Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Watch Grand Avenue's Parcel M Tower Sprout in Two Minutes


With so much attention focused on the new Frank Gehry designs for Parcel Q, it's easy to forget that the Grand Avenue Project already has one residential building under construction.  The 19-story Parcel M Tower broke ground in late 2012, and is now topped out just south of the Walt Disney Concert Hall.  The Arquitectonica designed building carries a $120 million price tag, and is slated to open its 271 apartments late this year.  In the meantime, check out the Parcel M Tower's live webcam, which has focused on the project site since shortly after groundbreaking.  Perched atop the Colburn School, the camera provides a speedy time lapse video of the building's construction from ground level to its 215 foot apex above Grand Avenue.  Making a guest appearance in the lower right hand corner is the Diller Scofidio + Refro designed Broad Museum.  The $140 million project will share a pedestrian plaza with the residential tower when it opens, also in late 2014.


4 comments:

  1. That is one underwhelming building. The developers should be pissed that $120 million got them a building so bland that the next-door pink mess looks more interesting in comparison.

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    1. Parcel M is not a head turner, but it was never supposed to be. The Grand Avenue Authority wanted to get shovels in the ground ASAP, and they wanted a building that wouldn't compete with the Broad or WDCH for attention. In that sense, Related gave them exactly what they asked for.

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    2. I get that but the building just looks like they screwed-up when ordering windows and then were installed haphazardly because it was too late to make any changes. It really makes me wonder where the $120 million went. Onni's 888 Olive project is 32-stories and I think it was supposed to cost $100 - $110 million. How is their project cheaper when it is 13 stories taller and covered in glass?

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    3. Good question. I suspect the big concrete plaza to connect it to the Broad and the future subway station plays a part in the high cost figure. It also has a similar number of units to 888 Olive (271 vs. 293) despite being much shorter.

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