Introducing Urbanize LA

Building Los Angeles and Creative Pursuits Web Development are pleased to announce the launch Urbanize LA, a new website focused on real estate development and urban planning in Southern California.  Our new format will combine BLA's coverage of proposed and ongoing developments in the Greater Los Angeles Area with in-depth discussion of architecture and the region's planning policy.  Henceforth, all content from this blog will migrate to the new website.  Hope to see you there.

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Vibiana-Adjacent Residential Complex Breaks Ground

Image: Togawa Smith Martin, Inc. via the Downtown News

Yet another mixed-use development is now pushing dirt in Downtown Los Angeles.

Earlier this week, Holland Partner Group broke ground on a new residential-retail complex adjacent to the deconsecrated Cathedral of St. Vibiana.  The eight-story development, located at 222 South Main Street, will feature 238 apartments above 4,000 square feet of ground-floor retail or restaurant space.  The low-rise edifice will feature numerous amenities, including a 247-car garage and a rooftop pool deck.

The project, slated to open in early 2017, is being designed by architecture firm Togawa Smith Martin.  Their plan for the apartment complex are is a minor revision of an earlier proposal from the Weintraub Real Estate Group, which had called for a nine-story steel-framed structure on the property.  The minor height reduction will allow Holland Partner Group to utilize less expensive wood-frame construction for the development.

The new apartment complex will continue to improve connectivity between Downtown's Historic Core and Little Tokyo, which was once separated by a six-acre expanse of surface parking lots known as "Block 8."  Recent years have seen that gap fill in, thanks to new mixed-use complexes from developers Avalon Bay at the Sares-Regis Group.  A variety of new eateries, including the popular Redbird, have also improved foot traffic through the neighborhood.

Holland Partner Group is also an active player in other parts of the greater Downtown community.  In addition to their project on Main Street, the company is currently building a $200 million low-rise complex on the Westlake-City West border.  The Washington-based developer is also in the planning stages for a 24-story apartment tower at the intersection of Spring and Eighth Streets.

LA County Looks to Facilitate Crenshaw Line TODs

3606 West Exposition Boulevard

In an effort to stimulate economic growth in South Los Angeles, County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas is pushing for the redevelopment of government-owned land near the upcoming Crenshaw light-rail line.

According to a motion submitted by the 2nd District Supervisor, the Los Angeles County Probation Department intends to relocate the operations of its current Crenshaw Area Office at 3606 West Exposition Boulevard.  The dated one-story structure is situated next to to a future transfer station between the Expo and Crenshaw Lines, and thus occupies a critical juncture in the Metro Rail network.

Under plans detailed in the motion, the County intends to partner with Metro in redeveloping the one-and-a-half-acre property as a mixed-use complex with possible residential and commercial components.  The Probation Department's operations would be moved to another county-owned building near the University of Southern California.

Luxury Apartments to Rise in Brentwood

A pair of vacant mid-century residential buildings in Brentwood will soon meet with the wrecking ball, to be replaced by a modern rental development.

Later this month, Elite Real Estate will begin work on a luxury apartment complex at 11965 Montana Avenue.  The five-story development, designed by an in-house architect, would comprise 49 residential units and amenities including a pool and a rooftop deck.  The proposed building would occupy an approximately half-acre site, located mid-block between Bundy Drive and San Vicente Boulevard.

Plans call for a mixture of two- and three-bedroom dwellings, each averaging approximately 1,600 square feet in size.  Rents in the low-rise complex will average $4,750 per month, excluding four units reserved for low-income households.

Demolition of the existing structures at 11965 Montana Avenue is scheduled to begin in one week, with all materials expected to be harvested and reused.  Construction of the new building is expected to occur over one-and-a-half years, with delivery currently scheduled for the third quarter of 2016.