It seems like it has been a very wonderful fit from what it was before. It has brought in people, varieties of restaurants, the types of (new) businesses there are. A good chemistry has been established.”