Shiny New Renderings for Fig South

Next week, the DLANC's Planning and Land Use Committee is scheduled to take a closer look at Fig South, the glassy high-rise project slated for the (other) parking lot across the street from Staples Center.  The twin 36-story towers are being designed by architecture firm Harley Ellis Devereaux; artistic renderings depict glassy, elliptical shaped buildings with swooping rooflines.  Both towers would rise 400 feet above street level, the maximum height allowed for the property at 1200 S. Figueroa street.  Altogether the project comprises 648 condominium units, situated above 48,000 square feet of sports-themed retail and restaurant space. 

Designs for Fig South feature a prominent 100-foot tall podium, containing 1,770 parking spaces on seven above-grade and two below-grade levels.  Renderings portray a landscaped outdoor deck atop the podium, offering amenities such as a swimming pool, fitness room, and barbeque pit.  Additional open space would be included within each tower, specifically in the form of two rooftop terraces.

Fig South takes advantage of the generous signage allowed within the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment District.  Podium levels would be clad with large LED screens, looming over both Figueroa and 12th Streets.  These video screens, in combination with decorative metal paneling, would work to obscure the towers' above-grade parking accommodations.

Renderings also show non-animated signage wrapping podium levels on the Flower Street side of the project site.  While perhaps less regionally significant than its neighbor one block west, Flower Street would in fact be the main access point for Fig South, both on foot and by automobile.  Pico Station already provides a steady stream of pedestrians through the immediate area, while vehicular ingress and egress to the project's garage would be located at the southeast corner of the property.  Accordingly, multiple retail and restaurant stalls would line the prominent corner of Flower and 12th Streets.

Fig South is being spearheaded by David Lee, the founder and president of Jamison Services, one of Southern California's largest private landlords.  Although an exact timeline for the project has not been announced, the website of structural engineering firm Cary Kopczynski & Company suggests that construction may begin before the end of 2014.

• 1200 S. Figueroa Mixed-Use Project (DLANC)
• South Park Condo Project Gets a (Slightly) Different Look (Building Los Angeles)

South Park Condo Project Gets a (Slightly) Different Look

Image credit: Harley Ellis Devereaux

As the long-awaited revival of Fig Central finally starts to rev its engines, architectural firm Harley Ellis Devereaux has retooled the look of a neighboring high-rise proposal.  1200 Fig - revealed in July by Curbed LA - will feature a pair of elliptical, 36-story towers with 648 condominium units and 50,000 square feet of ground-level retail and restaurant space.  Updated renderings of the project portray the twin buildings with horizontal window patterns, giving them an appearance which would be right at home in Downtown Miami.  The towers are adorned with swooping roof lines, inspired by the architecture of the adjacent Staples Center.

While the towers may look straight outta' Brickell, their podium structure has a lot more in common with Times Square.  Six levels of above-grade parking will be wrapped with LED signage, displaying advertisements and public art above Figueroa, Flower and 12th Streets.  Similar video screens are also utilized on neighboring tower developments, including Fig Central and the recently completed double-Marriott on Olympic Boulevard.

The mixed-use complex is being developed by a team of investors, including Jamison Services and the Hankey Group.  At 400 feet, the twin towers will reportedly be the tallest reinforced concrete structures ever built in Los Angeles.  According to the website of structural engineering firm Cary Kopczynski & Company, 1200 Fig is anticipated to break ground in late 2014.

• More Mixed-Use Towers Near Staples Center (Building Los Angeles) 
• Renderings Revealed for Huge Staples-Adjacent Towers (Curbed LA)
• Downtown LA Residential Towers (Harley Ellis Devereaux)
• 1200 South Figueroa (CKCPS)

More Mixed-Use Towers Near Staples Center

Passengers on the Blue and Expo Lines should enjoy Pico Station's unobstructed view of Staples Center while it lasts, because skyscrapers are coming.  The Los Angeles Times reports that a group spearheaded by Jamison Services has agreed to purchase the 2.7 acre parcel at 1200 Figueroa Street, with the intention of building a residential-retail complex.  Although an exact sales price is unknown, the new owners reportedly shelled out more than twice the $31 million that L&R Parking paid for the property in 2010.  The land was formerly the site of a proposed development from the South Group, which planned for 648 condominiums housed within high-rises of 35 and 27 stories.  Jamison Services (and friends) envision a project similar in scale.  Plans submitted to LADBS late last year call for two 36-story towers, connected by a retail/parking podium.  The Times also reports that entitlements may be amended to allow for the inclusion of hotel rooms and additional retail space.  Jamison Services' project adds to the avalanche of proposed high-rise developments which have emerged near LA Live in the past year.  Chinese developers have revived the Metropolis and Fig Central mega-projects, while Williams & Dame, Mack Urban and the Onni Group also have towers in the works nearby.

A former vision for 1200 Figueroa Street

• Investors Buy Parking Lot Across from Staples Center (Los Angeles Times)
• 1200 S Figueroa Street (LADBS)