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Did Americana Construction Force Recording Studio Closure?
Construction site of Americana at Brand in 2007 / Photo by Lushbunny via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
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Construction site of Americana at Brand in 2007 / Photo by Lushbunny via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
A judge has ruled that Caruso Affiliated's 2005 to 2008 construction at Americana at Brand forced nearby recording studio Backroom Entertainment to close, according to Glendale News Press and Caruso plans to appeal.
Backroom Entertainment, once used by several rap artists and singers, is now surrounded on three sides by the Americana mall and its owners testified that vibrations from dirt compactors made it impossible to record music and made the location inconvenient for artists to get to and from when they wanted to record.
The judge ordered a jury trial to determine the amount of damages the city and Caruso should pay to the studio owners, who are seeking at least $1 million.
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Caruso Affiliated disagrees with the ruling and believes "the tenants who brought this suit were on a month-to-month lease and were in full knowledge well in advance that a large construction project was planned adjacent to their recording studio."
The damages phase of the trial is expected to take place in March and Caruso and the city must wait to appeal the ruling until after the trial is completed. Regardless of the outcome, it's not likely this case will have much bearing on the Americana at Brand expansion currently under review by the city of Glendale.
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