New Details Emerge for Massive SoLA Village

Image credit: Gensler and P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S via Los Angeles Times

This past June, Glendale-based PRH LA Mart shocked many observers when they announced plans for SoLA Village, a $1 billion development intended for two sprawling parking lots adjacent to South Broadway's REEF Building.  Consisting of 1.6 million square feet of new floor area, architectural renderings from Gensler and P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S portray shimmering condo towers and new apartment buildings along the path of Metro's Blue Line.  Although the project remains years away from groundbreaking, a new environmental study released by LADCP sheds light on both the timeline and the scale of the development program.

Work would begin with significant modifications to the 12-story REEF Building.  Currently, the 860,000 square foot structure offers an eclectic mixture of office, event, and wholesale/showroom space.  Under the new development program, PRH LA Mart intends to reorient the property away from wholesale operations and more heavily towards creative office space.  The building would also add up to 38,000 square feet of retail and event space, located in ground level stalls and a new rooftop deck.

Ground-up construction would also begin with the west block, on a site currently occupied by a parking lot and an inexplicable giant chair.   A 19-story hotel tower would rise immediately south of the REEF, creating 208 guest rooms in an approximately 240 foot tall structure.  An eight-story parking garage would replace the existing surface lot, creating 1,375 vehicle stalls that would serve both hotel guests and REEF tenants.  Up to 21 live/work residential units would screen the parking structure along Broadway, while landscaping and architectural elements would obscure the garage from view along Hill and 21st Streets.

However, the more aggressive development program is reserved for the east block.  Located at 1933 South Broadway, plans call for up to 895 condominium units, to be located within high-rise towers of 35 and 32 stories.  The tallest structure, rising to an architectural apex of 420 feet, would become the tallest structure south of the Downtown freeway ring.  A series of six-story buildings would house the development's 528 residential units, running the length of the block between Washington Boulevard and 21st Street.  At ground level, the project would offer a landscaped central plaza, retail and restaurant space, a grocery store, a gallery and a fitness center.  Parking accommodations would be located on four subterranean levels, featuring at least 1,358 vehicle stalls.

Given the ambitious scope of the development program versus current market conditions, PRH LA MART has estimated a relatively conservative construction timeline of 60 months.  Demolition work on the west block could commence as early as 2016, followed by approximately 30 months of grading and construction.  A build out of the more grandiose east block would require approximately 32 months, including excavation for underground parking levels.  Should everything go to plan (knock on wood), completion could occur as early as the end of 2021.

• Downtown L.A. Development Spreading South... (Los Angeles Times)
• SoLA Village Project - Initial Study (LADCP)

Collosal Mixed-Use Development Planned Near Reef Building

Looming on the southern fringe of Downtown Los Angeles, the 10 freeway has stood for more than a half-century as both a physical and psychological barrier to the neighborhood's resurgence.  Now, a large mixed-use development proposed for the parking lots surrounding Broadway's Reef Building could finally provide the impetus for change.  According a May case filing from LADCP, plans call for the construction of 1,449 residential units and a 208-key hotel, supplemented by 85,000 square feet of retail uses.  Located at 1900 and 1933 South Broadway, the project would also include 40,000 square feet of restaurant space, a 30,000 square foot grocery store, and an expansion of the 12-story Reef Building.  Occupying 7.5 acres of land along the path of Metro's Blue line, the existing parking lots constitute a major dead zone in a neighborhood that doesn't otherwise lack for pedestrian traffic.  As reported by the Los Angeles Times, the Reef and its surrounding parcels are owned by PRH LA, a Glendale-based limited liability corporation.  The project site is located directly across the street from the LA County Metropolitan Courthouse, and a short walk from LATTC's slow-moving expansion project on Grand Avenue.

One important side note: I call dibs on the giant chair.

Image credit: HitsJen

• Mixed-Use Dreams for Blue Line Adjacent Parcels (Building Los Angeles)
• Case Information Summary Sheet (LADCP)

Mixed-Use Dreams for Blue Line Adjacent Parcels

South of the Downtown freeway ring, blighted properties flanking the light rail Blue Line are beginning to catch overflow from South Park's recent development binge.  Renderings were unveiled last year for the Grand Metropolitan, a proposed residential-retail complex near LATTC.  Now, a document from the Los Angeles City Council indicates that development may also be coming for a cluster of parcels adjacent to the Reef Building, a 12-story structure located at 1933 S. Broadway.  The owners of the Reef Building, which is alternatively known as the LA Mart, have requested a general plan amendment that would allow them to both retain the mid-rise tower and construct a mixed-use development on the surrounding 7.5 acre parking lots.  According to the Los Angeles Times, the parking lots and the mid-century tower are both the property of PRH LA, a Glendale-based limited liability corporation which paid roughly $55 million for the land in 2012.  Their exact plans for the parcels are currently unclear, although most recent developments in the neighborhood have been multi-family residential buildings.  A half-mile west, developer G.H. Palmer Associates is nearing completion on the Lorenzo, a 910-unit apartment complex located next to the Expo Line's 23rd Street Station.

The Reef Building

Image credit: HitsJen

Completely random: the Reef/LA Mart's parking lot features a massive wooden chair.  Why is it located here?  Because why the hell not?

• 1900 and 1933 South Broadway (Los Angeles City Council)
• LA Mart Trade Center Sold to Glendale Investors (Los Angeles Times)