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Artist's rendering of Cherokee Lofts
Hollywood's Cherokee Studios is poised to re-emerge as an innovative LEED-certified work/live space this year. The site itself is steeped in local music history; recording artists ranging from Frank Sinatra to David Bowie laid down tracks inside the walls, and before that it was home to movie's Republic Studios. After over 30 years of proprietorship, the Robb brothers closed the doors to the legendary studios in 2007, but now the REthink Development team is finalizing work on the space, which will now be called the Cherokee Lofts and will hopefully be legendary in its own time.
Basic facts: The Cherokee Lofts "will consist of 12 condominium lofts and 2800 square feet of retail space. The building will be 5 stories including 1 underground level of parking, first floor retail and parking, 3 floors of lofts on floors 2 through 4 and a rooftop deck and green roof," per the REthink Development project site. Of the condos, "two premier units have dedicated music recording spaces, isolation areas, and live rooms built in to the layout," making this the ultimate live-and-work space for musicians.
Green stuff: The Lofts will be 40% more efficient than the state requirements and include design elements mindful of noise reduction, natural light, and shading; a green roof to function as communal space and added insulation; plumbing that reduces water efficiency; drought tolerant landscaping; the use of green-friendly construction products, and much more.
Undoubtedly, though, some of the building's coolest features are not necessarily its solar panels or dual flush toilets, but rather the way the Lofts have been designed to incorporate the building's musical history.
The REthink project site explains these unique features:
* Dynamic Façade. The first most dramatic feature emulates the past creativity that took place at the site by always changing and moving much like the music created in the studio.
* Studio One’s Black Forest Wood. Many materials from the existing recording studio will be reused throughout the new building including the dark wood paneling from Germany’s Black Forest that completed Frank Sinatra’s Studio One.
* Home Recording Studios. A few of the units will include home recording studios designed masterfully by Cherokee Studio’s founders.
* History. Studio memorabilia, history, and stories will creatively and tastefully be featured and documented throughout building and in the building owners and operation manual.
* Cherokee Studio’s Green Future. Lastly, Cherokee Studios is going green just like Cherokee Lofts with a green record label, a new larger green recording studio to be built with REthink, and a eco-rock tour called Rock Your Planet.
Want to rock your planet with a pad at the Cherokee Lofts? They are being handled by Keller Williams Realty's eco-focused Sunset Team, and they're taking names of those interested.
