A long-vacant building on La Brea Avenue near the West Hollywood/Los Angeles border has been given new life through a renovation project, and its owner hopes to soon fill the five-story building with tenants.

The building at 960 N. La Brea Ave. has been renovated. (photo by Edwin Folven)

The building, located at 960 N. La Brea Ave., was built in 1933 and had once been used as a General Motors new car showroom. It has since had many retail uses until it was vacated at least a decade ago, and has remained abandoned since.

The property was purchased a few years ago by BMB Investment Corp., which is headed by developer Benjamin Soleimani. The renovation project took a couple of years to complete, according to the developer, and the building is now nearly ready for occupancy. Located at the southeast corner of La Brea Avenue and Romaine Street — just outside of the city of West Hollywood — the structure is across the street and just south of the La Brea Gateway shopping center.

The building is also located across the street from a cement manufacturing plant at 1000 N. La Brea Ave. that is owned by Cemex. The concrete plant dates back more than 60 years and serves large building projects throughout the local area. Plant manager Eric Rodriguez said it produces approximately 600 yards of concrete each day, which translates into 60 truckloads. The plant has produced concrete for projects such as The Grove, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Hollywood and Highland. Rodriguez said sand and other raw materials are brought to the plant, and the concrete is mixed on-site. Its close proximity to large projects in the area makes it a prime location in the local construction industry, Rodriguez added.

West Hollywood community development director Stephanie De Wolf said there are no plans currently pending for the Cemex site. She added, however, that it stands out on La Brea Avenue, across the street from Target and Best Buy stores.

“It’s an interesting thing to have an industrial use in an urban environment,” De Wolf said. “I think it is a desirable area [for development], but nothing has been proposed there.”

Soleimani said he envisions the entire block to the north of his building being redeveloped at some point, and added that La Brea Avenue is has become a hotbed for new projects. He added that he doesn’t think the Cemex plant will have any impact on his newly renovated building.

“That’s been there for years. I think one day, that will be developed,” he said. “I think La Brea has been discovered. From Sunset to Wilshire, there are probably fifteen or sixteen building sites.”

The building offers approximately 11,500 square feet of ground level retail space, and 33,000 square feet of office space on the upper floors. An additional 8,600 square feet of retail space was constructed adjacent to the building, making it more than 50,000 square feet in total, with more than 150 parking spaces on-site.

Soleimani said some portions of the former showroom have 18-foot ceilings, and there is still an operational vehicle lift inside the building. The developer said the space would be ideal for a “creative” company, such as a studio or entertainment-related business. He said the ground floor retail space could accommodate a restaurant, and added that the company is awaiting a certificate of occupancy before any plans can be announced about potential tenants.

“It was a major transformation,” he said. “The building did come alive.”