As far as the owners of know, the two West End towers dont have any resident ghosts. But oh, if the walls could talk
This is the place where Johnny Depp got into a bar fight that landed him on the pages of the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Sun. Bob Hope just happened to be there that night, too; other Hollywood stars who crashed here include Sharon Stone, Martin Sheen and Tom Selleck.
Starting on June 1, however, a new chapter in the Pacific Palisades storied past will begin. This one wont be so much about extravagant parties and celebrity secrets; instead, the owners are making it about community.
Theyve taken the bones of the West Coast modernist towers, built at Jervis and Robson in the late 1960s, and turned them into rental accommodations: six penthouse suites (781 or 840 sq.ft.); 152 one-bedroom suites (602 or 625 sq.ft); and 76 studio suites (418 or 443 sq.ft.). As challenging as that might sound, it was relatively easy because, in essence, Austerville Properties is taking the buildings back to their roots they were designed as apartments so the need for structural changes has been minimal.
And since the West End is known for its neighbourhood feel, Pacific Palisades has reached out to neighbourhood businesses to offer tenants special rates on such things as a hair cut at Aveda, YYoga memberships, private tastings with the Urban Tea Merchant, FrogBox packing boxes and home deliveries from SPUD.
Residents will get to know each other at The Commons, a separate building which will house a yoga studio, meeting rooms and laundry.
Even some of the design elements come from community suggestions: a place dedicated to bike tune-ups, space for a Zip Car, local art on the walls of The Commons and a few suites left vacant so tenants can rent them when company comes a calling.
On May 5, Pacific Palisades invites everyone prospective tenants as well as people wanting to take a trip down memory hallways to come home to PaPa. The open house is from 11:30 to 5:30. Some of the suites will be furnished by CB2 (photo below). The urban decor store is, quite conveniently, on the ground floor. Rents start at $1,100 for studios and $1,500 for a one-bedroom, with prices increasing with the height of the building (and wonderful views of Coal Harbour and English Bay.)
