Developers "top out" at Hollywood and Vine

The economy may be in recession, but that's not slowing down work on the $600-million hotel, residential and retail complex at the famed intersection of Hollywood and Vine in Hollywood. Developers Gatehouse Capital and Legacy Partners on Wednesday celebrated "topping out" the two tallest structures in the construction process, having placed the uppermost beams on 12- and 14-story towers. When complete next November, the shorter building will be a 375-unit apartment complex and the taller one will be a 305-room W hotel with 143 attached condominiums. The real estate market may be improving by the time the complex is done, said Gatehouse President Marty Collins, but his company is in for the long haul in any case. "This is a big project in a big place," he said. "It doesn't really matter when you enter the economy." In a brazen effort to attract media attention, the developers hired acrobats to rappel down the tallest tower. Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel razzed Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other local dignitaries. He also joked that good times were on the way. "People will come, look, and get drunk here for many years."

-- Roger Vincent