Construction Crane Arrives at Blossom Plaza

After a half-year of excavation (and finding the Zanja Madre in the process), developer Forest City is now ready to go vertical in Chinatown.  Earlier this month, a tower crane sprouted at Blossom Plaza, the once-stalled residential-retail complex that will sit adjacent to the Gold Line's elevated Chinatown Station.  Rising five stories, the Johnson Fain-designed project will feature 237 apartment units, 20,000 square feet of street-level commercial space and a 449-stall parking garage.  Renderings show a retail paseo bisecting the $100 million development, feeding directly into a public plaza at the foot of the neighboring light rail station.

Several nearby properties are also the sites of proposed or under-construction projects, as Chinatown plays catch-up to the rest of Downtown's development scene.  A short walk north, construction is underway on a $20 million remodel of the 34-acre Los Angeles State Historic Park.  On a vacant lot across Spring Street, developer EVOQ Properties plans an ambitious project that could yield twin high-rise towers.  These developments come on the heels of earlier improvements, including the Metro at Chinatown Senior Lofts and the recently-opened Jia Apartments.

In addition to Blossom Plaza, Forest City harbors ambitions inside the Central City freeway loop.  This past April, the Cleveland-based developer revealed plans for two low-rise developments along the Broadway corridor.  Designed by Harley Ellis Devereaux, the two buildings would comprise 391 apartment units and roughly 16,000 square feet of ground floor retail and restaurant space.

High-Rise Towers May Sprout Next to Chinatown Station

Stranded north of the 101 Freeway, Chinatown has largely missed out on the Central City's post-millennial renaissance.  However, with the arrival of new mixed-use developments and a $20 million remodel of the Cornfield Park, it appears that Downtown's northernmost nabe has finally hit its stride.  Now, the stage is set for Chinatown to welcome an ambitious project that could literally stand head and shoulders above the neighborhood.

EVOQ Properties, owner of the Arts District's Alameda Square complex, plans to construct a mixed-use development that would replace a vacant 5.24-acre property near the Cornfield Park.  Located at the intersection of Spring and College Streets, the development site was once a Union Pacific rail yard, and lies directly across the street from the Gold Line's elevated Chinatown Station.  The project, known as College Station, could move forward under one of two different development programs.

Chinatown's Colorful Blossom Plaza Pushing Dirt

It may have taken a decade to get here, but the former Little Joe's restaurant is gone, and shovels have hit the dirt in Chinatown.  The long awaited Blossom Plaza mixed-user finally got rolling last year, and since then construction crews have busied themselves prepping the site for excavation.  Designed by local firm Johnson Fain, the $100 million project from Forest City Enterprises will rise five stories, creating 237 apartments and approximately 20,000 square feet of neighborhood serving retail space.  The project will offer a direct connection to the Gold Line's Chinatown Station via a 17,000 square foot pedestrian plaza on the eastern side of the property.  Should that easy transit link not appeal to you, don't worry: the mixed-use structure will also contain a 449 stall parking garage, including 175 spots reserved for Metro passengers.  Regardless of your preferred mode of transportation, the development of the tracts of underutilized land surrounding Chinatown Station can't happen fast enough.

Forest City, which took over development of Blossom Plaza back in 2011, has also set their sights on on the opposite side of Downtown LA.  The Cleveland-based developer recently paid $27 million to acquire two parcels near the Herald-Examiner Building which were previously entitled for a pair of Morphosis-designed residential towers.  While Thom Mayne's firm is reportedly out as the design architect, Forest City's new vision for the project has yet to be made public.

Mixed-Use Action Near the Cornfield

All images from T.A. Patty Development, Inc.

All of a sudden, real estate around Chinatown Station seems to be a hot commodity.  Forest City finally started work on the long delayed Blossom Plaza back in October, and now another nearby mixed-use development has shown its first sign of life in years.  T.A. Patty Development is currently seeking the approval of a vesting tentative tract for the Chinatown Lofts, pegged for the triangular shaped parcel at 1101 N Main Street.  The developer's website shows a six-story, 318 unit building designed by Steinberg Architects, including 18 live/work spaces at ground-level.  Despite the adjacent light rail station and the Cornfield neighborhood's non-existent parking requirement, the project would include a large 618 car garage.  If and when the Chinatown Lofts come to fruition, it will be the result of nearly a full decade of patience and hard work.  T.A. Patty submitted the project's EIR way back in 2005, not long after the Pasadena - Union Station segment of the Gold Line first opened.  Most of Downtown LA has grown by leaps and bounds since then; perhaps the stars have finally aligned themselves for Chinatown as well.

Old Lucia Tower Site Going Low-Rise

A Chinatown parcel that once harbored high-rise ambitions instead may give way for something much shorter.  Earlier this month, LA City Planning received an application for a mixed-use development at the northwest corner of Cesar E Chavez and Grand Avenues.  The project's case filing calls for a seven-story building, containing 225 residential units, 8,000 square feet of ground floor retail, and a two-level subterranean parking garage.  Back in 2006, the Downtown LA News reported that siblings Larry and Ralph Cimmarusti were working on plans for a 31-story mixed-use tower at this location.  The Lucia Tower, named for their grandmother, would have created 200 condominiums above a six-story podium on a lot sandwiched between G.H. Palmer's Orsini Apartments and the 101 Freeway.  Unfortunately, that vision was crushed by the collapse of the real estate market, just like so many other Downtown proposals from the mid-2000's.  Now it seems that the project is back in a form that actually has a shot at getting built.

The never built Lucia Tower, designed by the Archeon Group

• Case Information Summary Sheet (LA City Planning)
• The New Italian Job (Downtown LA News)