Bev Hills Gets a Taste of Hollywood

As if the hulking CAA (Creative Artists Agency) headquarters in Century City wasn't enough, William Morris Agency, another high-profile talent agency, is building a blockbuster landmark building in the heart of Beverly Hills' pricey Golden Triangle. While more modest in scale, this newer construction is one-upping its predecessor in design - the long, sleek glass block was designed by Gensler. Renderings show six stories with a partial green roof and a bright, open ground-floor lobby. Tishman is the construction manager for the 200,000SF building owned by Beverly Wilshire LP, and set to be completed in 2010.

The sheer breadth of the construction site made us cringe at the prospect of another 'Montage' - the giant mediterranean residential complex across the street. Both projects seem out of scale for the tight low-lying commercial spaces that abound, but the adjacent Wilshire corridor is admittedly very high-built. The Montage does have one redeeming quality - the public green space linking Beverly Dr. to Canon Dr., though it was probably mandated by the city of Beverly Hills.

The agency isn't moving far - the original office is located down the street on Wilshire Blvd., behind ritzy Via Rodeo and pretentiously addressed at 'One William Morris Place.' Beverly Hills is traditionally the home of talent agencies, most likely because of the cache and centrality of the zip code. But William Morris' development stands out because of a) its show-stopping contemporary design and b) its lavish use of prime urban real estate. Someone once said that when a company builds an expensive landmark headquarters, it's facing the last of its days. For the sake of all the high-profile acting stock in this town, let's hope that isn't the case here.