These projects will follow a handful of residential and commercial projects that opened on Hollywood Boulevard in the last few years, such as the $12.5-million renovation of the Art Deco-style former Kress dime store that added a nightclub and rooftop bar.
The biggest attraction to open this summer, in August, will be Madame Tussauds, the new celebrity wax museum, which will be next to Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
The $55-million project replaces a parking lot on one of the busiest street corners in Hollywood. The three-story glass and concrete structure will house 115 wax figures of celebrities including Beyonce, Tom Cruise and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Adrian Jones, manager of the new Hollywood project, says the Madame Tussauds in Las Vegas draws about 550,000 visitors a year and he expects the Hollywood museum to do just as well. "This says 'Hollywood's back,' " he said. "It's about improving the experience of tourists who come to Hollywood."
The welcome received by the new Madame Tussauds recently is telling of Hollywood's willingness to accommodate change in the face of tough times. When details of the project were announced three years ago, nearby residents and neighboring merchants scoffed at the project.
That attitude has since changed: Hollywood merchants and nearby homeowners are now more positive.
One of the early critics of the project, the Hollywood Heights Assn., a homeowner group in the hills above Hollywood, had suggested that the area didn't need another tourist attraction.
But now the group's president, Lannette Pabon, says she has no objection to Madame Tussauds as long as it provides enough parking.
"A store filled with something," she said, "is better than a store filled with nothing."
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hugo.martin@latimes.com
