Hooray for Hollywood! That was the sentiment at last week’s Bisnow Hollywood Boom event.
Hollywood is a place like no other with its incomparable brand, according to Hollywood Chamber of Commerce CEO Leron Gubler.
"It's arguably the most famous brand in the world," Leron told the 250 people in the crowd.
Known for the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which receives about 300 applications a year from which only 25 to 30 honorees are chosen annually, and the Hollywood sign, there is more to the area than meets the eye, Leron says.
He talked of its transformation since he first took over the reins of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce 24 years ago.
At the time, the LA riots had just happened, and companies, including a slew of radio stations and all of LA's major TV stations except for KTLA, were "leaving Hollywood left and right," Leron said.
He described it as a scary situation a lot of people have worked to turn around.
In addition to the chamber, Hollywood's local council members over the years helped make way for building Hollywood and Highland, the W Hotel Hollywood and Emerson College building on Sunset Boulevard.
He also said the Hollywood Entertainment District and Hollywood Property Owners Alliance executive director Kerry Morrison helped combat crime and raise the profile of the area.
Leron said the work of the Hollywood Chamber has been vital because it's an advocacy organization that "fills a role no one else can."
With Netflix, Viacom and other companies moving to Hollywood, the hope is they will help bring more jobs to the neighborhood, so local residents will not have to get in their cars or ride the subway to work, Leron said.
Residential projects are also on the rise with 1,800 units under construction and thousands more in the pipeline.
DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners/Clarett West Development's Eastown, where the event was held, has 535 units, said Morley Builders VP Jan Karl, who also moderated Leron's keynote, and Morley Builders project executive Mike Stone.
Morley Builders is also working on DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners/Clarett West Development's SouthBlock across the street, which will have 507 units.
Leron said in the future, Hollywood will be a very exciting and vibrant community with as much, if not greater change occurring than we have seen during the past 10 years.
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