A battle is heating up over Holland Partner Group’s plans to redevelop the site of the storied Taix French Restaurant.
The developer, which bought the Echo Park property for $12 million in 2019, is planning a 170-unit apartment complex, which will include a new space for Taix. The restaurant’s owner supports the plan, but some don’t want the old restaurant to go, according to the Los Angeles Times. It has been at 1911 Sunset Boulevard since 1962.
Preservationists want the city to make the existing Taix building a landmark, which would limit Holland’s ability to redevelop the site. Some have called for the building to be preserved and incorporated into Holland’s new complex.
“Nobody wants another multistory box that looks like it belongs in Irvine,” said Christine Kantner of the Silver Lake Heritage Trust. “If the building was preserved and something was built around it, that would be the draw.”
The restaurant’s owner Michael Taix however told the city’s Cultural Heritage Commission that his operation is unsustainable at the existing location. He called it a “mega-sized, grossly energy-inefficient, [and] outdated building.”
So far, Taix appears to have the support of a local city councilmember. Mitch O’Farrell said the restaurant site should be made a historic monument, not the building itself.
His proposal said certain features, such as the restaurant’s cherrywood bar top, should be preserved and brought into the new space. Taix has said he plans to do so.
The L.A. City Council is scheduled to consider the landmarking this week.
[LAT] — Dennis Lynch