Suburbia Alive and Well on Fairfax Avenue

America's most prolific home builder is once again plying its trade in Mid-City Los Angeles.  As pointed out by a few keen observers, Forth Worth-based developer D.R. Horton recently broke ground on a 60-lot residential subdivision at the corner of Sawyer Street and Fairfax Avenue.  Each new homes will stand two-stories, offering three and four bedroom floor plans ranging from 2,590 to 2,900 square feet in size.  Renderings from Santa Monica-based Van Tilburg, Banyard & Soderberg Architects portray a series of Spanish Revival style houses, inspiring one e-mail tipster to quip that it "looks like a piece of the Inland Empire has landed in Mid-City."  Asking prices will reportedly start at $1.2 million (ouch).

In previous years, the approximately ten-acre development site served as home for the classic KHJ AM Radio Towers.  Built in the mid-1930s, the towers were a well known landmark for commuters along the Santa Monica Freeway until their demolition last Spring.  For more on their history, check out this article from the Long Beach Report.

Small Lot Houses in the Works Near Helms Bakery

More low-rise action in the (sort of) Westside.  Just one block east of the soon to be reactivated Helms Bakery, plans are in the works for six houses via the city's small lot subdivision ordinance.  The Venice Boulevard Urban Dwellings, designed by the Los Angeles based Modative, would rise three stories at 8732 Venice Boulevard.  Floor plans range from 1,500 to 1,800 square feet.  The homes would front directly onto Venice Boulevard, putting their front doors just a short walk away from the increasingly busy Expo Line.  While Modative explicitly states that project was designed to emphasize pedestrian activity, they haven't forgotten about the automobile.  Each house provides two parking spaces, with vehicular access through an alley off of Sherbourne Drive.  Plans for the Venice Boulevard Urban Dwellings were originally submitted for review in 2007, but the proposal sat dormant amidst the recession.  It looks like things are now back on track, as the project is once again wending its way through City Planning.  With construction already underway on a pair of mixed-users next to Culver City Station, perhaps we're seeing the beginnings of something special in the Mid-City neighborhood.