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The now outdated design of 801 Olive Street, by GMP Architects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

Introducing South Park's Latest Low-Rise Mixed-User

For decades, the Los Angeles Convention Center was neighbored by sprawling surface parking lots and decrepit commercial structures.  Now, the explosive growth of the South Park district is quickly transforming previously desolate blocks into a thriving mixed-use community.  The latest addition to the development pipeline is a low-rise residential-retail complex, proposed for an approximately half-acre parking lot at 1400 S. Figueroa Street.  Check out the details, via a document from DLANC's Planning and Land Use Management Committee.

Plans submitted to the city last month by developer DHG Family Trust call for a seven-story structure that would contain 106 residential dwellings and parking accommodations for 114 vehicles and 126 bicycles.  At ground level, 1400 S. Figueroa Street would feature 1,400 square feet of retail and restaurant space, plus either four ground floor live/work units or an additional 3,350 square feet of commercial space.  The project would offer standard residential amenities including as a fitness center, indoor-outdoor gathering space, and a pool and spa deck.

Designed by Downtown-based GMP Architects, the low-rise structure would feature aluminum paneling to match the aesthetics of the nearby Staples Center, in addition to red and blue colored elements.  Standing approximately 80 feet tall, the building would closely match the height profile of the adjacent AVANT Apartments.  The potentially LEED certifiable development would build upon streetscape improvements made by its next-door neighbors, adding widened, landscaped sidewalks along Figueroa Street.  To further this pedestrian emphasis, vehicular ingress and egress would be restricted to the alley way at the back of the property.

Final Phase of South Park's Avant Apartments Rising

As South Park's latest mixed-use development starts work on Olympic Boulevard, why not head a few blocks south to check in on an earlier arrival to the Downtown development party?  Directly across the street from the LA Convention Center, construction on the second and final phase of the $170 million Avant Apartments has now progressed to the fifth floor above ground.  Located at 1500 South Figueroa Street, the mixed-use development from Century West Partners will top out at seven stories, containing 193 market rate apartments above 9,500 square feet of street level retail space.  Designed by Downtown-based GMP Architects (801 Olive Street), the low-rise building will offer future residents two floors of underground parking, in addition to amenities including a pool, a spa, and a five minute walk to Pico Station.  No need to mention the enviable rooftop view of the expanding Downtown skyline.  1500 Figueroa Street will reportedly be completed sometime in late 2014 or early 2015.  Phase one of Avant, which consists of two buildings linked by a pedestrian bridge, is currently pre-leasing for its first move-ins next month.  That portion of the project creates a cumulative 247 apartment units, in addition to 11,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space along Figueroa Street.

1500 Figueroa Street; Image Credit: Avant South Park

Squat Apartment Building Heads to the Condo Canyon

West LA could be getting a new residential tower, but Westwood's Condo Canyon continues to see shorter wood-frame projects coming out of the er....woodworks.  According to an e-mail tipster, a trio of mid-century apartment buildings at 10763 - 10787 Wilshire Boulevard were demolished late last year.  In their place, a six-story, luxury apartment complex designed by GMP Architects (Avant, 801 Olive Street) shall rise.  10777 Wilshire would contain 60 residential units above a 150-stall underground parking garage.  Amenities include a fitness center, meditation garden, concierge service and even an on-site salon.  A rooftop patio would provide outdoor kitchen space with spectacular views of Westwood and the Santa Monica Mountains (check out renderings after the jump).  Albeit a little off the main pedestrian corridor, the project's location sits within easy walking distance of the restaurants and stores within Westwood's busy commercial hub.  On the other hand, who can afford to live in a place with concierge service?  Promotional literature from CBRE boasts that units in some of the nearby buildings command rents in excess $10,000 per month.  10777 Wilshire probably won't hit five figures, but it certainly won't be cheap.  It's also worth mentioning that this is not the first time that development has been planned for these parcels.  Way back in 2007, Curbed LA reported that French designer Philippe Starck had drawn up plans for a 27-unit luxury condominium building on the site.  That not-so-attractive concept went nowhere amid the recession, but perhaps GMP's design will have better luck in 2014.

Glassy New Look for 801 Olive Street

Courtesy of the DLANC Planning and Land Use Committee, I offer you updated renderings of Carmel Partners' proposed tower at 801 Olive Street.  Set to rise 27-stories, the GMP Architects designed tower would contain 363 residential units above a four-story podium.  The building activates the corner of 8th and Olive Streets with 10,000 combined square feet of retail and restaurant space.  Not a bad complement for the future Whole Foods Market across the street.  The tower's accessible rooftop would feature an outdoor pool, a fire pit, and an enclosed lounge with incredible views of the city (check out a rendering after the jump).  If you want to take in the view a little bit closer to the ground, 801 Olive Street would also feature outdoor sky decks on its 6th and 20th floors.  Other residential amenities include a fitness room and a landscaped terrace atop the building's 389-vehicle garage.  However, Carmel's proposed tower may wind up being overshadowed by more ambitious plans coming out of Canada.  The Vancouver-based Onni Group recently filed plans with the city for multiple Downtown high-rise projects, including a 50-story tower on a surface parking lot at 820 Olive Street.  It's difficult to imagine this current pedestrian dead zone as a thriving mixed-use corridor, but all of these projects currently in the pipeline could make it happen.

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.

Downtown's Libeskind Killing Avant Reveals Itself

Scaffolding is coming down, and the stucco is coming out on the first phase of Century West Partners' Avant mixed-use development.  The GMP Architects designed project, which began construction in September 2012, will bring just over 240 apartments and 11,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space to the growing South Park neighborhood in 2014.  A second phase of the project broke ground earlier this year, and will create an extra 193 units and 9,500 square feet of retail by early 2015.  The seven-story complex stands on surface parking lots previously intended for a 43-story high-rise designed by bespectacled architect Daniel Libeskind.  While the design of the now cancelled tower project had its own share of critics, Avant is a posterchild for Downtown's low-rise building spree during the past calendar year.  These projects have raised concerns amongst community stakeholders about lost opportunities for high-rise towers, and even prompted a proposed interim control ordinance regulating wood-frame construction from 14th District Councilman Jose Huizar.  Avant, which utilizes wood-frame construction, occupies two parcels directly across the street from the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Proposed Mid-Wilshire Towers Coming Back from the Dead?

Wilshire Crescent Heights (L) and Wilshire Skyline (R).  Images from GMP Architects and EPT Design.

The Mid-Wilshire area has been on quite a roll in 2013.  Construction is well underway on several new mixed-use developments and the J.H. Snyder Company has announced plans for a 13-story office tower overlooking Hancock Park.  To top that, upwards of $1 billion in upgrades are potentially coming to LACMA by way of a new Motion Picture Museum (designed by Renzo Piano and Zoltan Pali) and the proposed redesign of the main campus by Peter Zumthor.

The Texas based Hanover Company may be looking to add to this momentum, as two of their long dormant proposals have recently shown their first signs of life in years.  Earlier this month, Hanover received a six year extension on their approvals for a 21-story building at the northeast corner of Wilshire and Crescent Heights.  The tower, designed by GMP Architects, would stand 255 feet tall, containing 158 residential units above nearly 7,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space.

One block west, Hanover received extended approvals in June for the Wilshire Skyline, proposed for the northwest corner of Wilshire and La Jolla.  The 16-story tower would stand 201 feet tall, comprised of 143 residences atop 4,800 square feet of ground level restaurant space.  The project was designed nearly ten years ago by Nadel Architects.

However, groundbreaking does not appear to be imminent for either tower, as construction permits have yet to be issued.  Still, it is encouraging to see more ambitious projects re-emerging as the Los Angeles economy starts getting wind back into its sails.