Two large projects could alter strip's small-shop atmosphere.

LA Brea Avenue long has been home to an expanse of modernist furniture shops, gritty car mechanics and, most recently, boutique retailers priced out of trendier cross streets.

Now attention is fixed on two large, mixed-use projects that could reshape about a mile and a half of the north/south

At the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard, J.H. Snyder Co. is nearing completion of its $75 million West Hollywood Gateway project, which will have three levels of underground parking and 245,000 square feet for a Target and a Best Buy, along with office and smaller retail space. The development replaces several derelict warehouses and a car wash.

"(La Brea) is totally full of potential," said Milt Swimmer, a partner at J.H. Snyder Overseeing the development of the West Hollywood Gateway. "There's this impetus for a complete renaissance in the area. It may not happen in two years, but it will happen."

Farther south, at the corner of La Brea and First Street, Bomel Management plans a $78 million mixed-use project on the 2-acre site of the vacant Continental Graphics Corp. building. The project would include 60,000 square feet of retail space and up to 200 loft condominiums.

Robert Rechnitz, a Bomel principal, said the retail space is being broken up into small storefronts to attract local businesses. "We very much like and want to retain the indie character and feel of the neighborhood," he said.

Bomel plans a similar mixed-use project at the former KCOP-TV television studio at 915 N. La Brea Ave., two blocks south of Santa Monica Boulevard. Unlike the Continental building, preliminary plans for the 2.3-acre site are geared toward a single commercial tenant, along with a smaller housing component.

Rechnitz said the Gateway project played a key role in the decision to buy the KCOP property. "With people moving into Hollywood and Silver lake, La Brea has become very central to where people live and work in Los Angeles," he said.

Attracting attention

Before freeways, La Brea served as a commercial core for upscale neighborhoods nearby, like Hancock Park, and the street was once dotted with jazz clubs and restaurants. Nat King Cole was said to have gotten his big break performing at the Swanee Inn, a jazz club at the current site of Italian bistro Amalfi Ristorante. But as the center of Los Angeles moved westward, La Brea's businesses migrated as well.