Watch USC Build Its Mixed-Use Village in Real Time

Earlier this month, USC officially broke ground on its long-awaited Village development.  The first phase of the $650 million project will expand the existing campus north by 15 acres, adding a combination of student housing, academic facilities and community-serving retail space.  As has been the case with other recent capital investments, USC Facilities Management has set up a live-feed camera focused on project, allowing Trojans and all other interested parties to stay up-to-date on the Village's progress.  A battalion of dump trucks was recently seen streaming through the construction site, hauling away dirt in preparation for foundation work.

When completed in late 2017, the first phase of the Village will yield new academic facilities, housing for up to 2,700 students, and 115,000 square feet of street-level commercial stalls.  The low-rise buildings - designed by Harley Ellis Devereaux in the school's signature Collegiate Gothic style - will be oriented around an expansive central plaza.  Trader Joe's, the trendy grocer which consistently eludes nearby Downtown Los Angeles, was recently announced as a ground-floor tenant.

Later phases of the development would tackle two adjacent city blocks, encompassing an additional 15 acres between Vermont and McClintock Avenues.  A full build out of the Village will carry an approximately $1.1 billion price tag, creating more than two million square feet of programmed area.

Demolition Beginning for $1.1 Billion Village at USC

Finally, the dilapidated University Village mall has a date with destiny.  The last tenants have vacated the premises, and protective barriers now encircle the moribund shopping complex, which will soon be demolished to make way for phase one of the $1.1 billion Village at USC.  Located on a 14-acre block bounded by Jefferson Boulevard, McClintock Avenue, 30th and Hoover Streets, initial plans call for a five-building, low-rise complex that would house 2,470 students and offer approximately 140,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space.

Designed by an architectural team that includes Elkus Manfredi, Melendrez Design Partners, and Harley Ellis Devereaux, the Village will closely adhere to the USC campus' current aesthetics.  Renderings portray a cluster of Neo-Gothic structures, clad in the school's ubiquitous red brick.  Buildings surround a landscaped central plaza, flanked by retail establishments and active transportation amenities (read: bike racks galore).  A series of pedestrian paseos will bisect the project site, facilitating easier connections to both the USC campus and the greater University Park neighborhood.

A full build out of the Village--which would include two additional city blocks--calls for roughly 2 million square feet of student housing, academic facilities and pedestrian oriented retail.  The development has stoked gentrification fears in University Park, where activists feel that an infusion of wealthier individuals will force working class residents out of the neighborhood.  USC has reluctantly attempted to mollify the situation, providing $20 million in affordable housing subsidies through an agreement brokered by City Hall.

Mixed-Use Affordable Housing Headed Towards Expo/Vermont

Image Credti: Abode Communities and T.R.U.S.T. South LA

Although Metro's Expo Line has experienced no lack of proposed office, residential, hotel and retail developments near its Westside stations, investment has noticeably lagged in-between Culver City and Downtown LA.  Well get ready South Los Angeles: Expo/Vermont Station is finally getting some much needed TOD action.  Non-profit organizations T.R.U.S.T. South LA and Abode Communities are partnering on the redevelopment of Rolland Curtis Gardens, a 48-unit affordable housing complex located one block west of Vermont Avenue.  According to an environmental report just released by the city, plans call for the demolition of Rolland Curtis' existing buildings, followed by the two-phased construction of a mixed-use development with 140 affordable residential units and 8,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space.

Residential structures would rise five stories, flanking the southern and western sides of the project site.  Apartments are centered around a grassy courtyard which would serve as both gathering space and a children's play area (see after the jump).  The project also includes multiple community rooms, on-site laundry facilities and parking for 114 vehicles and 154 bicycles.

Commercial space would consist of a one story building stretching along Exposition Boulevard, with proposed uses including a community serving health clinic, non-profit office space, and perhaps some small business retail.  Plans also call for a small amount of surface parking for bikes and cars in the rear of the retail structure.  Buildings would be clad with materials including plaster, smooth finish concrete and metal siding.

According to a document created by the developers, the Rolland Curtis redevelopment is scheduled to begin construction in December 2015, with full occupancy expected in November 2017.  T.R.U.S.T. South LA and Abode Communities shaped the project with input from the community on a variety of subjects, including potential retail tenants, urban design, and architecture.

USC Pursuing Adaptive Reuse of Fire Station 15

LAFD Station 15; Image Credit: Chuck Madderom Collection via LAFire.com

With construction now underway on a new, USC-funded Fire Station at the corner of Hoover and 30th Streets, something had to be done with LAFD Station 15's current digs on Jefferson Boulevard.  It appears that USC has found that something.  According to an environmental report released by LADCP, the university proposes the relocation of the current station building to a vacant lot near the Shrine Auditorium.  There it would serve as a studio annex to the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts, located at the corner of Figueroa and 32nd Streets.  RZC houses both the Electronic Arts Game Design Lab and the university's student-run television station.  Comprised of slightly over 8,700 square feet of floor area, LAFD Station 15 dates back to 1950, and is eligible for local historic landmark status.  USC proposes slight modifications to the structure as part of its preservation, including new landscaping and improved lighting.

The adaptive reuse project is closely tied to the $1.1 billion Village at USC, which will create over 2 million square feet of student housing, academic facilities and neighborhood serving retail.  The first phase of the Village, once scheduled to begin work in mid-2014, consists of housing for 2,470 students and 140,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space.  Although an exact groundbreaking date is unknown, USC is currently in the process of obtaining demolition permits for the existing University Village shopping center.

The Village at USC Brings Open Space and Fake Old Town Charm

The Village at USC

Last month, the LA City Planning Commission unanimously approved the new design guidelines for the massive Village at USC.  The $1.1 billion development seeks to reinvent the dilapidated University Village shopping center as a thriving mixed-use complex, reminiscent of Glendale's Americana at Brand.  Elkus Manfredi Architects, the Boston-based firm which designed the Americana, has taken the lead on the project, with additional work from Michigan-based Harley Ellis Devereaux.  Updated renderings show a series of brick clad structures, centered around a large plaza and bisected with wide, retail laden paseos.  These five initial buildings will house 2,470 students above 140,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space.  The Village's full build out would contain over 2 million square feet of student housing, academic facilities and neighborhood serving retail.  The project will fund streetscape improvements around the USC campus' perimeter, including a road diet for Jefferson Boulevard.  As the result of contentious negotiations with the city during the approval process in 2012, USC will also provide $20 million for affordable housing in the surrounding area.  The Village at USC will provide a pedestrian friendly town square for the University Park neighborhood, serving students, staff and permanent residents alike.  The nearby Metro Expo Line will give Trojans and Angelenos the ability to visit while leaving their personal automobiles behind.  Gentrification is always a touchy subject, but its tough to argue against it when it looks and feels this good.  The Village could start work in mid-2014 at the earliest.

Affordable Housing Development Coming to Parcel Near USC

1077 W 38th Street

A mixed-use development consisting almost entirely of affordable housing is planned for a parcel located down the street from Exposition Park.  Details read as follows:

Rolland Curtis Partners, LLC is the owner of a site located at 1077 West 38th Street in the South Los Angeles Community Plan area in Council District 8.  The Owner is proposing a mixed use project containing 140 residential units, including 138 deed restricted affordable units and approximately 8,000 square feet of commercial space ("project").  The project is proposing a commercial space programmed with philanthropic uses providing medical services to the local community and office space.  The site's proximity, located within 500 feet of the Expo Light Rail stop at Vermont Avenue provides a great transit opportunity.

This new development would take the place of an existing 48-unit affordable housing complex known as the Rolland Curtis Gardens.  T.R.U.S.T. South LA and the non-profit developer Abode Communities purchased the housing complex last year for $9 million.

It's not exciting, but affordable housing is important.  Abode has done good work in the past, and I hope they can churn out a quality product on the Rolland Curtis site.  This location provides ample transit access, with the well patronized Vermont bus lines one block east and the busy Expo/Vermont Metro station right across the street.

The existing Rolland Curtis Gardens, viewed from across the Expo Line tracks.

• TRUST South LA (Official Website)
• Abode Communities (Official Website)
• Land Trust and Developer Save Affordable Housing Complex (California Health Report)