Carmel Partners Revising Plans for South Park Tower

The now outdated design of 801 Olive Street, by GMP Architects

Nine months after revealing plans for a new residential tower in South Park, Carmel Partners is switching up the playbook.  According to a memo issued earlier this month by the Department of City Planning, the San Francisco-based developer's proposed high-rise building at 801 Olive Street has been redesigned by a new, unspecified architect.  Although the fundamentals of the project remain the same (363 apartments above 10,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and a four-level parking podium), the retooled development plan calls for a tower that is both taller and slimmer than previously approved.  The now rectangular-shaped building is set to rise 33 stories (352 feet), representing a six-floor increase from the previous design by GMP Architects.

801 Olive Street is one of several skyline-altering developments planned for the northern section of South Park, including a 50-story condo project from the Onni Group and a 33-story apartment tower from CIM Group.  However, it is a more vertically challenged neighbor that has arguably generated the biggest news for the neighborhood.  Carmel Partners' seven-story G8 development is slated to bring 700 apartments to the Downtown market, a larger total than any of its sky-scraping neighbors.  More importantly, the low-rise building will feature a 42,000 square foot Whole Foods Market when it opens in 2015.  The high-end grocer has been listed amongst the most sought-after retailers for Downtown residents in recent years, perhaps second only to the elusive Trader Joe's.

• Glassy New Look for 801 Olive Street (Building Los Angeles)

Glassy New Look for 801 Olive Street

Courtesy of the DLANC Planning and Land Use Committee, I offer you updated renderings of Carmel Partners' proposed tower at 801 Olive Street.  Set to rise 27-stories, the GMP Architects designed tower would contain 363 residential units above a four-story podium.  The building activates the corner of 8th and Olive Streets with 10,000 combined square feet of retail and restaurant space.  Not a bad complement for the future Whole Foods Market across the street.  The tower's accessible rooftop would feature an outdoor pool, a fire pit, and an enclosed lounge with incredible views of the city (check out a rendering after the jump).  If you want to take in the view a little bit closer to the ground, 801 Olive Street would also feature outdoor sky decks on its 6th and 20th floors.  Other residential amenities include a fitness room and a landscaped terrace atop the building's 389-vehicle garage.  However, Carmel's proposed tower may wind up being overshadowed by more ambitious plans coming out of Canada.  The Vancouver-based Onni Group recently filed plans with the city for multiple Downtown high-rise projects, including a 50-story tower on a surface parking lot at 820 Olive Street.  It's difficult to imagine this current pedestrian dead zone as a thriving mixed-use corridor, but all of these projects currently in the pipeline could make it happen.

• 8th & Olive Presentation (DLANC)
• Meet South Park's Newest Tower: 801 Olive Street (Building Los Angeles)