Colorado Boulevard Colossus to Tone it Down

Gold, bold and uncontrolled—the massive building known as “Colorado Terrace,” located at 2451-2453 Colorado Blvd., is a structure of epic scale, drenched in a regrettable hue.

Although it didn’t make it into the Los Angeles Times’ “Ugliest Building in Town” contest in 2007 (a Public Storage unit on Eagle Rock Boulevard in Glassell Park was a leading nominee, however), Colorado Terrace, a five-story, 70-unit abode for senior citizens, is considered by many to be by far the most unsightly building in Eagle Rock.

“As the developer has acknowledged, the unfortunate color choice for the exterior accents the magnitude of the development and establishes an aesthetic disconnect with the surrounding neighborhood,” reads a letter from TERA (The Eagle Rock Association) to Kurken Alyanakian of CCDM Incorporated, the building’s owner/developer.

According to TERA, Alyanakian has agreed to paint the new building in more “neutral tones,” plus plant sidewalk-adjacent foliage to further soften the impact of the building. The structure's current color is a shade of orange-yellow that does ochre proud.

The building permit for Colorado Terrace was issued on April 4, 2003, and at the time TERA praised a project that, the organization envisioned, “will not only architecturally enhance Eagle Rock, but it will include many state-of-the-art environmental and other features that will truly place it ‘on the map.’”

Jeff Samudio, who served on the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council, District 5, City of Los Angeles 2003-2005, was the design architect for the project, which lies  across the street and a couple of blocks northeast of .

TERA is gracious in their praise of the building operator’s “courtesy and cooperation.” Their recent newsletter also notes the building’s excellent condition and upkeep.

No word yet on any selection of a color that might make this behemoth of a building blend appropriately into the neighborhood landscape.