At the regular West Hollywood City Council meeting on Monday, February 4, 2024, it was revealed that developer Faring’s French Market Development Project is a complete bust due to expired entitlements. During council comments, Councilmember Lauren Meister bluntly called the project, “dead.”
An update on major commercial and mixed-use development projects in the City of West Hollywood, city staff revealed that the entitlements and building plan check on the proposed three-story, 49’-6” tall, 69,293 square foot multi-use commercial building with 146 parking spaces in a subterranean structure had expired, and that no further extensions were available.
As part of the planning phase, entitlements on The French Market Development were approved on December 5, 2019, through Planning Commission Resolution No. PC 19-1342. A one-year extension of the entitlements was granted in December 2022. The project entitlements expired on December 5, 2023.
The building plan check expired on May 29, 2023.
The ambitious project included rehabilitation, adaptive reuse, and modifications to the existing potential cultural resource on the French Market site. The approved project was commercial-only and did not include any housing units.
According to Jennifer Alkire, current and historic preservation planning manager, Faring is working on getting a tenant in the French Market building, and they plan to proceed with the rehabilitation of the space. “We’re hopeful that will come in soon,” she said. “They’ve been in talks with us for the last few months.”
Councilmember Meister pointed out that the developer cut down 2 trees in the parking lot as part of the development. She said she wanted staff to work with the developer to bring trees back into the space.
The French Market closed on July 12, 2015.Faring hosted a groundbreaking ceremony in February 2022.
History has it that The French Market was originally constructed in 1936 on then-Route 66 and operated as a Fitzsimmons Grocery Store, an outlet of the small Los Angeles-based supermarket chain. The building had many incarnations. It was sold and expanded in 1972 to real estate developer Jay and Lynda Hartman who turned it into a restaurant. They added a mezzanine in the back and turned into the Louisiana Purchase.
Years later restaurateur Tom Simms bought the building and launched his French Market eatery. Simms’ restaurant in turn supplied a steady stream of customers for the small businesses that surrounded it on three sides, such as Dorothy’s Surrender gift shop and Baby Jane, a movie memorabilia shop that sold autographed photos, costumes and even “celebrity earthquake ruins.”
Jake Stevens, the vice president at Faring, confirmed that a restaurant of sorts will return to the space and that Faring will invest in rehabilitating the building as promised. He would only confirm that a restaurant was returning to the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Laurel Avenue. He had no comment regarding the return of the retail and office spaces that were part of the French Market experience.
Who is going to rent the space? Nobody can afford $20 minimum wages! All our businesses are closing.
Please name one business that closed because of the minimum wage. It’s $19.06 btw
Not a surprise. These deadbeat developers do nothing except make big donations to the campaigns of certain members of WeHo city council. What’s next the Melrose Triangle ditch?
Corner of Santa Monica and LaJolla???? A “restaurant of sorts”….what does that even mean???
Laurel Avenue! I lived on Laurel and Fountain for five years. I should know better. A restaurant of sorts, meaning we don’t know what kind of restaurant is coming to this space. I doubt the oeuf pain perdu is making a comeback.
With the French Market project dead and the Robertson Lane project sitting stagnant and an eyesore, this developer will find it very hard in the future to get any community support for any future projects that he might propose.
Faring's French Market Development Project is Dead – WEHO TIMES West Hollywood News, Nightlife and Events – WEHO TIMES
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