Hotel, Apartments to Rise Over Sunset Boulevard Nightclub

In a 3-2 vote, the West Hollywood Council has approved a hotel and apartment tower on Sunset Boulevard that will replace a block of storefronts and a famous Hollywood hangout, the Viper Room nightclub.

Silver Creek Development plans to build an 11-story building at 8850 Sunset Boulevard including a 90-room hotel, 78 apartments and 28K SF of restaurant, café and bar space. Of the apartment units, 16 will be designated as affordable.

The project also will include a 6,748 SF ground-floor lounge that will be a new version of the Viper Room with a tall glass entrance, a larger concert stage and auditorium, a memorabilia hall and a recording studio.

Miami-based Arquitectonica is designing the glass-clad structure, which features undulating balconies and cascading terrace decks on the top floors. The approved plans are the third version of the redevelopment of the property.

Silver Creek Development is an affiliate of Scottsdale, AZ-based REM Finance. In 2018, REM Finance bought the Viper Room and three other Sunset Boulevard Properties for $80M. In August 2022, Silver Creek secured a $62M loan to finance the redevelopment of 8850 Sunset Boulevard.

At the August 26 council meeting, the plans were opposed by a neighborhood group concerned about the density and potential traffic congestion from the project, which will include a parking garage with space for 232 cars, the Beverly Press reported.

“The current plan is unmanageable and just not realistic,” said Elyse Eisenberg, chair of the WeHo Heights Neighborhood Association. “The city staff has spent more time analyzing the billboard revenue than it has the impact of what this project is going to mean for the neighborhood.”

Others said the new tower would ruin a Hollywood landmark, repurposing it as a brand.

The Viper Room began as a jazz club called the Melody Room. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was known as the Central. It reopened in 1993 as The Viper Room, a rock club that became the go-to place for Hollywood stars to see performances from leading rock stars. The club was partially owned by Johnny Depp until 2004.

Mayor John Erickson, who backed the project, said it would revive the neighborhood. “We have a development team that is game to help beautify what is frankly dilapidated buildings and a rundown historic music venue and bring it back to life,” Erickson said.