The lunchtime crowds at the intersection of Avenue of the Stars and Constellation Boulevard show just how popular a place Century City has come to be.

Businessmen in suits jockey for position with bike messengers and younger, more casual pedestrians all hustling across the street before the traffic light turns red again.

Most in the weekday throng have something in common: doing business in Century City. And while that is nothing new, it has been a while since the area had such rhythm and energy.

With the opening of new office projects, a top-to-bottom makeover of the Century City mall and a revitalized culinary scene, the neighborhood is finally leaving the doldrums of the 1990s behind.

“In the last five years new owners have come in and invested sizable amounts of capital in the marketplace to realize what it was supposed to be 40 years ago a downtown in the middle of West L.A,” said Dave Doupe, a managing director at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. who works at the Century Plaza Towers.

A large part of the development story so far has been written by the repositioning of one landmark property and the completion of a new office building all preceded by the 2003 opening of Constellation Place, better known as the MGM Tower and L.A.’s first new high rise anywhere in a decade.

In 2006, developer Westfield Group of Australia completed its $170 million renovation of the Westfield Century City mall, adding an upgraded foot court, a multiplex and posh boutiques. Meanwhile, the new 2000 Avenue of the Stars office building opened in January, boasting anchor tenant Creative Artists Agency Inc. and hot, new restaurant Craft that overlooks a two-acre park that recently opened.

There is also high anticipation about the 2009 opening of the 42-story Century condo tower, which is supposed to rival Park Avenue residences in style, grandeur and price, with a penthouse slated to go on the market for $25 million.

Los Angeles Councilman Jack Weiss, said a recent dinner at Craft the local outpost of celebrity chef Tom Colicchio’s New York City eatery highlighted the transformation.

“I looked out on the green space, the first public park in Century City, and saw people listening to a Thursday evening public jazz program. I realized we were making changes,” said Weiss, whose district includes Century City.

But those changes are not sitting well with everyone. Indeed, Weiss was the subject of a recall effort that grew out of nearby residents’ frustration over growing traffic congestion. The effort ultimately fizzled but it highlights how difficult it will be for developers to build new residences or offices.

Beyond the Century, there are three other high-rise condo projects that have either received approvals or are on the drawing board, but beyond that it’s anybody’s guess whether the area will ever reach its development potential.

“Do we have the resources to support development? The answer is no,” said Mike Eveloff, president of the Tract 7260 Homeowners Association. “The concept that having residential next to office will reduce traffic is not true. People aren’t going to be limited exclusively to Century City, they are going to drive wherever they are going to drive.”

Industry Mecca

A shift by entertainment companies into the area is a key to its resurgence. Like CAA, other firms have made the leap, including International Creative Management Inc. and Barnes Morris Klein Mark Yorn Barnes & Levine, a Los Angeles-based law firm with a large entertainment practice.

With the addition of these companies to an area that already included Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. and 20th Century Fox Studios, Century City has become a destination office location for the entertainment industry.

“It seemed liked there was a center of gravity shift that was starting to take place, and we were a big part of that,” said Richard Levy, chief business development officer and general counsel for ICM, which moved from Beverly Hills into Constellation Place in February.

One of the goals of the developers building condo towers is to give these new industry execs a place to live in the style they are accustomed. But there’s the issue of a softened residential market and whether now is the time to build premium residences.

“Everything will be over a million dollars and most will be well over (that price),” said Blake Mirkin, a senior vice president at CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. “The problem with it all is the pricing levels. You are not talking first time buyers like you are in downtown L.A. That is where the rubber is going to hit the road. The proof will be in the sales.”

JMB Realty Corp. of Chicago has plans for two 47-story towers and a 12-story loft building for a total of 483 units directly across Constellation Boulevard from 2000 Avenue of the Stars and Craft. “It is so convenient. What we are creating here is a new lifestyle,” boasts Bob Nowak, vice president at JMB who is overseeing the condo project.

But the JMB project also serves to highlight the discord between developers and existing residents. A coalition of several homeowners’ groups has sued the City of Los Angeles for approving the JMB project.

And there are still two more condo projects in various stages of planning: SunCal Cos. is developing plans for 10000 Santa Monica Blvd. and Westfield is trying its hand at residential development at 1801 Avenue of the Stars next to its mall.

If all the projects are built out that could be 1,300 more condos adding to the existing 2,000 residences constructed over the years. And though nearby residents fed up with traffic years ago forced the establishment of the area’s unique “trips” development process which limits new construction based on the number of vehicle trips it creates many have gotten to the point where they virtually will oppose any new development.

“Within a very short period of time we will have literally thousands of brand new vertical residents in the heart of the Century City business district,” Weiss said.

That means any more development which could involve tearing down older office buildings and replacing them with bigger ones or with high rise condominiums will likely rest on the ability of developers, city officials and residents to work out a new consensus.

“You feel more energy when you talk about Century City. It is much more desirable for a wide variety of firms, whether they are tech firms or financial firms,” said Mirkin, who has worked in Century City for 16 years. “That is a big dynamic shift. But traffic is all in bold letters, there has been no improvement in 20 years.”