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There was a meeting today about the hulking, unfinished husk of a Target that stands at Sunset and Western in East Hollywood indicating that maybe it won't be torn down after all. The Planning Department hosted a public meeting this morning at City Hall to discuss the forlorn Target. The City is considering changing planning guidelines in the area—the Vermont/Western Transit Oriented District Specific Plan—to allow commercial buildings taller than 35 feet, L.A. Magazine reports. This height restriction is what's been the sticking point for this particular Target, which stands 74 feet high. This hearing is but a first step, as a report, a recommendation and opinions from the entire planning commission will follow.
People in East Hollywood were excited about the big new Target that was headed for the neighborhood back when it was first announced a few years ago. The project was going to contain a full Target—not one of those small CityTargets—as well as other retail options. Of course, as happens all too often in development, not everyone was happy. The Target was approved by the City in 2010, but foiled by lawsuits from locals concerned with the Target's height and parking options. It was approved again in 2012 after some reconfiguring, but the La Mirada Avenue Neighborhood Association and the Citizens Coalition of Los Angeles continued to fight against it. Both groups are represented by lawyer Robert Silverstein. They also sued over the Sunset Gower Towers.
In August of last year, Super Court Judge Richard L. Fruin, Jr. sided with Target's opponents and ordered construction on the project to stop.
Since then, there's just been this half-finished and sort of creepy not-Target sitting on a busy intersection—which most people can agree, at least, is less useful than a fully functioning department store or, really, anything else.
