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.

A Glimpse into Playa Vista's Future Core

Take a hard look down Millennium Drive into the heart of Playa Vista's mixed-use construction binge.  The above image--sent yesterday by an e-mail tipster--portrays several of the structures which will eventually define the planned community's main commercial hub.

Near the center of the photograph, we see a construction crane raised high above Lincoln Property Company's Runway at Playa Vista.  The $260 million development will stretch from McConnell Avenue to Village Drive, offering wide sidewalks flanked by more than 200,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.  Tenants will reportedly include Whole Foods Market, CVS Pharmacy and Cinemark Theatres.

Above ground level, the Johnson Fain-designed complex will offer 420 apartments and 35,000 square feet of creative office space.  Residential and commercial buildings will occupy both sides of Millennium Drive, rising between four and five stories in height.

ICON Sherman Oaks Headed to Former Sunkist HQ Parking Lots

Although the Sunkist Growers Cooperative relocated north to Valencia last year, their former landlords have managed to land on their feet.  IMT Capital--owner of the local landmark at 14130 Riverside Drive--will soon reorient their property as a mixed-use development, converting adjacent parking lots into apartment buildings.

The residential-retail complex, to be known as ICON Sherman Oaks, calls for a total of 298 apartment units and slightly under 40,000 square feet of neighborhood serving commercial space.  A conceptual site plan from architectural firms Johnson Fain and Duane Border portrays a trio of low-rise residential buildings, in addition to a new, LA River-adjacent park.

Playa Vista's Mixed-Use Runway Filling Out

If you had stopped by the sprawling Playa Vista campus in early 2013, you would have been greeted with acres upon acres of empty land.  One year later, you can't miss the obvious signs of construction stretching east from the Ballona Wetlands.  With steel beams and concrete pillars now protruding above Jefferson Boulevard, Lincoln Property Company's Runway is scheduled to open in late 2014.  With a $260 million budget, the mixed-use development will create 420 apartment units, 35,000 square feet of office space, and 221,000 square feet of pedestrian-oriented retail.  A wide range of big name retailers have already signed on as tenants at Runway, including CVS Pharmacy, Cinemark Theatres, Whole Foods Market, and Wells Fargo and Chase Banks.  The 14-acre development was designed by Downtown-based Johnson Fain, and will be centered around an iconic lantern-shaped tower.

As previously mentioned, construction is in full swing throughout the Playa Vista neighborhood.  Hundreds of for sale homes, market rate apartments and senior housing units are underway on the lots surrounding Runway.  Closer to Centinela Avenue, developer Tishman Speyer broke ground on a 200,000 square foot office development in March, with an additional 400,000 square feet still in the pipeline.   Just across the street from Runway, an adaptive re-use project at 5456 McConnell Avenue is currently transforming a low-rise office building into a new charter middle school.

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.

Runway at Playa Vista Underway

Back on the Westside, construction is moving quickly on Lincoln Property Group's Runway development on Jefferson Boulevard.  The $200 million development broke ground in April, and is intended to provide a town center for the massive Playa Vista campus.  When completed in 2014, Runway will provide 420 residential units, 35,000 square feet of office space, and 221,000 square feet of retail space, served by a 1,400 car garage.  Announced tenants include CVS Pharmacy, Veggie Grill and Whole Foods Market.  The project was designed by locally-based architectural firm, Johnson Fain.

Runway's "lantern shaped tower," intended to be the central meeting space of the development.  Image from Lincoln Property Group.

Runway is located just down the street from a different proposal from Lincoln Property Group: the second phase of their Latitude 34 office campus, formerly known as Horizon.  The new office buildings would stand immediately north of the airplane hangar where Howard Hughes built the legendary Spruce Goose.  However, the timeline for the office project is still unclear.

Overhead map of the Latitude 34 expansion.  Image from Lincoln Property Group.

• Runway at Playa Vista (Official Website)
• Whole Foods to Anchor New Playa Vista City Center Project (Los Angeles Times)