Will Reductions at Metropol Hollywood Create Sales?

The latest in the barrage of new developments that have seen major price hits and have gone back into the hands of the bank, enter Metropol Hollywood, located at 6001 Carlton Way.



Back in the Fall of 2009, Deasey Penner and Associates released units to the public. Their marketing and sales efforts failed. After months on the market, Deasey Penner could not close enough units to acquire occupancy and could not influence a change in pricing. The architecture firm, RSA, Inc. doesn't even mention this project on their web site. I wonder why? Now we have the hot new REO commercial broker, Revive Real Estate Group handling the sales for the bank-owned property.




With the building's clean and handsome facade, I expected a whole lot more out of this building. It's location is still a concern as the Hollywood location is still improving and a bit dodgy still. If you are interested in having views of the Hollywood sign, the 'B' plan units will work, but with a price. Having the building situated right behind Toyota of Hollywood, I cannot imagine anyone wanting to live in the back/north side 'B' plan units abutting the car dealership's maintenance area. I can hear the hydraulics removing lug-nuts as I type. Something about the building doesn't allow me to get too enthusiastic though? I really can't put my finger on it. Maybe I was expecting more from the overall exterior, but once you go beyond the front of the building, it becomes a stucco barrage.

The only units that make sense to me are ones located on the 3rd and Penthouse floors. The neighboring buildings on either side of this site are run down. In order to avoid the unsightliness, it is important to get above their roof lines. Carlton Way is lined with towering palm trees, an example of Old Hollywood. There are four craftsman single-family homes across the street from the site that have just been rehabilitated and look great. They are a welcomed improvement to the area. If only the other owners on the street decided to do something about their curb appeal.



There are five different floor plans being offered ranging from 920sf to 1,240sf with most units 1,200sf. Out of the 41-unit project, units are mainly 2 bedroom 2 bathroom with six 1 bedroom + tech center units. Each unit has hardwood floors in the main living areas and carpeting in the bedrooms, along with tile in the baths. They also have the standard stainless steel appliances along with treated granite kitchen counter tops that provide a unique contemporary finish. Each unit comes with modest balconies. Only the 'A' plan provides an 11x7 balcony. The 'B' plan offers the second largest balconies. The others are much like Juliet balconies, not for socializing.





What impressed my the most about the units were the bathrooms. Marble counter tops, illuminated mirror, deep soaking tubs and a overhead rain head in the shower. I always like to see the new trend of the wet area in bathrooms where we see the shower and bath tub incorporated into one 'wet area'. Makes a lot of sense to me.




The bedrooms are sizable and spacious. Loads of closet space abound! The only downside for me is they have carpet. I would have much preferred the design to include the hardwood throughout, but hey, I didn't design the place...




With the new sales team from Revive, we see that they have brought down pricing around 35%. It will still be determined as to whether or not they have adjusted the prices enough. With other new buildings in the area that didn't sell, we see 'For Lease' signs out front instead of 'For Sale' signs. It may be an indication the bank needs to be a little more flexible. At the moment, the MLS is only showing a handful of units on market. Revive is taking reservations starting this week in hopes of signing contracts in early August. If you are at all interested in Metropol, feel free to contact me at 213-305-8537 for floor plans. There are five floor plans to chose from. More than happy to send them to you via email.

HOAs are in the $350 range. Parking garage below building. No pool. Check out the new price list for the re-release of these units:



Considering we are seeing a flood of bank-owned projects coming to market, it will be interesting to see how this project fares. Stay tuned...