Shiny New Renderings for 3033 Wilshire Boulevard (UPDATED)

3033 Wilshire Boulevard (All images: Steinberg Architects)

New information has emerged regarding 3033 Wilshire Boulevard, a proposed high-rise apartment complex which would straddle the border between Westlake and Koreatown.

Los Angeles-based Steinberg Architects, design architect for the project, recently updated its website with a new a page for the proposed 18-story building.  The tower, as envisioned by developer UDR Incorporated, would consist of 190 apartments, 5,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space, and four levels of below-grade parking.  Residential units would range in size from studios to luxury penthouse spaces, each of which would contain two bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Steinberg's design for the building would feature an exterior consisting primarily of glass.  A series of protruding decks would gradually change in shape and size while moving up the tower's mass, giving the facade a fluid texture.  The building would be capped by a rooftop pool and amenity deck, offering panoramic views of Downtown Los Angeles, the Hollywood Hills and the Pacific Ocean.

The project site - located at the northwest corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Virgil Avenue - was first slated for high-rise development nearly one decade ago.  According to the website of consulting firm PMA, the new apartment tower is scheduled for completion in February 2016.

UPDATE 11/22/14: Heavy equipment and construction materials are present at the development site.

• Whoa: Koreatown High-Rise Project Revived (Building Los Angeles)
• 3033 Wilshire Boulevard (Steinberg Architects)

Whoa: Koreatown High-Rise Project Revived

3033 Wilshire Boulevard, by Steinberg Architects (Image: PMA, Inc.)

Longstanding plans to build a high-rise apartment building in eastern Koreatown have suddenly kicked back into gear.

According to a series of permit applications with the Department of Building and Safety, Colorado-based developer UDR, Inc. is moving forward with an 18-story residential tower at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Virgil Avenue.  The 201-foot building, designed by Steinberg Architects, would feature 190 residential units and slightly over 5,500 square feet of ground-level retail space.

Plans call for a wide variety of indoor and outdoor amenities, including a rooftop pool, a fitness center, and bike-storage racks.  The mixed-use development would also offer parking accommodations for as many as 302 vehicles, situated within four podium levels.

Former design by Ankrom Moisan Architects (Image: Portland Architecture)

The proposed tower dates back to 2005, when the one-acre lot at 3033 Wilshire Boulevard was entitled by Williams & Dame Development.  The Portland-based company had planned a similar 18-story building, designed by Ankrom Moisan Architects, only to cancel the project following the onset of the global economic crisis.  After entertaining offers for several months, the property was sold in 2008.

Six years later, the eastern section of Koreatown is experiencing renewed interest from a slew of real estate investors.  A similar high-rise development recently opened across the street from Wilshire/Vermont Station, just two blocks west of UDR's proposed tower.  A half-block north, developer Century West Partners is planning a 399-unit residential-retail complex at the intersection of 6th Street and Virgil Avenue.

An exact development timeline for 3033 Wilshire is currently unknown.  However, information gleaned from the website of Project Management Advisors, Inc. indicates that completion is currently scheduled for February 2016.

3033 Wilshire Boulevard

• 3033 Wilshire Boulevard 90010 (LADBS)
• 3033 Wilshire Boulevard (PMA, Inc.)

Condos...in Koreatown?

Important question: what was the purpose of including the lamp post in this rendering?

Koreatown has mixed-use developments springing up left and right these days, but this one comes with an Ivy League pedigree.  Plans were submitted in late October for a six-story building at the southeastern corner of 8th Street and Harvard Boulevard.  The project, appropriately named 8th & Harvard, would contain 131 residential units above 7,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space.  Architectural work once again comes from the Archeon Group, which currently has several Koreatown projects in predevelopment.

Surprisingly, 8th & Harvard's case filing indicates that the project's residential component will be condo units rather than rental apartments.  While the Los Angeles real estate market has experienced a strong rebound in the past year, for-sale units seem like a big risk in this part of Koreatown.

8th & Harvard, as it currently exists.

• Case Information Summary Sheet (LA City Planning)
• 8th & Harvard (Archeon Group)

535 Kingsley: Rendered

Seems like the Archeon Group's work is showing up all over Koreatown these days.  Last week we took a glance at a their very preliminary looking design for a mixed-use project on Vermont Avenue.  Now we head north of Wilshire to check out renderings of 535 Kingsley Drive.  The low-rise development, which was first spotted back in August, would contain 83 apartments and a parking garage within its six-story frame.  Will the architecture win awards?  Probably not.  But with some quality cladding, this could turn into a very solid infill project just a short walk from the Purple Line's Wilshire/Normandie Station.  At the very least, 535 Kingsley is a major improvement over the surface parking lot that it replaces.

535 Kingsley from its eastern profile.  All renderings from the Archeon Group.

• 535 Kingsley (Archeon Group)
• Six Floors of New Density Coming to K-Town (Building Los Angeles)

Archeon Group Designs Mid-Rise Complex for Vermont Avenue

Vermont & James Wood, viewed from the southwest.  Image from Archeon Group.

Over the summer, a proposal appeared for a mixed-use development on a pair of corner lots at the intersection of Vermont Avenue and James M. Wood Boulevard.  I recently happened upon a rendering of the Vermont & James Wood via the Archeon Group, design architect for the two building project.  Although the Archeon Group does not provide specifics on the dimensions of either building, both appear to stand over 10-stories tall, consisting of studio, one and two bedroom apartments.  The Vermont & James Wood's case filing with the Department of City Planning indicates that the project would create a total of 411 residential units and 43,800 (?!) square feet of ground level retail space.  That level of density puts it on par with the Vermont Towers and the K2LA Apartments, both currently under construction just a few blocks north.

By the way, what the hell is up with the balconies on these buildings?  Perhaps it's just due to the preliminary rendering, but their boxy appearances make them look like external air conditioning units.

• Vermont & James Wood (Archeon Group)
• Vermont Blvd Mixed-User to Add More Density to K-Town (Building Los Angeles)

Proposed K-Town High-Rise Still Plodding Along

Long-standing plans for a 27-story residential tower in Koreatown continue to plod forward, with the release of the project's initial study by the Department of City Planning.  The proposed Catalina Apartments would rise from a 1.5-acre site at the corner of 8th and Catalina Streets, replacing a small cluster of low-rise buildings.

Designs from Oakes Architects call for an approximately 300 foot tall structure, offering 269 apartments (studio, one and two-bedroom units) and 7,500 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.  Residential units would be served by a total of 562 parking spaces, contained within a podium garage.  Proposed amenities include a fitness center, outdoor pool, and rooftop deck.

The mixed-use development is planned by Colony Holdings, a Beverly Hills-based limited liability corporation.  At first glance, their project would seem to fit in well with the surrounding neighborhood.  The eastern stretch of Koreatown has recently seen the arrival of several large residential complexes, including the 476-unit K2LA apartments and the skyline-altering Vermont Towers.

However, the Catalina Apartments have a more difficult path ahead than either of those projects.  In addition to the various NIMBY hurdles which accompany most high-rise developments, the Colony Holdings proposal will require multiple discretionary actions from the city.  This includes changes to the property's height district and zoning, as well as an amendment to the city's general plan.  The process to obtain these changes is time-consuming, with no guarantee of success.

Should the developer manage to overcome these obstacles, the Catalina Apartments are scheduled to break ground sometime in 2016.  Following approximately two years of construction, Koreatown's newest tower could open its doors in 2018.

• Developer Revives Effort to Build Wilshire-Area Residential Tower (CoStar)
• Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration: Catalina Apartments Project (LADCP)

Koreatown Development Wave Spreading South

A half-block of modest apartment buildings and strip malls on Koreatown's southern fringe may have a date with the grim reaper.  According to plans submitted to the city in late September, a 1.6-acre site at 3076 W. Olympic Boulevard is slated for demolition, to be replaced by a low-rise residential-retail complex.  The mixed-use development, which would rise between Kingsley Drive and Ardmore Avenue, calls for a four-story structure featuring 226 residential units, ground-floor commercial space, and a two-level subterranean parking garage.

The project, still in the early stages of the city's cumbersome approval process, will require at least one zoning variance to be built in its proposed form.  3076 Olympic could be considered a southern expansion of Koreatown's recent development wave, which has up until now consisted of low-rise apartment complexes near Wilshire Boulevard.

• Case Information Summary Sheet: ZA-2014-3570-ZV-CU-ZAA-SPR (LADCP)

K2LA Building 1: Topped Out

Just west of J.H. Snyder's Vermont Towers and their massive parking podium, Century West Partners are well into the construction process on the first building of their K2LA development.  The project replaces three surface parking lots on a site bounded by Berendo Street, New Hampshire Avenue and 7th Street.  When completed, K2LA will add 476-apartments just a short walk from the busy Wilshire/Vermont subway station.  The project also includes two additional seven-story buildings that do not appear to have broken ground yet.

• K2LA (Century West Partners)

Jamison Services Bringing Apartments to K-Town Parking Lot

626 S. St. Andrews Place; Image from Corbel Architects.

Koreatown has seen a boom in residential construction during the past calendar year, and that trend looks to continue on a parking lot just north of Wilshire Boulevard.  Jamison Services Incorporated, one of Koreatown's largest commercial landlords, has plans to build an 84-unit apartment building next to the Wilshire Professional Building.  The project at 626 St. Andrews Place will stand six-stories, with design work from Corbel Architects.  Despite the nearby Wilshire/Western subway station, 626 St. Andrews will include 203 parking spaces in a three level garage.

According to Businessweek, vacancy rates at Jamison Services' office properties have tripled over the past four years to an average of 25%.  Unfavorable economic conditions may have reduced demand for office space in Los Angeles, but they have also fueled a resurgence in the market for multi-family residential buildings.  Thus, Jamison Services is in the process of converting five of their office properties into apartments.  They have also started venturing into ground up construction, meaning that 626 St. Andrews Place may just be the first new building that the company has planned.

• L.A. King of Down-Market Offices Bets on Apartments (Businessweek)

The Vermont Towers Take Form

The Vermont Towers

J.H. Snyder's Vermont Towers topped out back in June and have since seen blue tinted glass rise to the top of their 29 and 23 story frames.  When completed, the Vermont will bring 464 apartments and 40,000 square feet of retail to the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Vermont Avenue.  The development is accompanied by a 12,000 square foot pocket park on Shatto Place.

Unfortunately, the Vermont's most striking feature at ground level is its seven story parking podium.  Hopefully efforts are undertaken to conceal the concrete monstrosity before the buildings open in mid 2014.

The project as realized deviates significantly from the renderings presented in 2011, which depicted two translucent high rises towering above a whitewashed Koreatown landscape.

The Vermont, as envisioned by Jerde Partnership

More Residential Flooding into Koreatown's Western Fringe (UPDATED)

Per an LADCP case filing from last month, a sizeable multi-family residential development is headed to the western edge of Koreatown.  The apartment complex, pegged for an approximately one-acre property at 700 South Manhattan Place, would offer 162 residential units within a seven-story structure.  The project site, currently developed with surface parking and a nondescript two-story structure, spans slightly more than one acre near the intersection of Western Avenue and 7th Street.  Residents would be located just one block south of the Purple Line's current Wilshire/Western terminus, offering quick service to Downtown Los Angeles and connections to all other points on the Metro Rail network.

The new development is situated in a highly walkable section of Koreatown, with a slew of stores and eateries strewn about surrounding blocks.  Unsurprisingly, other multi-family projects area slated for the neighborhood.  The locally-based Hankey Group is in the planning stages for a similar low-rise residential development, intended for a long vacant property at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Hobart Avenue.  South along Western Avenue, a 79-unit mixed-use complex is proposed across the street from Koreatown Plaza.

(UPDATE) An e-mail tipster has noted the following about 700 S. Manhattan Place:

"The project requests three variances: (1) to allow an approximately 35% increase in density; (2) to average floor area ratios across residential and commercial zones; and (3) to permit vehicular access for a commercial zone from a residential zone.

Probably not coincidentally, these variances would be available to the project as Density Bonus incentives if the project provided affordable housing.  Density Bonus projects providing a certain amount of units covenanted for very-low or low income households are entitled to a 35% increase in density, FAR averaging and parking access from a less restrictive zone.  The variance filing appears to be a means of avoiding providing affordable units."

• 700 S Manhattan Pl (LADCP)

Circa on Wilshire Coming Back to Life?

Koreatown is in the midst of a residential building boom, and it looks like a long dead development may want to get in on the action.

Circa on Wilshire, as designed by Ankrom & Moisan

The owners of the land once intended for Circa on Wilshire took out an extension on the tentative tract map for the lot which will last until 2015.  Plans for a 18 floor/190 unit mixed-use tower at the corner of Wilshire and Virgil were put on hold back in 2008 amidst the real estate bust.  Developer Williams & Dame quickly sold the land off, and it's remained a dusty vacant lot ever since (look below, see how dusty it is).

With the real estate market now recovering, an already entitled project such as this seems like an easy candidate for revival.  It's in a lively, walkable neighborhood that doesn't oppose dense development.  The Wilshire/Vermont subway station and Lafayette Park are both short walks away.  As an added bonus, the Wilshire frontage of the building would offer great views of Bullocks Wilshire, the 1929 art deco masterpiece located across the street.

Bullocks Wilshire

Of course, the new developers may very well decide to alter the scope and design of the project as they see fit.  In the meantime, I'll keep my ears to the ground and my fingers crossed for good news.

Second Phase of K2LA Still Inching Along

680 Berendo Street

Construction is slow but steady in Koreatown, where developer Century West Partners is (still) working on the 347-unit phase two of their K2LA apartment complex.  The two seven-story buildings, designed by local architect David Forbes Hibbert, have progressed slowly since breaking ground in late 2013.  After nine months of construction, the structure at 685 New Hampshire Avenue protrudes just one floor above ground, while its companion at 680 Berendo Street has yet to reach street level.  Both buildings were previously scheduled for completion in late 2014, a target date which is now highly unrealistic given the project's current status.

On the other hand, the more punctual phase one of the development opened its doors this past May.  Located at 688 Berendo Street, the seven-story building offers 130 studio, one and two-bedroom apartment units.  The low-rise structure features similar amenities to its phase two counterparts, including a fitness center, conference room, club house, and two roof decks with outdoor grills and fire pits.  Although 688 Berendo Street does contains no street-fronting retail space, the building does utilize a green wall to obscure its podium-level parking garage.

Over the past several years, Century West Partners has emerged as a prolific developer of multi-family residential buildings throughout Los Angeles County.  Besides K2LA, the company is also in the midst of construction on multiple mixed-use complexes both in Downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica.  The developer is also in the planning stages for a second project in Koreatown, which would replace an unused property at 6th Street and Virgil Avenue with 399 apartments and 20,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.

680 Berendo Street, rendered. Image credit: David Forbes Hibbert

685 New Hampshire Avenue

685 New Hampshire Avenue, rendered.  Image credit: David Forbes Hibbert

K2LA phase one, now open at 688 Berendo Street

A full build out of K2LA, rendered.  Image credit: David Forbes Hibbert

• K2LA's Last Two Buildings Under Construction (Building Los Angeles)
• K2LA @ 680 Berendo (DFHAIA)
• K2LA @ 685 New Hampshire (DFHAIA)

Six Floors of New Density Coming to K-Town

Scouring the LA City Planning Department's bi-weekly filings, this gem presented itself:

535 S KINGSLEY DR 90020

NEW 83-UNIT APARTMENT

(FROM LEVELS 2-6) ABOVE A

PODIUM PARKING LEVEL AND 1

LEVEL OF BASEMENT PARKING

All of this just a quick walk from the Purple Line's Wilshire/Normandie station (which makes the two levels of parking worrisome).

If it seems like I mention Koreatown a lot in this blog, there's a good reason for that.  535 S Kingsley joins a glut of new 5-7 floor residential buildings, including one behind the Wilshire Professional Building, Southwestern Law School's new student housing, and the second phase of Century West's K2LA development.

While the casual observer doesn't get too excited over inconspicuous wood frame apartment buildings, these kinds of project lay the framework for larger scale developments (like the 20+ floor Vermont Towers and their massive parking podium).

Vermont Blvd. Mixed-User to Add More Density to K-Town

According to plans filed earlier this month with the LA City Planning Department, more apartments are coming to Vermont Avenue at its intersection with James M. Wood (almost spitting distance from the busy Wilshire/Vermont Station).

The location of the mysterious new apartments, outlined in red.

Here is what we know so far:

2855 W JAMES M WOOD BLVD

NEW MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT WITH 187 RESIDENTIAL UNITS AND 18,000 SF. GROUND RETAIL ON THE NORTH SITE, AND A MIXED-USE BUILDING WITH 224 UNITS AND 25,800 SF. GROUND RETAIL ON THE SOUTH SITE.

Here's what the scene looks like today:

The northern lot currently serves as a neighborhood market.  Nice enough, but not a building of architectural significance.

The southern lot is currently "improved," as a surface parking lot.

Obviously it's difficult to say what exactly to expect at this point.  The two parcels were sold in October of last year, so this is still fairly early in the planning process.  On the bright side, whatever it may be, I wouldn't expect much (if any) NIMBY revolt.  411 apartments isn't of big concern in transit rich/already dense Koreatown.  Frankly, the demographics of the neighborhood just don't cater to the NIMBY persuasion (working class, high concentration of immigrants).

This news comes amidst what is already a noticeable uptick in construction for Koreatown.  Walking up Vermont from James M Woods to Wilshire Blvd, new residential building are springing up like weeds.  This includes Century West's K2LA, Southwestern Law Schools painfully white student housing, plus several other unnamed developments.  Last but not least, J.H. Snyder's 464 unit Vermont Towers rise at the intersection with Wilshire:

Nothing quite like a shiny glass high rise.  Or better yet, two of them! 

Seven Story Apartment Building Coming to Koreatown

Per the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, a low rise apartment building is proposed for the surface parking lot directly behind the 1929 Wilshire Professional Building, and a short walk from the Wilshire/Western Purple Line station and the 22 story Solair Condominium tower.


The Wilshire Professional Building, image from LA Observed.


From the Public Notices for July 18th, 2013:

3875 Wilshire Boulevard (3869-81 Wilshire Boulevard, 622-40 South St. Andrews Place); Wilshire. Council District 10. The construction, use and maintenance of a 7-story apartment building with 209 units and two levels of subterranean garage. The site is currently improved with a parking lot. The Applicant is requesting, a Zone Change from C4-2 and PB-2 to [T][Q]C4-2 and a Site Plan Review for a project with 209 residential units. Please call Joni J. Quinn to review file: (213)473-9984. Documents are available for REVIEW at: Los Angeles City Hall, 200 No. Spring St., Room 721, Los Angeles, CA  90012. Comments can be faxed to (213)978-4656. REVIEW/COMMENT period ends: August 07, 2013

The new building will fill out the streetwall of the charming residential street seen here:


Image from pwright1 of Skyscraperpage



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.

• Case Information Summary Sheet (LADCP)