It’s been a busy month for local news, and while we’ve been covering as much as we can, it’s always nice to catch up on even more interesting anouncements in our general area. So…in case you missed it (ICYMI), here are a few other noteworthy local developments from the last few weeks.
Movie lovers will be delighted to learn that the New Beverly Cinema, 7165 W. Beverly Blvd. (one block west of La Brea), which has been closed for “upgrades” since the first of the year, will finally be back in business on December 1. It took a bit longer than they first anticipated, but the re-opening announcement finally came on November 20, and the full schedule of December films (“Batman Returns,” a Butch & Sundance double-feature, “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” and several other beloved, campy and/or quirky holiday classics) is now available at http://thenewbev.com/schedule/.
Back in October, many local food fans were saddened when the original location of Loteria Grill, in the Original Farmers’ Market, closed its popular, 16-year old stand there. Recently, though, we learned of some good news for Mexican food lovers – the rapidly expanding Trejo’s Tacos chain will be taking over the old Loteria space…so the tacos will keep on coming. According to EaterLA, the new Trejo’s outlet is scheduled to open sometime in the next few months.
If you’re a bus rider, you may have noticed new electronic signage at some of our local bus stops, with very helpful new real-time bus arrival information. According to the Beverly Press, “In the local area, the signs have been installed or will be soon be placed at bus stops along Wilshire Boulevard at La Brea and Western avenues, as well as Crenshaw Boulevard. Along Third Street, the sites are Ogden Drive, and La Brea and Western avenues. The signs will also be in shelters along Beverly Boulevard at Fairfax Avenue and La Cienega Boulevard, as well as Melrose Avenue at Fairfax, La Brea and Western avenues.” The installations are part of Metro’s NexTrip service, which offers GPS-based arrival information on the Metro website (see link above), through a stand-alone mobile phone app, and now in person at an increasing number of local bus stops.
If you’ve got a spare $300 million sitting around, we’ve got a great new real estate listing for you – the Hollywood & Highland megaplex is reportedly up for sale . According to Wikipedia the $300M price tag is up about $100 million from the last time the tourist magnet and home of the Kodak Theater was sold 14 years ago: “Trizec Properties Inc. sold its interest in the development for over $200 million in 2004 to CIM Group. This was a substantial loss and represented an investment failure as it was estimated that Trizec spent at least $625 million to develop the center.” It will definitely be interesting to see how it goes this time around.
And finally, if you were looking to spend even more than $300 million – and you were specifically looking for a nice, newly-designated local landmark – you’re a bit too late. CBS Television City, at Beverly and Fairfax, recently sold for more $700M to developer Hackman Capital. According to CurbedLA, the sales price for the iconic property was “in the middle” of the expected range…and there’s no word yet on what Hackman has in mind for the site.
