GPI Companies co-founders Cliff Goldstein and Drew Planting and AIDS Healthcare Foundation CEO Michael Weinstein
GPI Companies’ plan to build a residential tower after demolishing the famed Amoeba Records store in Hollywood hasn’t been scratched, but it may skip past its intended construction timeline.
After Los Angeles officials in June denied an appeal to add more affordable units to the 26-story apartment building project, the Coalition to Preserve L.A. and AIDS Healthcare Foundation have now filed a lawsuit hoping to halt any work, according to Curbed.
Their suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court claims the record store at 6400 Sunset Boulevard has historical significance. The suit contends the property would be eligible for state recognition for its “culturally significant murals associated with significant artists.”
Separately, the two advocate groups have also applied with the city to name the record store a historic-cultural monument. The two groups frequently battle developers and together have filed at least five city appeals of Hollywood development project since 2015, according to Curbed.
The lawsuit and the historical-cultural monument application could further delay GPI’s development plans.
The Brentwood-based firm had intended to demolish Amoeba Records by the end of the year, and complete its 200-unit project by the end of 2021. GPI purchased the property from San Francisco-based Amoeba Records in 2015 for $34 million and first filed plans for the project in 2017.
Amoeba’s Sunset Boulevard store opened in 2001, but its large selection of music and the frequent visits and performances by both major label and up-and-coming artists made it a mainstay in the L.A. music scene.
Amoeba’s lease ends this year and the owners want to open somewhere else in Hollywood, and have also explored selling cannabis at Amoeba’s future location. [Curbed] — Dennis Lynch