Motor Avenue Apartment Complex Nearly Finished

Palms' Motor Avenue Apartments--a $30 million residential-retail complex from Frost/Chaddock Developers--is inching towards the finish line.  When we last dropped by in March, construction crews were applying the five-story structure's exterior finishes.  Three months later, the project more closely resembles renderings drafted by Santa Monica-based Killefer Flammang Architects.

The building's design is highlighted by a street-facing urban window, offering a "framed glimpse," into an internal courtyard.  The structure greets Motor Avenue with a galvanized sheet metal facade, to be supplemented by brick veneer at ground level.

Located a half-block north of Palms Boulevard, the Motor Avenue Apartments will create 115 studio-and-one-bedroom units above nearly 1,000 square feet of street-level commercial space.  As part of the SB1818 density bonus granted to the project, a total of 17 residential units will be reserved for low income households.  Additional features will include an outdoor atrium and an amenity-laden rooftop deck.

Sitting four blocks west of the Expo Line's future Palms Station, the low-rise development will provide just one parking stall per residential unit, in addition to three commercial spaces.  The 118-car garage will be located underground, with vehicular access provided via an alley way at the back of the property.

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.

Former Atomic Café Making Way for Regional Connector Station

Utility relocation for the upcoming Regional Connector has caused more than a few Downtown traffic snarls in the past year.  With a funding agreement in place, the $1.4 billion project is now set to make its presence felt above ground.  Earlier this week, Metro erected protective fencing around the future site of Little Tokyo Station, which will soon be cleared in preparation for subway construction.  By the end of the decade, the 1.9 mile tunnel will eliminate one of the most glaring deficiencies in the Metro Rail network, unifying the Expo, Blue and Gold Lines.

Located across the street from the Japanese American National Museum, the property is currently developed with surface parking and low-rise commercial buildings.  One of those structures, located at the corner of 1st and Alameda Streets, was previously home to the Atomic Café, a "bastion of Los Angeles' '70s-era punk scene."  Following the intercession of the LA Conservancy, Metro unsuccessfully attempted to preserve the 19th-century building, placing it on the market for just $1.  However, with no buyers willing to absorb the unavoidable relocation costs, the Atomic Café will instead be relegated to memory lane.

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.

Another Mixed-Use Development Headed to Highland Avenue

1233 N. Highland Avenue

Highland Avenue continues down the road to its mixed-use destiny, as yet another residential-retail complex is headed to underutilized blocks south of Hollywood Boulevard.  The latest project, intended for a set of parcels at 1233 N. Highland Avenue, would include 72 apartment units above ground floor commercial space.  The mixed-use development is located one block south of a similar project from the Miami-based Lennar Corporation, which will create 76 residential units and 2,500 square feet of street level retail space near Hollywood High School.  Further north, Champion Real Estate Company plans to break ground next year on a mixed-use development at the intersection of Highland and Selma Avenues.  Consisting of two six-story buildings, the project will create a total of 248 apartment dwellings, 13,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space.  The project will also lease approximately 35,000 square feet of office/industrial space to the Musician's Institute and Panavision.

Affordable Housing Headed Near Vermont/Beverly Station

241 N. Vermont Avenue

Much of LA County's Metro Rail network traverses walkable, urban settings.  Neither of those terms describe the immediate surroundings of the Red Line's Vermont/Beverly Station.  Flanked by a gas station and a Hyundai dealership, the auto-oriented locale hardly screams "subway station."  Luckily, change may finally be on the way.  According to an LADCP case filing from earlier this month, an affordable housing development is planned across the street from the station, located at 241 N. Vermont Avenue.  Consisting of 100 residential units, the project would occupy a group of mid-block parcels, spanning approximately one acre of land. Situated on the northern fringe of Koreatown, the development site currently exists as two-story commercial building and supplemental surface parking.  Despite sitting almost directly above a subway station for the past 15 years, 241 Vermont Avenue is currently zoned for use as an auto body/repair shop.  Situations like this really emphasize the importance of the ongoing rewrite of Los Angeles' zoning code.

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.