Construction Cranes Arrive in the Arts District

Anyone approaching Downtown Los Angeles from the east may have noticed that a new object joined the skyline earlier this week: a bright, orange construction crane.  Rising high above the low-slung Arts District, this tower crane will assist in the construction of Lowe Enterprises' Mega Toys killing mixed-use development.  Scheduled to open in 2015, the Togawa Smith Martin designed complex will consist of 320 apartment units and 15,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space.  Buildings are set to rise five stories on opposite sides of Garey Street, which will be converted into a pedestrian-only paseo flanked by stores and restaurants.  Located a short walk down the street from the nearly finished One Santa Fe development, the Mega Toys crane can expect some company within the coming year.  According to the Downtown News, Legendary Development plans to break ground on a three-building, 472-unit project next to the SCI-Arc campus this Spring.  Further south, Bolour Associates revived the pre-recession AMP Lofts late last year, with a new look courtesy of the Downtown-based Shimoda Design Group.  To top it all off, Metro is also looking into the possibility of adding as many as two new Red/Purple Line stations near 1st and 6th Streets.  With a wide variety of mixed-use developments in the pipeline and a subway link potentially on the way, we're looking at a very different Arts District five years down the line

Viewed from the elevated Gold Line tracks feeding into Union Station

• Mega Toys Replacing Mixed-User Gets Underway (Building Los Angeles)