The 700 block of S. Sycamore Ave. will be closed for the next few weeks as BRE – the company developing the new housing complex on Wilshire at La Brea – widens and repaves the street, puts in new sidewalks, and replaces driveway aprons. The closure, beginning this morning Monday June 3rd was only announced late last week via notes delivered to residents, giving the approximate 40 residents on the street little time to prepare, said President of the Sycamore Square Neighborhood Association, Sue Horwitz.
The residents of Sycamore Square have known the closure would occur eventually, but the exact dates for the closure had remained vague. Â Both BRE and Council District 4 had promised to give the neighbors on that block plenty of warning before the closure, so they were surprised when the notices came late with little time for preparation. Residents won’t have access to their driveways for the duration of the closure, will need to acquire permits to park elsewhere in the the neighborhood, and make alternate arrangements for trash pickup.
The Sycamore Square Neighborhood Association is asking for delay of the street closure for 48 hours and that the BRE provide residents with parking permits or secured parking close by. No word yet from the developer, but the 700 block already appears to be closed the length of  the block.
Debuting in 2014, the project consists of 478 apartments and approximately 40,000 square feet of street front retail and restaurant space, and covers the entire city block at the intersection of La Brea Avenue at Wilshire Boulevard.
Curbed LA covered the various incarnations of the development in a series of stories.
COMPLETELY unacceptable situation. The residents have every right to what they are requesting, and, although one wonders why these details weren’t nailed down with the developer months ago, there is nevertheless little excuse for this needless drama and disruption. “Fail to plan, plan to fail.”