Gaw Capital USA and DJM have completed construction on the $100 million Ovation Hollywood renovation. Previously known as the Hollywood & Highland Centre, the renovation took three years to complete.
The Walk of Fame landmark was purchased for $325 million by Gaw Capital and DJM in 2019. The transaction was characterised as “the largest single asset retail transaction outside of Manhattan that year.”
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Following that, the owners commissioned architecture firm Gensler to redesign the complex. Most notably, they removed the Babylonian-themed gateway and elephant sculptures that reproduced the scene from D.W. Griffith’s film Intolerance. Instead, it focuses on vintage Hollywood. An Art Deco motif and new artwork by Geoff McFetridge open into the complex’s enormous plaza.
“The property was in need of an overhaul and a team to bring it into the next generation of retail,” said Dan Lee, managing director of investments at Gaw Capital USA, in a press statement. “We teamed up with DJM to renovate a property lacking significance and recognition–despite being located on one of Hollywood’s most prominent intersections–by way of linking innovation and history adequately, we’ve rebranded and modernised to create an exciting place that tourists seek out and locals love.”
What’s different with Ovation Hollywood?
According to a lease card, Ovation is less retail-focused than the previous Hollywood & Highland Centre. Roughly 240,000 square feet of the overall 475,000 square feet are allocated to shops and restaurants. Additionally, 40,000 square feet set aside for events and 150,000 square feet on the top floors for offices.
Cafe de Leche, Tacos Neza, and a pop-up store for Kylie Jenner’s Kylie Cosmetics are among the new operators that have signed leases since the renovation. In addition, new “experiential retail” and recreational spaces have arrived at the development, including the fourth-floor comedy club Kookaburra Lounge and an unidentified concept.
