Castle Argyle
SITE ANALYSIS
MASTER PLANNING
ARCHITECTURE
DEVELOPMENT CONSULTING
INTERIORS
ART & DESIGN
BRANDING
LOCATION: HOLLYWOOD, CA
SIZE: 68,230 SF | 99 units
STATUS: COMPLETED
PROGRAM: Affordable housing for seniors with community rooms, courtyards and offices.
AWARDS: Gold Nugget Award of Merit for Best Affordable 55+ Housing; Merit Winner - Residential by CODA awards.
The historic Castle Argyle Apartments is an affordable housing community for seniors that features studio and one-bedroom apartments. Built in 1928, this 99-unit building located in the heart of Hollywood, was originally designed as a residence-hotel, hosting such luminaries as Cecil B. DeMille, Clark Gable, and Howard Hughes. With surgical precision—while navigating the complexities of COVID during construction—the BDG team completed a total rehabilitation that modernized the building through comprehensive interior and exterior renovations, seismic retrofitting, upgraded utilities and fixtures, landscape improvements, a custom art program, new common-area furnishings, and extensive accessibility upgrades throughout.
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The intent of the renovation was to reveal the building’s classic character and reintroduce its Hollywood Regency origins using colors and patterns of the era, with a subtle contemporary sensibility. This style is one of elegance, opulence, and glamour.
By reconfiguring the first-floor community spaces — widely used by residents — Bell Design Group created a more welcoming environment with a variety of activity options. New windows were installed for greater visual access to Argyle Avenue and the landscaped courtyard, which also serves as an active outdoor exercise space. A library, kitchen, dining area, and living room complete the common spaces; a new exercise room, located in a former storage area, is accessed across the furnished courtyard.
Amidst renovation, the architects uncovered and restored the original coffered ceilings throughout the first floor, which also houses management and tenant-service offices, including a room for on-site medical personnel. Individual units were upgraded with new kitchens, baths, appliances, air conditioning, paint, and flooring.
The art program begins on the exterior with a 15-by-15-foot ceramic-tile mosaic mural facing Argyle Avenue. Artist Roberto Biaggi’s figurative mural on the parking structure wall represents the diverse history of Castle Argyle, its residents, and the surrounding community. Biaggi’s abstract lobby mosaic mural, composed of glass tile, celebrates the building’s Hollywood Regency style. Also restored were two historic exterior neon signs that serve as beacons through the Hollywood night sky.
Bringing an historic building back to its former glory preserves and honors the heritage of this Hollywood neighborhood and, through structural and safety upgrades, sustains much-needed affordable housing in the heart of this community.
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