Shiny New Renderings Released for Figueroa Central

Figueroa Central (All images: Oceanwide Holdings Group)

New renderings have emerged for Figueroa Central, the skyline-altering mixed-use complex which recently broke ground across the street from Staples Center.

The $1 billion development from Beijing-based Oceanwide Holdings Group will create three high-rise towers, offering 504 luxury condominiums and a five-star hotel.  Long envisioned as the retail complement to the restaurants and entertainment venues of LA Live, Figueroa Central will contain approximately 200,000 square feet of commercial space within a two-level open-air galleria.

Designs for the project by architecture firm RTKL call for some of the tallest residential buildings in Los Angeles.  The 49-story North Tower, rising 677 feet above street level, will include a 183-key hotel and 164 condominiums.  As first reported by DTLA Rising, the five-star inn will feature the first American outpost of the opulent Cavalli Club, in addition to celebrity-chef restaurants and a luxurious spa.

Figueroa Central's twin South Towers will each rise 40 stories, peaking 530 feet above ground.  Plans call for 170 condominiums in each of the buildings, perched above an elevated private park with greenery and playground space for residents.  The towers' seven-story podium would feature nearly 1,000 parking spaces, obscured from view by a 32,000-square-foot LED ribbon which is being called the largest on the West Coast.  The project would also include an additional 480 parking stalls on subterranean levels.

Oceanwide Holdings currently anticipates sales of the condominium units to commence in 2017, with the full project expected to open in 2018.

Another Office Complex Begins Work in Playa Vista

Google's impending arrival in Playa Vista has set off a monumental shift in the West Los Angeles office market.  After years of searching for space in traditional creative hubs such as Santa Monica and Venice, numerous tech firms are now looking further south in order to situate themselves closer to the Bay Area heavyweight.  With this changing landscape in mind, a New York-based developer has broken ground on a speculative office complex directly across the street from Google's future twelve-acre campus.

According to commercial real estate publication Bisnow, Tishman Speyer is currently in design development for 407,000 square feet of office space Playa Vista Parcels 1 and 2.  The project, slated for completion in late 2016, will be split between five- and six-story structures at 12126 and 12099 West Waterfront Drive.  As of this week, preliminary grading and site preparation is underway for both of the low-rise buildings.

The speculative development begins work as Tishman Speyer nears completion on a nearby campus-style project known as the Collective at Playa Vista.  Slightly over 130,000 square feet of the five-building complex is already leased, thanks to Yahoo's recent decision to relocate from its current Santa Monica operations.  Bisnow also reports that Tishman Speyer is in negotiations with 72,000-square-foot tenant who would bring the development to full occupancy.

Low-Rise Apartment Complex Planned in Hollywood

1715 N. Bronson Avenue (Image: Tate Snyder Kimsey Architects)

According to an environmental report published by the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, yet another low-rise residential development is headed for Hollywood.

Last September, developer Pristine Properties, LLC filed plans with the city for a seven-story apartment complex on an approximately one-acre property near the Hollywood Freeway.  The project, located at 1715 North Bronson Avenue, would feature 89 dwelling units and subterranean parking accommodations for up to 146 vehicles and 117 bicycles.

The design of the proposed development comes from Tate Snyder Kimsey Architects, a national firm whose recent work includes the Historic Core's Topaz apartment complex.  Renderings for 1715 North Bronson portray a distinctly modern structure, clad with corrugated metal, mesh screen and plaster.

Plans for 1715 North Bronson call for a standard array of communal amenities, including a ground-floor fitness center and an outdoor swimming pool.  Additionally, the building's seventh floor would feature a residential club room and an outdoor sky deck with views of the Hollywood Hills.

More Housing Coming to Howard Hughes Center

Construction underway on Altitude at Howard Hughes Center

Nearly three decades after work first began on Westchester's Howard Hughes Center, construction is slated to begin soon on a low-rise residential development which would complete the build-out of the mixed-use campus.

Earlier this month, Dallas-based Mill Creek Residential Trust announced plans to build the Village at Howard Hughes Center, a 375-unit apartment complex.  The project will rise from an approximately three-acres of land at 5901 and 6055 Center Drive, creating three six-story buildings with ground-level parking garages.  When completed in 2018, the low-rise development will feature spacious outdoor courtyards and multiple rooftop entertainment decks.

Excavation Underway for Hollywood Office Building

Earlier this month, developer Hudson Pacific Properties commenced excavation for Icon, a 14-story office tower on the Sunset Bronson Studios campus (SBS).

The 200-foot tall edifice, designed by architecture firm Gensler, will rise from the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Van Ness Avenue, creating a total of 315,000 square feet of creative office space.  Artistic renderings portray a mid-rise structure, described by the Architect's Newspaper as consisting of "five rectangular, stacked volumes, offset horizontally to create exterior terraces."

Icon is part of a $150 million expansion of Sunset Bronson Studios which will completely remodel the eastern half of the approximately 10-acre campus.  Plans call for the construction of a 90,000-square-foot production facility and a 1,600-car parking garage along Van Ness Avenue, both of which broke ground last September.  The project also includes the refurbishment of the SBS Executive Office Building, a 1920s structure which once housed the headquarters of Warner Brothers.

The Los Angeles Times previously reported that completion of the SBS expansion is expected by late 2016.

Luxury Hotel Tower Rising in Beverly Hills

The modest Beverly Hills skyline will soon be augmented by a striking five-star hotel tower.

Earlier this year, a team of investors lead by the Alagem Capital Group broke ground on the new Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills.  The $200 million project, located at the high-profile intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards, will consist of a 12-story tower with 170 guest rooms, luxury retail establishments, and other ancillary uses.

Designs from architecture firms Gensler and Pierre-Yves Rochon call for a structure primarily clad in white stone, featuring strong horizontal lines and curving forms which are typical of the Streamline Moderne style.  The building's interior will maintain a similar aesthetic, featuring a "rich palette of burnished bronze, warm white stone, [and] Lalique installations throughout."

Beverly Hills Waldorf Astoria (All images: Waldorf Astoria)

Proposed Korean American National Museum Adding Housing

Future home of the Korean American National Museum (Image: New American Media)

According to new information from the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, a proposed development which would house the Korean American National Museum (KANM) has received a design overhaul.

Revised plans for the half-acre property at 605 South Vermont Avenue call for a seven-story structure featuring 101 apartments above two floors of museum space.  An earlier report from New America Media indicated that the museum would encompass 45,000 square feet of floor area, with amenities such as a community auditorium, two exhibition halls and a study room.  However, the exact nature of the proposed changes to KANM are currently unclear.  The original plan for the museum had called for a standalone three-story facility.

More definitively, city records indicate that KANM is planning for a three-level garage with parking accommodations for up to 146 vehicles and 83 bicycles.  The proposed garage would offer slightly less parking than required by code, and will thus require a discretionary approval from the city.