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Residents of the 22-story Sunset and Gordon building in Hollywood are afraid they might get kicked out of the building soon.
L.A. building officials last month put an order on the building’s lobby door saying the owner, CIM Group, had to vacate the apartments by April 19 because its temporary occupancy permit had expired, LA Times reports. Tenants didn’t move out because building managers told them it didn’t apply to them, but on Friday, the same orders were slipped under or taped to individual apartment doors, stoking tenants’ fears that they were being evicted.
“It’s been a nightmare,” Melanie Culvey told the Times, saying that she doesn’t know where she, her husband and toddler will go if they’re evicted.
However, the order won’t be enforced for now because CIM Group filed an appeal, according to city Department of Building and Safety spokesman Luke Zamperini. The city will hear the appeal April 21, and if it fails, residents will have about 18 days to vacate.
The problem started over a dispute between the building developer and a neighborhood association. City officials approved the building but said it needed to incorporate the historic Old Spaghetti Factory façade that stood there—the building also once served as an actor’s studio. But CIM Group said it was too deteriorated to be saved and razed it, building a replica instead.
Though the city approved the demolition, the La Mirada Avenue Neighborhood Assn. successfully took the issue to court, saying CIM Group went against the original building terms—they didn’t have to build underground parking as part of that original deal and saved millions. A judge invalidated the construction permits, and the city says the occupancy permits can’t be renewed until the building goes through a new environmental review and approval process.
CIM Group has declined to comment.
