News for Economic Development

Dr. Marlon Boarnet Announced as Keynote Speaker at Economic Development Summit   Dr. Marlon Boarnet, Professor of Public Policy and Chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis, University of Southern California will be offering keynote remarks on the theme of this year's Economic Development Summit.   Dr. Boarnet is a renowned authority on urban economics, urban growth ...read more

A second panel of business leaders will be discussing the “Vision for the Future of Urban Development in Hollywood” at the 2018 Hollywood Economic Development Summit on Thursday, June 21st at the ArcLight Hollywood. The Chamber’s 24th annual event will run from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Early Bird admission rate is $50 through May 31st. Register online at www.hollywoodchamber.net/summit.   The ...read more

When one thinks about the visionaries who made Hollywood what it is today, there are a lot of candidates to consider: Sid Grauman who dreamed up the picture palaces and movie premieres, C.E. Toberman, who built most of the grand buildings on Hollywood Blvd. and made the Hollywood Bowl a reality, the Chandler family and their associates who put the huge Hollywood Sign on Mt. Lee, Johnny Grant, who ...read more

The Excellence in Economic Development Award was presented this year to Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc., (Symbol: HPP) the firm responsible for the new ICON Development, and for revitalizing the Sunset-Bronson and Sunset-Gower studio lots. Chris Barton, Executive Vice President of Development and Capital Investments for Hudson Pacific, accepted the award at the annual Summit on June 22nd at ...read more

One of the two keynoters at the 2017 Hollywood Economic Development Summit, taking place on Thursday, June 22nd, at the ArcLight Hollywood, is a professor in the USC Department of Urban Planning. Dr. David Sloane studies the evolution of cities through the lens of cultural landscapes, urban planning, food and health care systems. He is expected to apply his knowledge to Hollywood as a working case ...read more

Earlier this month, Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. announced that it had finalized a $200-million acquisition of the historic Hollywood Center Studios. This is the third studio acquisition in Hollywood by Hudson Pacific. Based on their track record, it is very good news for Hollywood.Hudson had previously acquired Sunset-Gower Studios and Sunset-Bronson Studios. They will now own a combined ...read more

Voters head to the polls on March 7th to cast votes on what may be the most critical election in a generation on the future course of Los Angeles. Measure S, previously referred to as the “Neighborhood Integrity Initiative”, would immediately clamp down on development, with a moratorium of at least two years on projects that require plan amendments, zone changes, or adjustment to height ...read more

Largest local Democratic Party organization in the U.S. moves to oppose misleading and dangerous housing banLOS ANGELES -- Last night the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, which represents over 2.4 million registered Democrats and is the largest Democratic Party entity in the United States, endorsed the campaign to stop Measure S."Democrats believe that Los Angeles should be a welcoming place, ...read more

Emerging Hollywood: Building a Better Neighborhood was the theme of the Chamber's 2016 Hollywood Economic Development Summit which took place at the ArcLight Cinemas on Thursday, June 23rd. Co-chairs Dwayne Gathers (Gathers Strategies) and Timothy Grubbs presented another outstanding program that discussed how Hollywood is evolving into a positive case study for urban development in Southern ...read more

Christopher Hawthorne, the architecture critic for the Los Angeles Times, has been named the keynote speaker for the 2016 Hollywood Economic Development Summit. The 22nd annual summit is sponsored by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and focuses on Hollywood development and land-use issues. This year’s theme is “Emerging Hollywood: Building a Better Neighborhood”, according to co-chairs Dwayne ...read more

Continuing its efforts to press for reform of the California Environmental Quality Act, better known as CEQA, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce met with California State President pro Tempore Kevin de León in February. “The CEQA law has done a lot of good in preserving California’s environment since it was approved during Ronald Reagan’s administration as Governor,” said Chamber President & CEO ...read more

The dawning of a new year is a good time to assess where we have been and where we are going. There certainly are a lot of things of which we can be proud at the start of 2016. When I first came to Hollywood back in 1992, the outlook was bleak. Companies were leaving Hollywood by the dozens. There was a real question as to whether it would be possible to turn things around, and if Hollywood had ...read more

More than 300 business and community leaders attended the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce’s fourth annual State of the Entertainment Industry Conference at Loews Hollywood Hotel on November 13th. Presented by Variety, the conference continues to be the pre-eminent local forum that focuses on the importance of the Entertainment Industry to California and steps that need to be taken to keep it ...read more