Low-Rise Apartments Begin Work in Westlake

In the latest example of investment dollars spilling outside the Central City freeway ring, construction has started on another mixed-use development in Westlake.

Last month, Los Angeles-based Canfield Development broke ground on a low-rise apartment building on a vacant half-acre lot at 1329-1419 West Seventh Street.  The residential-retail complex, first reported in 2013, will consist of a seven-story structure featuring 87 studio, one-and-two-bedroom apartments above nearly 1,000 square feet of ground-level retail space.  Plans filed with the city call for multiple communal amenities, including a 135-car garage, an on-site fitness center, and a third-level recreation deck .  The project is also the beneficiary of a 25% density bonus due to its inclusion of five very-low income housing units.

Like many recent developments west of the Harbor Freeway, the Seventh Street Apartments will employ wood-frame construction and a painted plaster finish.  Designs from Nadel Architects also incorporate substantial glass and metal paneling to obscure two above-grade parking levels.

A precise completion date for the project is currently unclear.  The Seventh Street Apartments are the third market-rate apartment complex to break ground in Westlake since the beginning of 2014, following two larger developments located on Wilshire Boulevard and Sixth Street.

1402 W. 7th Street (All images: Canfield Development and Nadel Architects)

87 Apartments Coming to Westlake

The bustling Westlake neighborhood will soon get an influx of new residential units, per a recent filing with City Planning.  Check it out:

1419 W. 7^th St.; Westlake

The project includes 87 multi-family residential units and approx. 900 sq. ft. of commercial floor area in the construction of a new seven-story mixed-use residential building. The 87 residential units will include 82 market rate units and 5 units reserved for very low income households....up to 135 parking spaces (2 retail spaces, 133 residential spaces) on two levels...an approximately 1,003 sq. ft. gym, 1,200 sq. ft. of recreation room, and 1,962 sq. ft. of recreation deck on the third level.

The party behind this project appears to be Canfield Development.  The locally based developer has built a short roster of low rise apartments in some of the more upscale neighborhoods of the city.  This time they picked a location on the far opposite end of the gentrification spectrum, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.  Westlake has incredible food, great pedestrian activity, a Red/Purple line subway station, and perhaps the best park in Los Angeles.