Passengers on the Blue and Expo Lines should enjoy Pico Station's unobstructed view of Staples Center while it lasts, because skyscrapers are coming. The Los Angeles Times reports that a group spearheaded by Jamison Services has agreed to purchase the 2.7 acre parcel at 1200 Figueroa Street, with the intention of building a residential-retail complex. Although an exact sales price is unknown, the new owners reportedly shelled out more than twice the $31 million that L&R Parking paid for the property in 2010. The land was formerly the site of a proposed development from the South Group, which planned for 648 condominiums housed within high-rises of 35 and 27 stories. Jamison Services (and friends) envision a project similar in scale. Plans submitted to LADBS late last year call for two 36-story towers, connected by a retail/parking podium. The Times also reports that entitlements may be amended to allow for the inclusion of hotel rooms and additional retail space. Jamison Services' project adds to the avalanche of proposed high-rise developments which have emerged near LA Live in the past year. Chinese developers have revived the Metropolis and Fig Central mega-projects, while Williams & Dame, Mack Urban and the Onni Group also have towers in the works nearby.
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| A former vision for 1200 Figueroa Street |
- Investors Buy Parking Lot Across from Staples Center (Los Angeles Times)
- 1200 S Figueroa Street (LADBS)
I hope the new owners see if they can purchase the rest of the block (aren't the surface parking lots owned by the City who wants a hotel on them?) and develop the whole block at once. What seems more likely is that the new owners will spend a couple hundred million to have their next door neighbors be a Hooters and surface parking. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteI'd prefer to keep the lot divided up into three separate pieces. The area around Staples already has enough super-block developments in the pipeline.
DeleteStill not sure what to think about this project, though. Hankey and Jamison Services are both well known landlords, but they don't have that much history as developers. I believe they're also collaborating to develop the vacant land at Wilshire and Hobart.