Work Quietly Starting on Downtown Condo Projects

In response to the resurgent Downtown Los Angeles condo market, a new wave of for-sale housing is quietly taking off in the South Park neighborhood.

On Thursday, workers installed protective fencing around the half-acre parking lot at 1050 South Grand Avenue, future home of a $100 million condominium tower from developer Trumark Urban.  The 24-story building, designed by local architecture firm HasonLA, will contain 151 residential units above a retail and parking podium.  One laborer at the development site stated that construction is scheduled to commence before the end of December.  However, previous coverage from the Downtown News points to an early 2015 start date.

The project, formerly known as the Glass Tower, originally received approvals in 2007.  However, like many other Downtown condominium developments, the tower found itself unable to move forward in the midst of the global recession.

First Renderings of Mack Urban's South Park Development

Although Mack Urban's upcoming South Park developments bring the exciting potential for new high-rises near the AT&T Center, the project also features a substantial low-rise component along Pico Boulevard.  Here is a first look, thanks to a presentation from the DLANC website.  Set to rise on adjacent parking lots between Olive and Hill Streets, this phase of the project consists of two seven-story buildings containing 360 condominiums and approximately 6,400 square feet of ground floor commercial space.  Designed by AC Martin Partners, the project features 23 townhouse units, in addition to standard residential amenities such as an outdoor pool and an on-site gym.  Residents will be served by a 382-car garage, with vehicular ingress and egress provided via an alley way at the center of the project site.  Automobile accommodations will be supplemented by 403 bicycle parking spaces.  This section of Pico Boulevard, currently surrounded by surface parking lots and nondescript commercial buildings, is poised for significant changes in the near future.  Besides Mack Urban's low-rise project, similar mixed-use developments are in the works from Jade Enterprises, the Wolff Company, and 4D Development.

Mack Urban Wants to Start With Hotel and Residential Towers

Last week, the Downtown News reported that newly formed developer Mack Urban plans to construct hotel and residential towers on surface parking lots surrounding the AT&T Center.  According to a recent case filing with the Department of City Planning, the $750 million mixed-use project's first buildings will be two high-rise structures at the northeast corner of 12th Street and Grand Avenue.  The first tower, containing 461 residential units and 8,700 square feet of ground level retail space, would rise 41 stories at 1120 Grand Avenue.  The second, a 300-room hotel with 8,610 square feet of commercial space, would stand 12 stories high.  Designed by AC Martin, the joint venture between Mack Urban and AECOM would join the Wilshire Grand Center in utilizing the Los Angeles Fire Department's newly relaxed rooftop helipad policy.  Representatives of AC Martin previously informed the Architect's Newspaper that at least one building in the decade-long project would feature a "'sculpted' top."