Century City, the neighborhood that borders the affluent communities of Brentwood, West Hollywood, and Beverly Hills, has been steadily transforming in recent years. Similar to Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA), Century City was once known as a “sleepy district” after work hours due to its lack of residential space in the neighborhood.

However, after the renovation of the popular Westfield Century City Shopping Center as well as the addition of new hotels, high-rise buildings, and corporate offices over the past couple years, Century City has become one of Los Angeles’ most luxurious and booming neighborhoods to live, work, and play. 

History

Downtown Century City is full of rich history

According to Century City’s Chamber of Commerce, the Century City master plan was designed by Welton Becket, a well-known American architect, back in 1962. With a desire to create the appearance of a “city within a city,” Becket imagined a retail center, high-rises with both residential condos and office space, grand hotels, and a cultural center—all equipped with underground parking, providing up to 30,000 parking spaces. 

In an effort to ease traffic jams, Becket designed pedestrian bridges and wide boulevards around the famous LA street, Avenue of the Stars. When Becket pitched his plan to the city, it was verbally approved, and construction began almost immediately.

For the next decade, Century City transformed into one of the city’s go-to destinations, and was popular with several U.S. presidents, including Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. In 1975, often referred to as the end of the neighborhood’s “Golden Age of Development,” two buildings emerged as the heart of the community—Century City Plaza and ABC Entertainment Center. Century City was also the site of several films, and it even hosted the 28th Annual Emmy Awards.

In Recent Years

With all the success of Century City in the past, construction and buzz around the neighborhood began to slow down during the 1980s. The neighborhood’s main real estate developer, Alcoa, experienced very slow sales and was eventually sold—causing a halt to Century City’s growth and development. Since then, the neighborhood sat dormant with older shops, hotels, corporate towers, and studios. 

However, over the past decade, when celebrities like Candy Spelling, Rihanna, Paula Abdul, and Matthew Perry began buying condos in Century City, buzz around the neighborhood once again grew. This prompted developers to show a renewed interest towards the area, and construction began once again.

Today, the neighborhood is experiencing a residential boom, and there’s a growing list of massive projects in the works.

Downtown of the Westside

Even though the eastside of Downtown Los Angeles has been experiencing a building boom over the past couple years, many don’t realize that Century City has been quietly building as well. 

Per The Real Deal, the office market in Century City has been steadily improving every year since 2016, with office vacancy rates dramatically decreasing from 14 percent to 9 percent last year. Meanwhile, office vacancies in DTLA remained about the same at 16 percent. Some experts theorize that the increase in office demand in Century City might be due to the rise of Silicon Beach, which has ushered in a new and affluent wave of entertainment and tech professionals to LA’s westside.

Since Downtown LA and Century City both offer similar facilities in terms of professional services, it makes sense that due to Century City’s mere proximity to Silicon Beach, it’s turned into the Downtown of the Westside. However, Century City has a slight edge over DTLA when it comes to its specialties—entertainment and talent.

Revitalization

Experience the revitalization of Century City

Long gone are the days when Century City was considered sleepy. The neighborhood has gone through a transformation and a revitalization, making it one of the most sought-after destinations for developers. This revival seemed to be ushered in after a successful $1 billion renovation of the Westfield Century City Shopping Center, which gave Angelenos its first ever LA Eataly as well as a new community gathering spot.

The renovations not only made the monolithic shopping venue more luxurious, it also made it a destination that was both pedestrian-friendly and easy to navigate, consisting of promenades, intimate lounges, cabanas, and beautifully landscaped indoor and outdoor gardens. The Atrium, which is an impressive event space and outdoor entertainment site inside the center, has also become one of the city’s hottest destinations for cultural and community media events.

Purple Line

Century City will soon be home to a new Metro Line and station

Although the neighborhood has made huge strides in becoming more walkable and visitor-friendly, public transit in Century City is still a bit behind schedule. According to The Source, the first section of the transportation giant’s much-anticipated Purple line (still in the works) is expected to open in late 2023, with its second and third sections expected to be complete by 2024.

Once completed, the Metro’s Purple Line would provide residents and visitors of Century City connectivity and a car-free alternative to various neighborhoods in LA, including Beverly Hills, Westwood, and DTLA.

New Construction

New construction in Century City

Century City is indeed experiencing its own renaissance, especially with dozens of major projects and renovations going on, including the $2.5 billion revamping of the historic Century Plaza Hotel—a development that would bring over 300 new condos and a hotel to the area.

A mile down the street is another Century City project led by developer Dalian Wanda Group. One Beverly Hills is a $1.2 billion development that would add an additional hotel and condo building to the neighborhood.

However, all eyes are currently on the upcoming Century City Center project, which has already started construction. The new project is expected to create a two-acre greenspace and a center for community gatherings, as well as provide an accessible way to connect to the Metro’s upcoming Purple Line.

Just Opened: High-Rises, Hotels… and Robots

Condo Towers, Hotels, and office buildings are popping up everywhere in Century City

With so many projects going on, it looks like the future of Century City is going to have a lot more high-rise condominium towers, ritzy hotels, and over-the-top amenities—for example, robot butlers. 

Last January, per The Hollywood Reporter, residents started moving into the amenity-filled, 40-story luxury condominium tower Ten Thousand, which didn’t just offer private theaters and on-call personal drivers, it also featured a Botox bar and robotic butlers.