Greenland Group Gets Serious about Metropolis

The Metropolis site, seen from the intersection of James M Wood Boulevard and Francisco Street.

When the Shanghai based Greenland Group announced their intent to purchase the long delayed Metropolis development in June 2013, many details from the press release were muddled in the Mandarin-to-English translation.  IDS Realty quickly stepped in to put the kibosh on the rumored sales price of $1 billion, but all parties involved have remained adamant that the project would be going vertical as soon as possible.  It appears that the Chinese developer remains true to its word, with the project's first buildings set to be a 19-story hotel at 899 Francisco Street and a 38-story apartment tower next door at 889 Francisco.  According to permits filed with LADBS, the hotel's guest rooms would rise above a four-story podium containing event, retail and restaurant space.  The residential building would contain 290 units, stacked atop a four-story parking garage.  Both towers would also feature two levels of subterranean parking.

Curbed LA recently caused a stir when they provided renderings of two Gensler-designed Metropolis towers via structural engineering firm Saiful Bouquet.  Although those renderings have been verified as outdated, they do hint at the the intended scope of the project.  While perhaps not as grand in scale as some of the Greenland Group's developments across the Pacific, the first phase of Metropolis will still make a noticeable impact on the Downtown skyline.  On the other hand, Gensler has their work cut out for them at ground level.  Isolated from the activity of LA Live and sandwiched between the 110 freeway and series of parking garages, the Metropolis site does not easily lend itself towards pedestrian activity.  That doesn't bode well for the effort to transform Francisco Street into Downtown LA's wannabe French Quarter.

• Property Activity Report (LADBS)
• Are These the Latest Renderings for Downtown's Re-Jumpstarted Metropolis Megaproject? (Curbed LA)
• Metropolis Rendered in the LA Skyline (Building Los Angeles)

Metropolis Rendered in the LA Skyline

Images from Kilograph

When IDS Realty put the long stalled Metropolis development on the market earlier this year, they commissioned a series of renderings showing the approximate size and scope of the project's full build out.  The 6.3 acre site is entitled for a total of 1.65 million square feet of hotel, residential, office and retail uses divided between five towers.  The completed development would include roughly 400,000 square feet of office space and up to 1,676 hotel rooms.  Entitlements also allow for some of those hotel rooms to be replaced with as many as 555 residential units.  The towers could stand as tall as 456-feet above grade.

Viewed from across the 110 freeway.  Image from Kilograph

As reported by the LA Times, IDS recently entered into discussions with Chinese based Greenland Holdings Group about a potential purchase of the site.  The exact price of the land was unclear, but a press release from Greenland indicated that the project could cost up to $1 billion to complete.  With entitlements already in place, construction would begin relatively soon after completion of the deal.

The Metropolis project is critical to the proposed "Avenue of the Angels," which seeks to transform Francisco Street into a active pedestrian corridor linking the Financial District to the Sports and Entertainment District.  Developer AEG envisions a similar atmosphere to that of San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter, book ended by the Wilshire Grand Tower in the north and LA Live in the south.

Artists concept of the "Avenue of the Angels."  Image from Metropolis.

• Metropolis (Official Website)
• Downtown LA 'Metropolis' Deal Under Negotiation (Los Angeles Times)
• Plans for "LA's French Quarter" Between South Park and FiDi (Curbed LA)