Carmel Partners Revising Plans for South Park Tower

The now outdated design of 801 Olive Street, by GMP Architects

Nine months after revealing plans for a new residential tower in South Park, Carmel Partners is switching up the playbook.  According to a memo issued earlier this month by the Department of City Planning, the San Francisco-based developer's proposed high-rise building at 801 Olive Street has been redesigned by a new, unspecified architect.  Although the fundamentals of the project remain the same (363 apartments above 10,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and a four-level parking podium), the retooled development plan calls for a tower that is both taller and slimmer than previously approved.  The now rectangular-shaped building is set to rise 33 stories (352 feet), representing a six-floor increase from the previous design by GMP Architects.

801 Olive Street is one of several skyline-altering developments planned for the northern section of South Park, including a 50-story condo project from the Onni Group and a 33-story apartment tower from CIM Group.  However, it is a more vertically challenged neighbor that has arguably generated the biggest news for the neighborhood.  Carmel Partners' seven-story G8 development is slated to bring 700 apartments to the Downtown market, a larger total than any of its sky-scraping neighbors.  More importantly, the low-rise building will feature a 42,000 square foot Whole Foods Market when it opens in 2015.  The high-end grocer has been listed amongst the most sought-after retailers for Downtown residents in recent years, perhaps second only to the elusive Trader Joe's.

Meet South Park's Newest Tower: 801 Olive Street

801 Olive Street.  Image from GMP Architects and Carmel Partners.

San Francisco based Carmel Partners made headlines when they restarted the 8th and Grand development, and now they have plans to give their 700-unit monolith a glassy high-rise neighbor.  801 Olive Street, which was first spotted moving through City Planning back in October, would stand 27-stories and approximately 317 feet tall.  The GMP Architects designed tower would contain 363 apartments and 10,000 square feet of ground level commercial space.  Residential units would rise above a five-story parking podium, which stretches south from the intersection of 8th and Olive Streets.  801 Olive would feature an accessible rooftop, offering residents an outdoor pool, a fire pit, and a lounge with spectacular views of the Downtown skyline.  Other amenities include a landscaped courtyard and a fitness center, both located atop the 389-car garage.  While critics will almost certainly point out the conspicuous podium, 801 Olive does offer a reasonable 1:1 ratio between residential units and parking spaces.  Slowly but surely, developers are figuring out that people actually will walk in LA (and pick up a $250 jaywalking ticket in the process).  Carmel Partners' newest project sits at the center of South Park's recent development boom, with several other mixed-use projects under construction nearby.  Hollywood based CIM Group also has a residential tower in the pipeline at the northeast corner of 9th and Hope Streets, although a timeline for that project has yet to be specified.

Residential Tower Slated for 8th and Olive

801 S Olive Street, outlined in red.

Back in August, the Downtown LA Examiner reported that the parking lot at the southwestern corner of 8th and Olive Streets was in escrow.  It appears that the sale has now closed, as plans were filed earlier this month for a 27-story mixed-use tower at 801 S Olive Street.  The building would contain 363 apartments above 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail space.  Quite a change of pace for a corner that has served as a parking lot for over 60 years.

While the dated Google Earth image seen above would indicate otherwise, this parcel is actually located in the heart of South Park's recent development boom.  Just across the street, San Francisco based Carmel Partners is building a 700-unit apartment complex at 8th and Grand, with Whole Foods signed on as a ground level tenant.  Two blocks west, the Ratkovich Company plans to start construction on a $160 million remodel of the dated Macy's Plaza in early 2014.

801 Olive would also join a couple of tall neighbors currently under construction: the Onni Group's 33-story mixed-use building at 888 Olive Street, and Wood Partners' 22-story 8th and Hope Tower.  CIM Group has also submitted plans to the Department of Building and Safety for a residential tower at the corner of 9th and Hope, although the details of that proposal remain unclear at this point in time.  It seems like new high-rises are popping up all over Downtown these days.  Perhaps the recent fuss over the neighborhood's low-rise building spree was much ado about nothing.

Some of the projects invigorating South Park.  Clockwise from the top right corner: The Bloc, 8th and Hope, 8th and Grand, 888 Olive, and a possibly outdated image of 9th and Hope.  Images from the Ratkovich Group, DTLA Rising, Carmel Partners, Martinez + Cutri and CIM Group.

• 801 S Olive Street (LA City Planning)
• Rumor Has It... (Downtown LA Examiner)