After 20 years, Vanos Architecture, an LA-based firm, along with a new property owner, will accomplish what many thought was impossible: develop Pillarhenge, a long abandoned, 0.63 acre narrow strip of land located at 1332 Colorado Blvd.
An LA Times Article said Vanos Architecture first planned a 17 unit multi-use building on the property back in 2003 but the property has not been successfully developed since. According to the article and public sales records, initial development failed and the property changed ownership in 2016 to Imad Boukai, chairman of General Procurement Inc., for $1.9 million. In 2022, the property and the design plans were sold again to tire-mogul Ara Tchaghlassian, founder of American Tire Depot, for $2.76 million dollars. The property itself dates back to circa 1930 when the hillside was carved out by road workers, according to a 2008 LA Times article.
Pillarhenge’s years of uncertainty caused Eagle Rock natives to band together in support of turning the property into something worthwhile for the community, forming a Facebook group, Friends of Pillarhenge Park, in March 2015, which currently has 850 members.
According to Michael Sweeney, president of the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council, the council has submitted a letter for the city of LA to declare the site a public nuisance, which would force the city to clean up the littered and forlorn development.
“There was a consistent issue of graffiti, people breaking in, people living there…besides the fact it looked awful,” Sweeney said.
According to Teresa Tritch, who owned the Boulevard Sentinel with her husband, her newspaper covered Pillarhenge many times throughout her six years running the paper because locals were concerned with the property and its increasingly desolate state.
“We followed it more than most people because it was such a local story for us and there were long stretches of time where nothing happened,” Tritch said, “I was doing an update on something that’s been going on for 15 years.”
The plans for the new development became publicly available in 2017, showcasing a mixed-used building with 26 units and 46 residential parking spaces. According to the public plan, two of the units are designated to Very Low income households, for tenants making 30 to 50 percent of the local area median income. The development’s case summary from the LA City Planning Department said the city permits were approved in regards to these designs with 26 units and 46 residential parking spaces.
However, according to an on-site permit posting attributed in the LA Times, and Avant Real Estate, an updated plan is being constructed to have 31 units, three of which designated to be for Very Low income housing. The new plans are required to only provide one residential parking space per unit — 31 parking spaces total. Boukai was able to make alterations without publishing specific design changes for two reasons: the Transit Oriented Communities Affordable Housing Incentive Program (TOC Program) and a concept called substantial conformity.
According to Sweeney, substantial conformity means that in order for city building permits to remain valid, the building’s design must substantially conform to the initial design. According to a memo written by the LA City Planning Department, permits are approved on a case-by-case basis according to qualitative guidelines, one of which is that “any residential project provides recreational and service amenities to improve habitability for its residents and minimize impacts on neighboring properties.”
Despite the potential reduction in residential parking by 21 spaces and substantial conformity guidelines, Eagle Rock residents’ concerns about parking have remained unanswered for quite some time. According to the 2008 LA Times article about Pillarhenge, locals “argued it didn’t come with enough parking, already a maddening problem,” in reference to a 17-unit mixed used space being developed at the time on the Pillarhenge property.
According to Alex Cabalu, an Eagle Rock native and local artist, his neighbors were not happy about the current development due to parking concerns.
“I think the parking will be adversely affected,” Cabalu said. “There’s really not much parking in that area already. If they add parking to it, that’ll be fine.”
The building, since it is within a required distance from public transit according to the aforementioned TOC program, is permitted Tier 2 exemptions. The exemptions allow the current developers to increase the number of units by a maximum of 60 percent and reduce parking to a minimum of one spot per unit, or a minimum of 31 parking spots. The TOC program was approved by a vote in Nov. 2016, while the permits for the initial design of 26 units were officially approved in Feb. 2018.
According to the 2008 LA Times Article, the unique location and commercial design of the building poses a threat to the synergy of independent businesses, local artists and the creative laid-back nature that many associate closely with living in the neighborhood.
As a tribute to Pillarhenge, Cabalu created an Avengers-themed watercolor painting of the property during the pandemic. The painting features Pinky — a paper maché installation that served as a figurehead watching over the forgotten property — as the protagonist of the Pillarhenge saga.
“The logo is so obscenely red, which is kind of like Pillarhenge itself,” Cabalu said.
Contact Adam Cole at acole2@oxy.edu
