The short version
A developer has filed plans for a 27-story apartment tower at 6409 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Urbanize LA reported on Oct. 22 that Galaxy Commercial Holdings wants to build 239 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments on a roughly half-acre site, with about 6,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and 227 parking spaces. In exchange for density bonus incentives, 37 of the units would be set aside for very low- and moderate-income renters.
The City Planning case record (EAR-2026-5476-DB-PR-HCA) shows the application was filed on Oct. 21, 2026, under the address 6407 W. Sunset Blvd. Nothing is approved yet, and no hearing date is listed.
What was filed
The city's case description calls for demolishing an existing commercial building and building a 27-story tower with 239 units, 5,951 square feet of ground-floor retail and 227 parking spaces. The site sits in Council District 13 and the Central Hollywood Neighborhood Council area.
According to Urbanize LA, SCB is the architect and Relm is the landscape architect. Renderings show a tower of about 300 feet with a rooftop amenity deck. The 37 affordable units would make up about 15% of the 239 total.
The case record lists these requests:
- Density bonus incentives. Off-menu incentives tied to the area's zoning overlay standards, including reduced open space and added floor area, under the city's density bonus rules (LAMC 12.22 A.37).
- Project Review. Required because the building adds more than 50 net new homes (LAMC 16.05).
- Housing Crisis Act vesting. The "HCA" in the case number points to a preliminary application under the Housing Crisis Act of 2019.
The applicant of record is Raffi Cohen of Galaxy Holding, and the representative is Luciralia Ibarra of Sitio.
The site's backstory
This is not the first tower planned here. In 2018, Urbanize LA covered the Ivar Gardens Hotel, a 21-story, 275-room Art Deco tower from R.D. Olson that would have replaced a Jack in the Box at 6407 Sunset. That plan went before the CRA/LA board because the property is inside the former Hollywood Redevelopment Area. The hotel was never built, and the new filing swaps rooms for apartments.
The block also has company. Urbanize LA notes that 6400 Sunset, the former Amoeba Music site, won approval in 2019 for a 28-story tower. A few blocks east, the two-tower Palladium Residences at 6201 Sunset was entitled in 2016 but stalled during a legal fight with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
How the approval path works
The case number packs several processes together.
EAR (Expanded Administrative Review). This is a staff-level review created with the city's Citywide Housing Incentive Program (CHIP). The CHIP ordinance took effect on Feb. 11, 2025, according to City Council File 21-1230-S5. The city's zoning code Chapter 1A, Article 13B treats EAR as a ministerial process, meaning planners check a project against set rules rather than weigh it at a public hearing. Developer Tommy Beadel told Urbanize LA in May that EAR ends in an approval letter with no hearing and no appeal, which is one reason some neighbors object to it.
State Density Bonus Law. Under California Government Code 65915, projects of five or more homes that include a share of affordable units can build more than zoning normally allows and ask for incentives, waivers and parking reductions. The state housing department's fact sheet explains, for example, that 5% very low-income or 10% low-income units can qualify a project.
Project Review. This is the renamed version of Site Plan Review. City Planning's processes and procedures fact sheet describes it as a Director of Planning decision that can generally be appealed to an Area Planning Commission. How the appeal rules apply to this combined case should become clearer once planners issue a decision.
Housing Crisis Act (SB 330). City Planning's vesting preliminary application form explains that a complete preliminary application locks a project into the rules in effect on that date. The developer then has 180 days to file a full application, and the protection can be lost if the unit count changes by 20% or more or construction does not start within the set time.
Hollywood rules. The site falls under the updated Hollywood Community Plan and its Community Plan Implementation Overlay (CPIO). The CPIO sets local development standards for the area, and the filing asks for incentives tied to those standards.
Who is behind it
Galaxy Commercial Holdings has another large Hollywood project in the works. In February, Urbanize LA reported that the City Planning Commission approved its 6800 Sunset project at Highland Avenue: a 42-story, roughly 504-foot tower with 304 apartments and 115 hotel rooms, about 23,000 square feet of commercial space, and a separate 80-unit building for very low-income seniors on Leland Way. That project also used density bonus incentives. Urbanize LA lists the Vue tower in San Pedro among Galaxy's earlier work.
What critics and neighbors say
No public opposition to 6409 Sunset had been reported as of Oct. 23. The case is one day into staff review.
Recent Hollywood cases show where pushback tends to land. On Oct. 22, Urbanize LA reported that the City Council upheld CIM Group's expansion of 6007 Sunset from 109 to 172 units, which added an eighth floor and was approved through EAR in August. Emerson College had appealed, arguing in part that the project skipped a public hearing and pointing to unpermitted construction. CIM said Emerson's real concern was the loss of views to the north. Supporters of the fast-track rules say they are meant to get more homes, including affordable ones, built in a city short on housing. Critics say staff-level approvals leave neighbors little room to weigh in on towers next door.
Where the Hollywood rental market stands
The tower would arrive in a busy submarket. Commercial Observer, citing Colliers' third-quarter data, reported that Hollywood and Mid-Wilshire led the region with 1,869 units delivered in the quarter, had 5,113 more under construction, and posted about 92% occupancy at an average rent of $2,355. Countywide, Colliers put occupancy near 94.1%.
Kidder Mathews' Q3 2026 Los Angeles multifamily report shows a similar picture: vacancy around 5.4%, asking rents up about 0.6% from a year earlier, and a construction pipeline of about 24,325 units, down roughly 11%. The two firms measure the market differently, so their figures do not match exactly. Colliers' numbers show lower occupancy in Hollywood and Mid-Wilshire than countywide, a sign that new supply is taking time to fill.
What happens next
The case portal shows the application was assigned to a planner on Oct. 22 and lists its status as "On Hold" without further detail. There is no hearing date. Watch for these steps:
- A full application, if this filing is the preliminary vesting step, within 180 days.
- A staff determination on the density bonus incentives and Project Review.
- Any appeal or other challenge after a decision.
- Demolition and building permits, which would come later.
What it means for LA agents
- Nearby supply is growing. Between 6400 Sunset, 6800 Sunset and new deliveries in Hollywood, landlords and investors along this stretch of Sunset should expect more rental competition over the next several years.
- Fast-track rules change the timeline. Projects reviewed under EAR may move faster and with fewer public hearings than older Hollywood towers did. Clients near large lots should know that.
- Check the case number before advising. A filing is not an approval. Pull the City Planning record for any project a client asks about and note its status, hearing date and appeal options.
- Affordable set-asides affect comps. About 15% of the units here would be income-restricted. When comparing rents in new buildings, separate market-rate units from restricted ones.
- Old plans do not always die. This site has now carried two tower proposals. Lots with past entitlements are worth tracking when they change hands.