Shabby Section of Palms Getting Mixed-Use Development

The Roy @ Overland

According to a mitigated negative declaration published by the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, an approximately half-acre site in Palms may birth to a new mixed-use development

Plans were filed with the city last December for the Roy @ Overland, a six-story residential-retail complex at 3644-3658 South Overland Avenue.  The project, slated to replace a series of one-story commercial structures, would include 92 residential units, roughly 1,600 square feet of ground-floor restaurant space, and an underground garage with parking accommodations for 105 vehicles and 109 bicycles.

The proposed low-rise building would offer a mixture of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, including eight units reserved for very low income households.  These uses would be supplemented by amenities such as a fitness center and an open-air roof deck.  Additional open space would be created by private balconies in over half of the the apartments.

Designs for the project from Killefer Flammang Architects (KFA) call for strong vertical and horizontal elements.  Like a similar KFA-designed project on Motor Avenue, the Roy's street-fronting facade would open to a central courtyard.  The private gathering space would be situated on the building's second level, offering greenery, outdoor seating and water features.

Construction of the mixed-use development is expected to occur over approximately 18 months, with full occupancy anticipated in 2017.  A groundbreaking for the project is contingent on multiple discretionary approvals from the City of Los Angeles, including two on-menu density bonus incentives.

New Developments Reshaping Koreatown

The Vermont Apartments

Soaring high above Wilshire Bouelvard, the $200 million Vermont Apartments serve as ostentatious symbols of the recent influx of upscale housing into previously downmarket Koreatown.  The densely populated community, long overlooked due to its isolation from the Southern California freeway network, has recently become a residential hotspot due in part to its relative affordability and thriving night life.  Consequently, the market has responded with dozens of new and revived residential developments in all reaches of the neighborhood, including adaptive reuse projects and ground-up construction.

Now, this ongoing wave of multi-family development is pushing east towards MacArthur Park.  Take a quarter-mile trip down Virgil Avenue, where a series of new mixed-use developments are replacing blighted properties on Koreatown's eastern fringe.

Toy Manufacturer Planning Mixed-Use Campus in the West Valley

MGA Entertainment, the Los Angeles-based manufacturer of the popular Bratz doll line, is planning a 1.2-million square-foot mixed-use complex in the San Fernando Valley

The proposed development, located at 20000 West Prairie Street in Chatsworth, would rise upon a nearly 24-acre site which once served as a printing plant for the Los Angeles Times.  The project, which is being designed by Killefer Flammang Architects, calls for a campus-style setting that would include office space, rental apartments, and community-serving retail.

MGA Entertainment's new corporate headquarters would serve as the development's focal point.  The toy maker would relocate approximately 250 employees into an existing 250,000-square-foot facility.  The nondescript two-story structure would be substantially remodeled "with a theme reflective of MGA's products."  Proposed additions include a 7,500-square-foot employee cafeteria, a daycare center, outdoor patio space and significant water features and landscaping.  The building would also contain 43,000 square feet of leasable creative office space and limited assembly, production and showroom space.

Rainy Day Westlake Construction Update

As the supply of unclaimed parking lots decreases in Downtown Los Angeles, many developers have begun looking to the neighborhood's fringe for new infill opportunities.  During the past year, multiple projects have emerged in once unfathomable locations outside the Central City freeway ring, including proposed high-rise complexes in Chinatown and South Los Angeles.  However, the chief beneficiary of this shift is undoubtedly the long downtrodden Westlake neighborhood.  The predominantly immigrant community, once considered "Los Angeles' answer to the Champs-Élysées," is now experiencing a resurgence in commercial and market-rate residential development.

Arguably the most conspicuous addition to the neighborhood is Good Samaritan Hostpital's Medical Plaza and Outpatient Pavilion.  The seven-story structure, designed by architecture firm Ware Malcomb, will feature an exterior of shimmering blue-tinged glass.  Budgeted at $80 million, the Medical Plaza will eventually house a pharmacy, multiple clinics and a new ambulatory surgery center.  Additionally, the building will feature a ground-floor café and a window display focused on medical history.

The approximately 190,000-square-foot facility is scheduled to open in 2015.

New Look for Culver-City-Adjacent Mixed-User

Image: NMS Properties

Developer NMS Properties has unveiled a new rendering for the NMS Culver City, a residential-retail complex currently under construction along the border between Palms and Culver City.  The $63 million development, designed by Santa Monica-based Killefer Flammang Architects, will feature 131 apartments above 12,500 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space.  The low-rise structure is located at the northwest corner of Washington Boulevard and Hughes Avenue, directly across the street from both Sony Picture Studios and the Kirk Douglas Theater.

Construction crews recently began applying exterior materials to the building's six-story wooden frame.  However, progress on the low-rise development has fallen significantly behind its previously announced schedule.  At the time of groundbreaking, the project was expected to reach completion in mid-2014.  According to the NMS Properties website, opening is now scheduled for sometime during 2015.

Steel Sprouts for Hollywood's Dream Hotel

Six months after starting construction at 6417 Selma Avenue, rebar and steel beams now protrude above ground at the future site of Hollywood's Dream Hotel.  The approximately $50 million project from developer Five Chairs will offer 182 guest rooms, located within easy walking distance of major tourist destinations along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street.

Designs from Santa Monica-based Killefer Flammang Architects call for a 10-story structure, clad with glass and metal sidings.  The mid-rise building will feature several ancillary uses, including a banquet room, rooftop deck, and multiple food and beverage venues.  A vehicular alley way which abuts the hotel site is to be repurposed as patio dining for several of the hotel's restaurants.

The Dream Hollywood - scheduled for completion in late 2015 - is the first of several hospitality projects slated for the blocks located southwest of Hollywood/Vine Station.  Back in July, new hotel proposals emerged on both Hollywood and Cahuenga Boulevards.  Earlier this month, plans were filed for a 12-story inn on Wilcox Avenue.  Further down the pipeline, developer R.D. Olson may construct a fifth project on a Sunset Boulevard property currently occupied by a Jack in the Box restaurant.

A Closer Look at 7500 Sunset: Hollywood's Latest Mixed-User

Earlier this month, Curbed LA revealed renderings for a new residential-retail complex in Hollywood, intended to replace a cluster of one-story commercial buildings at 7500-7580 Sunset Boulevard.  The mixed-use development from West Hollywood-based Faring Capital would invigorate two sleepy blocks between Gardener and Curson Avenues with 236 luxury residential units above 30,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving retail and restaurant space.  Designed by Santa Monica's Killefer Flammang Architects, the project calls for two low-rise structures featuring high-quality finishes and ample outdoor amenities.

The western building - intended for a rectangular property between Sierra Bonita and Curson Avenues - would feature four stories of residential units above 16,000 square feet of street-level commercial space.  The design is intended to evoke a classic Hollywood look, with facade elements including sandstone and brass.  Upper levels are stepped back from Sunset Boulevard, creating private balconies above and a more intimate ground-level experience below.  Further in line with this emphasis on the pedestrian, vehicular access to the structure's underground parking garage would be located away from the building's Sunset Boulevard frontage.

Checking in on the Slow-Moving NMS@Culver City

After climbing upwards at a snail's pace for two years, the wooden frame of the Sony Studios-adjacent NMS@Culver City appears to be (mostly) complete.  Located at the northwest corner of Hughes Avenue and Washington Boulevard, the low-rise edifice will feature 131 rental apartments above 12,000 square feet of ground floor retail and restaurant space.  The $63 million project from locally-based NMS Properties has fallen significantly behind its previously announced development timeline, which called for the residential-retail complex to open in Spring of this year.  Now one month into Summer, the Killefer Flammang-designed building is still nowhere near ready for occupancy.

Further east, construction has run more smoothly on Downtown Culver City's two other mixed-use developments.  Greystar Real Estate Partners' 115-unit Access Culver City has finally peeked above ground level at the corner of Washington and National Boulevards.  Across the street, steel and concrete are quickly rising at the future site of the Platform, a retail and office project from the Runyon Group.  Both project may soon be joined by 500,000 square foot development from Lowe Enterprises, which would create apartments, hotel rooms, offices and retail space on Culver City Station's current park-and-ride lot.

Motor Avenue Apartment Complex Nearly Finished

Palms' Motor Avenue Apartments--a $30 million residential-retail complex from Frost/Chaddock Developers--is inching towards the finish line.  When we last dropped by in March, construction crews were applying the five-story structure's exterior finishes.  Three months later, the project more closely resembles renderings drafted by Santa Monica-based Killefer Flammang Architects.

The building's design is highlighted by a street-facing urban window, offering a "framed glimpse," into an internal courtyard.  The structure greets Motor Avenue with a galvanized sheet metal facade, to be supplemented by brick veneer at ground level.

Located a half-block north of Palms Boulevard, the Motor Avenue Apartments will create 115 studio-and-one-bedroom units above nearly 1,000 square feet of street-level commercial space.  As part of the SB1818 density bonus granted to the project, a total of 17 residential units will be reserved for low income households.  Additional features will include an outdoor atrium and an amenity-laden rooftop deck.

Sitting four blocks west of the Expo Line's future Palms Station, the low-rise development will provide just one parking stall per residential unit, in addition to three commercial spaces.  The 118-car garage will be located underground, with vehicular access provided via an alley way at the back of the property.

Blighted Koreatown Lot to be Replaced with Mixed-Use Development

Thanks to a plan from a locally based investor, a blighted property on the eastern fringe of Koreatown is slated to be replaced by a mixed-use residential community.  Century West Partners, developer of the K2LA apartment complex, is proposing a similar project immediately west of Lafayette Park.  Planned at the southeast corner of 6th Street and Virgil Avenue, the development entails a seven-story structure with 399 rental apartment units and 20,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space.  The project is being designed by Santa Monica-based Killefer Flammang Architects, the same firm that converted the adjacent Sheraton Townhouse into affordable housing in 1996.

New Pershing Apartments Begin to Take Form

More than one year after plans were announced to convert Downtown's Pershing Hotel into affordable housing, little remains of the 125 year old structure beyond its Victorian facade.  The approximately $15 million project, developed by the Skid Row Housing Trust, will eventually consist of 69 studio and one bedroom units, ranging from 350 - 500 square feet.  Designed by Killefer Flammang Architects, the New Pershing Hotel Apartments will rise five stories, with upper floors set back from the historic facade.  The desperately needed affordable housing complex will also activate its ground level with retail space and social service offices.  Residential amenities include a landscaped central courtyard and a community room with a kitchen.  Information displayed by the website of contractor Westport Construction indicates that the apartments are scheduled to open their doors this November.  The project is located opposite 5th Street from the New Genesis Apartments, another collaboration between KFA and SRHT which opened in 2012.

Image credit: Killefer Flammang Architects via Westport Construction Inc.

Two Residential-Retail Complexes Start Work in Westlake

After more than a year of inactivity, mixed-use construction is finally returning to City West.  In the shadow of Good Samaritan Hospital, two developers are now in the midst of site preparation for a pair of residential complexes that will infuse the Westlake neighborhood with more than 800 new market rate apartment units.

On a 4.1 acre property immediately northeast of the hospital, the Vancouver-based Holland Partner Group recently commenced work on a long delayed $125 million mixed-use development.  Known as the Bixel and Lucas project, plans call for a low-rise development with 648 residential units and 40,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space.  According designs drawn up in 2011, the project will consist of two phases, the first of which entails the conversion of a vacant eight-story office building at 1136 W. 6th Street into 42 apartments.  The second stage, which consists of approximately 600 residential units, calls for the construction of a new, six-story building that would occupy most of the project site.  Residential amenities would include a landscaped interior courtyard, recreation room, dog run, and parking accommodations for 762 vehicles.  As part of a density bonus granted by the city, Bixel and Lucas shall reserve 30 of its residential units very low income households.  The almost 925,000 square foot development comes on the heels of 1111 Wilshire, a significantly smaller building opened by HPG in early 2013.  Bixel and Lucas, like 1111 Wilshire, features a colorful facade designed by Nadel Architects.

Image credit: Nadel Architects

Astani's Latest Westlake Mixed-User Revealed

Image Credit: Astani Enterprises

The resurgent Westlake neighborhood is about to get another influx of market rate units, this time courtesy of Sonny Astani.  As reported by the Downtown News, the Beverly Hills-based developer plans to start construction later this year on Valencia, a mixed-use development to be located at 1501 Wilshire Boulevard.  Designed by Santa Monica-based Killefer Flammang Architects, the six-story building will contain 218 apartment units, 18 of which shall be reserved for low income households.  The project will also feature 4,400 square feet of street level retail and a 253-car garage.  Valencia utilized the city's bicycle parking ordinance to receive a 10% reduction in the required number of vehicle parking spaces.  The $60 million development will require the demolition of several low-rise commercial structures that currently occupy the 1.5 acre parcel at Wilshire and Valencia Avenue.

Astani's project arrives as the long neglected Westlake neighborhood is witnessing a revival of construction activity at all ends of the specturm.  One block east of Valencia, Good Samaritan Hospital is currently in the midst of an $80 million expansion project.  North of the hospital, Holland Partners intends to break ground this year on a 648-unit development at the corner of Bixel Street and Lucas Avenue.  The Seattle-based company also completed a 210-unit building at 1111 Wilshire Boulevard in early 2013.  Further west, Metro and developer McCormack Baron Salazar are planning the second phase of an affordable housing project on the land above Westlake/MacArthur Park Station.

LA's First Dream Hotel Finally Starts Work

According to a March report from Gray Construction, LA-based developer Five Chairs has broken ground on their long stalled hotel project near the intersection of Selma Avenue and Cahuenga Boulevard.  As a few keen observers have noticed, the shabby two-story parking structure which previously stood at 6417 Selma Avenue was quietly demolished earlier this year.  In its place will rise the Dream Hollywood Hotel, containing 182 guest rooms above street level commercial space.  Designed by Santa Monica's Killefer Flammang Architects, the 10-story Dream Hollywood will stand 125 feet tall, similar in height to many nearby historic structures.  The mid-rise building will feature a rooftop restaurant, banquet space, and a two-level parking garage.  An alley way on the eastern side of the project site will be transformed into a "lively outdoor dining and retail street."  The $45 million project will be the first West Coast location for the trendy Dream Hotel chain, a Wyndham brand based out of New York.  Last months' groundbreaking marks the end to six years of arrested development for Five Chairs, which first received approvals for a slightly smaller hotel project at the same location in 2008.  The report from Gray Construction indicates that work on the Dream Hollywood is expected to be complete in September 2015.

NMS@Culver City Making Slow, Steady Progress

Across the street from the Kirk Douglas Theater, the $63 million NMS@Culver City is still chugging along.  Designed by Santa Monica-based Killefer Flammang Architects, the finished product will stand six stories, containing 131 apartment units above 12,500 square feet of ground floor retail and restaurant space.  Previous reports indicated that the project was expected to open this Spring.  As the calendar clearly indicates, that's probably not happening.  Located less than one mile south of Culver City Station, NMS' project is one of three spurred into action by the 2012 return of rail service to the Westside.  Across the street from the station itself, mixed-use developments are currently underway from both the Runyon Group and Greystar Real Estate Partners.  A third project is proposed by Lowe Enterprises for the southwest corner of Washington and National Boulevards, currently the location of Culver City Station's park-and-ride lot.  Closer to the NMS development, plans are also in the works for an art deco inspired apartment building at the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Overland Avenue.

Palms' Motor Avenue Apartments Take Form

Check out some grainy cell phone pictures from a rainy afternoon in Palms.  The aptly named Motor Avenue Apartments, which broke ground just over one year ago, now rises five stories north of Palms Boulevard.  The $30 million project from locally-based Frost/Chaddock Developers includes 115 apartment units above ground level retail space.  The building's street-facing urban window provides a glimpse into an internal courtyard, while a rooftop atrium offers residents sweeping views of the Los Angeles basin.  Designed by Santa Monica's Killefer Flammang Architects, 3425 Motor Avenue stands in stark contrast to Palms' almost limitless stock of low-rise, stucco-clad residential buildings.  One of those stucco-clad neighbors is Palms Point, the fascinatingly ugly mixed-use project which recently opened across the street.  Taking the name "Motor Avenue," to heart, almost half of the building appears to be devoted to automobile parking.  We'll have to take the good with the bad, as developers look to cash in on the coming Expo Line station located a quarter-mile northeast.  When Palms Station opens in approximately two years, residents of the Westside's most densely populated neighborhood will have destinations such as Santa Monica, USC and Downtown LA just a short train ride away.

Hollywood's Dream Hotel Returns Bigger and Better

The Dream Hollywood.  Image from KFA.

Multiple high-rise projects next to the Capitol Records Building were dealt a setback this week courtesy of the California State Geological Survey, but other Hollywood developments continue to make progress despite persistent NIMBY pushback.  Near the intersection of Cahuenga Boulevard and Selma Avenue, plans for Los Angeles' first Dream Hotel are officially back in motion. To make that news even sweeter, Five Chairs Development has asked the city for a series of zoning variances which would allow them to increase the project's size.  Revised plans for the Dream Hollywood call for a 10-story, 182 room hotel, featuring commercial space at street level and a 65-vehicle subterranean parking structure.  Five Chairs would utilize the city's bicycle parking ordinance to substitute expensive on-site automobile parking with less costly bicycle accommodations.  The hotel would also lease parking spaces for guests in an off-site garage.  The Killefer Flammang designed structure was originally approved in 2008 as a 9-story, 120 room project known as Hotel Selma.  Although Five Chairs previously expected the hotel to open in Fall 2013, plans have only recently began working their way through the Department of Building and Safety.  This stretch of Selma Avenue is increasingly busy, with both the Columbia Square development and the Camden Hollywood under construction nearby.  The J.H. Snyder Company also plans a mid-rise office tower at 1601 Vine Street, but groundbreaking is indefinitely stalled due to the bureaucratic mess wrought by the demise of the Community Redevelopment Agency.

• Jan. 13, 2014 Agenda (CHNC)
• Hotel Selma (Killefer Flammang Architects)
• Hollywood Hotel Project Back on Track With New Operator (Los Angeles Times)

Argyle Apartments Sprucing Up East Hollywood

If you take a quick walk south from the Hollywood/Western subway station and the CIM Group's underwhelming retail center, you'll notice crews hard at work on a multi-family development at the southeast corner of Western Avenue and Carlton Way.  The Killefer Flammang designed Argyle Apartments started construction earlier this year and are expected to bring 40-units of affordable housing to the market by Spring 2014.  The $17.5 million project is the work of Gay & Lesbian Elder Housing (GLEH), a non-profit organization which buildings homes for low-income gay seniors (talk about your niche markets).  Amenities include a community room, outdoor barbeque grills and a children's play structure.  In addition to the conveniently located subway up the street, the Argyle Apartments are located just one block north of the under-construction Target at Sunset and Western.  Even more options for an already highly walkable neighborhood.

• The Argyle - Hollywood (GLEH)

Mar Vista Getting Eight Small Lot Homes

8 East Homes.  Image courtesy of Killefer Flammang Architects.

Mar Vista's stretch of Washington Place will soon get a nice shot in the arm, as a parcel at the southwestern corner of the intersection with East Boulevard will soon get eight mini-houses via the small lot subdivision.  The 8 East Homes will range from 1,600 to 2,000 square feet, each containing 3 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms.  They will also be equipped with roof top decks, offering panoramic views of the LA basin.  The project comes from Anejo Development with design work by Killefer Flammang Architects, the same team which created a four home development on Mar Vista's Beethoven Avenue back in 2011.  The developer has indicated that completion of the 8 East Homes is scheduled for mid-April of next year.

• 8 East Homes (Project Website)

Make Way for More Condos in Hollywood

7260 Hawthorn Avenue

Although Los Angeles' economy is still struggling to regain what was lost during the recession, the city's real estate market has been on a sharp upward trend over the past year.  With housing prices climbing, developers are beginning to think "condo," rather than "rental."  One example comes from Wiseman Development, in the form of a 4-story, 25-unit condo building at 7260 Hawthorn Avenue in Hollywood.  Documents submitted to the Department of City Planning indicate that locally based Killefer Flammang Architects are responsible for the project's design.  This would be the third Hollywood project designed by KFA, joining the proposed Hotel Selma and the Highland Selma Venture.