New Details Emerge for Massive SoLA Village

Image credit: Gensler and P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S via Los Angeles Times

This past June, Glendale-based PRH LA Mart shocked many observers when they announced plans for SoLA Village, a $1 billion development intended for two sprawling parking lots adjacent to South Broadway's REEF Building.  Consisting of 1.6 million square feet of new floor area, architectural renderings from Gensler and P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S portray shimmering condo towers and new apartment buildings along the path of Metro's Blue Line.  Although the project remains years away from groundbreaking, a new environmental study released by LADCP sheds light on both the timeline and the scale of the development program.

Collosal Mixed-Use Development Planned Near Reef Building

Looming on the southern fringe of Downtown Los Angeles, the 10 freeway has stood for more than a half-century as both a physical and psychological barrier to the neighborhood's resurgence.  Now, a large mixed-use development proposed for the parking lots surrounding Broadway's Reef Building could finally provide the impetus for change.  According a May case filing from LADCP, plans call for the construction of 1,449 residential units and a 208-key hotel, supplemented by 85,000 square feet of retail uses.  Located at 1900 and 1933 South Broadway, the project would also include 40,000 square feet of restaurant space, a 30,000 square foot grocery store, and an expansion of the 12-story Reef Building.  Occupying 7.5 acres of land along the path of Metro's Blue line, the existing parking lots constitute a major dead zone in a neighborhood that doesn't otherwise lack for pedestrian traffic.  As reported by the Los Angeles Times, the Reef and its surrounding parcels are owned by PRH LA, a Glendale-based limited liability corporation.  The project site is located directly across the street from the LA County Metropolitan Courthouse, and a short walk from LATTC's slow-moving expansion project on Grand Avenue.

One important side note: I call dibs on the giant chair.

Mixed-Use Dreams for Blue Line Adjacent Parcels

South of the Downtown freeway ring, blighted properties flanking the light rail Blue Line are beginning to catch overflow from South Park's recent development binge.  Renderings were unveiled last year for the Grand Metropolitan, a proposed residential-retail complex near LATTC.  Now, a document from the Los Angeles City Council indicates that development may also be coming for a cluster of parcels adjacent to the Reef Building, a 12-story structure located at 1933 S. Broadway.  The owners of the Reef Building, which is alternatively known as the LA Mart, have requested a general plan amendment that would allow them to both retain the mid-rise tower and construct a mixed-use development on the surrounding 7.5 acre parking lots.  According to the Los Angeles Times, the parking lots and the mid-century tower are both the property of PRH LA, a Glendale-based limited liability corporation which paid roughly $55 million for the land in 2012.  Their exact plans for the parcels are currently unclear, although most recent developments in the neighborhood have been multi-family residential buildings.  A half-mile west, developer G.H. Palmer Associates is nearing completion on the Lorenzo, a 910-unit apartment complex located next to the Expo Line's 23rd Street Station.