Hollywood Welcomes Carbon Neutral Complex Amid Revitalization

After Kilroy Realty Corp. constructed and opened the successful Columbia Square project in the heart of Hollywood, it was only a matter of time before they announced their next transformative project. In an exclusive interview with The Planning Report, Kilroy  Senior Vice President of Sustainability Sara Neff explained the importance of Academy on Vine, a long-anticipated project: $500-million campus of offices, apartments and stores on 3.5 acres. 

Kilroy has deeply invested in Hollywood and Neff stated "Hollywood has everything I look for in a neighborhood...there is no doubt that Hollywood needed an update, but the essentials of Hollywood are second to none." Neff explained that Hollywood brings the element of fun to a proposed gathering place, and how Kilroy developed the project to develop a community space with a community fee, including a number of balconies, both public and private. 

Neff also opines on how the Academy on Vine development will minimize its carbon footprint and create open space benefiting tenants and visitors. Once the project is operational, it will be 100 percent carbon neutral for scopes 1 and 2 through Kilroy's proprietary procurement process. The project is also located to reduce automobile transportation because of its transit adjacent location and plentiful electric vehicle charging onsite is planned for the garage.  Kilroy is also planning a pollinator-friendly landscape through using The Pollinator Partnership to guide choosing appropriate plant types for the site. The design will also be water efficient in landscape and fixtures. Academy on Vine will include the first 1.1-gallon per flush toilet, and the sinks are only .35 gallon per minute. 

Looking at her entire portfolio of properties, Neff also discusses the evolving economic and environmental value of green roofs, cool roofs, battery storage, landscape architecture, and operational resilience in The Planning Report.