They're paving paradise to put up a 26-story mixed-use complex at the corner of Sunset and Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood. The Los Angeles City Council voted on Tuesday to approve changes in zoning for the spot, currently home to Amoeba Music, moving forward a developer's long-gestating plan to build 200 residential units and 7,000 square feet of commercial space at the address.
Amoeba opened its Sunset location in 2001 as a complement to its pair of iconic outlets in the San Francisco area. The company sold the unique building that houses its trove of LPs and videos to developer GPI in 2015 for $34 million, so a move has actually been in the offing for years. Co-owner Jim Henderson told the Los Angeles Times that its current lease will keep them at the location for "about another year."
Just where Amoeba Hollywood will land after that remains to be seen, but the record shop has stated previously they have "every intention" of staying in L.A. "Rest assured, we are NOT closing, but we are now in a position where we may have to change locations in the coming years," the company said in 2017. "Amoeba is defined by WHO we are not WHERE we are.
"Amoeba hopes to include one of its Hi-Fidelity cannabis dispensaries at its next L.A. outlet, following a successful opening last year in Berkeley. The company aims to have a dispensary at all three locations at some point, though its Haight Street store currently falls outside of one of San Francisco's Cannabis Retail "Green Zones."
UPDATE: Following speculation the record store was closing, on Wednesday (June 26) Amobea posted a note to Facebook reiterating its plans to move next year.
Original article dated June 26, 2019, by Marc Schneider for Billboard.
