Introducing Altitude at Howard Hughes Center

With thousands of residential units flooding into the massive Playa Vista campus, it appears that the lucrative multi-family action has started flowing south towards LAX.  Courtesy of TCA Architects, take a first look at Altitude, a low-rise residential development now under construction at Westchester's Howard Hughes Center.  Consisting of two six-story buildings at 5900 and 6040 Center Drive, the project from Equity Residential will offer a combined total of 545 studio, one and two-bedroom apartment units.

The architecture of the residential development is described as a "contemporary interpretation of art deco," and is designed to reflect the aeronautical history of the Howard Hughes Center's namesake.  Sweeping roof lines and canopies mimic the look of airplane wings, while glass towers at important corners emanate a campus-like presence.

Plans Filed for Four New Mixed-Users in Downtown

One year after announcing ambitious Downtown expansion plans, Barry Shy is officially putting his money where his mouth is.  Over the past several weeks, SB Properties has filed plans with the city for four new residential developments, including multiple high-rise towers and an adaptive reuse project.  The four mixed-use complexes are being designed by Los Angeles-based DT Architects, and will invigorate current pedestrian dead zones along Broadway, Main and Hill Streets with approximately 1,000 market rate apartment units and street-level commercial space.

Mixed-Use Development to Replace Westside Family YMCA

West Los Angeles' Sawtelle Corridor has received a new lease on life in recent years, as trendy stores and restaurants have poured into the historic Japanese American enclave.  Now, a new development could add extra pedestrian traffic to the busy commercial corridor.  According to a recent LADCP case filing, a new mixed-use development is proposed at 1947 Sawtelle Boulevard, with plans calling for 73 apartment units and an unspecified amount of street-level commercial space.  The low-rise project would require the demolition of the West Los Angeles YMCA, a three-story structure which has stood at the corner of Sawtelle and La Grange Avenue since the early 1970s.

Like most large scale developments in West Los Angeles, traffic congestion will likely reign as the chief concern of future neighbors.  Two mixed-use projects planned near Expo Line stations at Sepulveda Boulevard and Bundy Drive have faced opposition from some Westside residents over their anticipated impacts on already-gridlocked streets.  One block north of the YMCA redevelopment, a proposed apartment complex recently cut its ground-floor retail component, citing traffic concerns raised by neighbors.

High-Rise Complex Proposed at Hollywood and La Brea

7107 Hollywood Boulevard

As the developer of the controversial Millennium Hollywood proudly declares its property fault-free, another skyline altering project will soon go before the neighborhood's notorious NIMBY gauntlet.  Last week, plans were submitted to the city for a new mixed-use complex at the northwest corner of Hollywood Boulevard and La Brea Avenue.  The proposed development would consist of a "six to twenty-six story building," containing retail space and an unspecified number of residential units within approximately 466,000 square feet of floor space.

The two-acre development site - currently home to the nomadic MOSAIC church - lies just outside the southernmost boundary of the Hollywood fault zone.  The exact route of the fault line has become a contentious issue over the past several years, as outspoken neighbors have fought several proposed high-rise buildings on the basis of earthquake safety.  Developments falling within 500 feet of an active fault line require stringent seismic testing, in order to avoid the potential dangers posed by a surface rupture.  In this particular case, a video flyover produced by the Los Angeles Times portrays the fault zone as running a half-block north of the project site, ending near Franklin Avenue.

Westwood Boulevard Office Building to Make Way for Apartments

Low-slung Westwood Boulevard is slowly but surely raising its height profile.  According to new environmental documents from the Department of City Planning, locally-based Halco Management intends to replace a mid-century office building near Olympic Boulevard with a new residential-retail complex.

Plans call for a low-rise structure at 2134 Westwood Boulevard, containing 64 studio and one bedroom apartments, 5,500 square feet of retail space, and a two-level subterranean parking garage.  Based on information from the Albert Group Architects, Halco intends to market the project as housing for UCLA undergraduate and graduate students.  The development would also cater to working parents, offering an on-site childcare center.

The mixed-use building's design would feature an uneven roof line, as stipulated by elements of Los Angeles' zoning code.  Due to the inclusion of a six-unit low-income housing component, the project would rise five stories along Westwood Boulevard, a slight increase from the property's current height limit.   Moving east, the building would step down to two stories along an adjacent single family zone.  This back section of the development would also feature terraced roofs with significant landscaping, providing additional privacy for the adjacent houses

Halco also plans a similar residential-retail development further north, near the intersection of Westwood and Santa Monica Boulevards.  That project would replace a stretch of low-rise commercial structures with a second five-story mixed-use complex, featuring 71 apartments above 6,000 square feet of ground-level commercial space.

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.

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.