When the exclusive British club Soho House opens in spring of next year, it won’t just be the West Coast debut of the internationally known members-only establishment.

The nightspot’s opening will mark a milestone in something that would’ve been wholly unnecessary five or six years ago: the rebirth and re-imagining of the Sunset Strip.

Restaurants, bars and live event venues on the famous West Hollywood boulevard have been eclipsed in the last few years by a slew of hip competitors that have opened a few miles east in Hollywood, which has been enjoying a booming night life scene due to the ongoing redevelopment there.

So now the Sunset Strip is trying to get its mojo back. It is undergoing a renaissance of its own, thanks to the addition of upscale establishments including Soho House West Hollywood, which, it is hoped, will attract an A-list entertainment crowd to the top two floors of a skyscraper.

Strip business owners and West Hollywood officials are excited about drawing back 20- and 30-somethings to the legendary boulevard.

“Sunset is going to blow up again,” said Edward Kim, owner of Miyagi’s, an Asian-themed restaurant and bar on the Strip. “Everyone is saying the crowds are coming back, and that we are bringing back the best crowds from Hollywood.”

Businesspeople hope the new arrivals and renovations will spawn more. Kim, for one, is about to start a complete renovation of his establishment.

“When you have a business like the Soho House arrive, other businesses want to position themselves nearby, whether it’s another nightclub or upscale restaurant,” said Brad Burlingame, chief executive of the West Hollywood Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Along the Strip, a 1.3-mile stretch between Havenhurst Drive on the east and Doheny Drive on the west that is lined with more than 150 retailers, nightclubs, bars, restaurants and hotels, there’s evidence that a revitalization is under way.

At the Grafton Hotel, restaurateur Greg Morris is preparing to open an Italian bistro called the Olive on Sunset, for example. Nightclub promoter Guy Starkman is finalizing plans to open a bar at the site of a sushi restaurant, Blowfish Sushi to Die For.

“A lot of interesting things are going on,” said Lee Maen, a partner in Innovative Dining Group, which owns and operates several upscale restaurants in Los Angeles including Sushi Roku. “And West Hollywood has been proactive in helping make that happen.”

He’s referring to West Hollywood’s plan to spiff up the street scene. A six-month project that’s about to get under way includes repaving the street, repairing sidewalks, and adding landscapes and medians. The Strip’s facelift is scheduled to begin in January with $5.4 million in city funding and an additional $1.1 million from the federal stimulus package.

“I think it’s been about eight years since certain portions of the boulevard have been paved. There’s a need,” said Todd Steadman, executive director of the Sunset Strip Business Association. “Once the project is completed, it will give it a nice new feel to the Strip.”