Killefer Flammang to Design Sonny Astani's "Valencia"

Last year, the LA Times reported that developer Sonny Astani was in the planning stages for a mixed-use project at the corner of Wilshire and Valencia.  Today, an initial study is out for the low-rise development, to be known as the Valencia.  Details read as follows:

1501 W Wilshire Blvd

The Proposed Project consists of the demolition of approximately 44,168 square feet of commercial office and multi-family residential land uses and the construction of a mixed-use project with 218 residential apartment units and 4,441 square feet of neighborhood serving commercial land uses on the ground floor.  11% of the Proposed Project’s permitted residential component will be set aside as Very Low income affordable units (18 units).  A total of 253 vehicular parking spaces, including 248 residential and 5 commercial, will be provided in two levels of subterranean parking within the proposed building.  The structure would includes six levels (approximately 75 feet high) above grade.

The project also includes a two-story gym and over 20,000 square feet of open space, divided between multiple courtyards and a dog run.  As with several other mixed-use developments in Westlake, the Valencia is moving forward with a reduced parking ratio (1.14 : 1).  Astani utilized the city's Bicycle Parking Ordinance, passed into law earlier this year, to swap out 28 vehicular parking spaces for less costly bicycle accommodations.

The Valencia's EIR also revealed that Santa Monica based Killefer Flammang is the architectural firm behind the project's design. While the grainy black and white images from the EIR provide only a glimpse at the Valencia's appearance, exterior finishes are listed as metal, masonry/tile, plaster and glass.  KFA's work in other parts of the city may also hint at what's to come, examples of which include the NMS@Culver City and the Motor Avenue Apartments in Palms.

Construction of the Valencia is expected to begin this year and wrap up in 2014.

• Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (Department of City Planning)

City West Getting 122 More Apartments

1435 W 3rd Street

The Central City development swell continues, as yet another sizeable mixed-use project is on its way west of the Harbor Freeway.  Here's what to expect:

1435 W 3rd Street

The project includes the demolition of nine buildings with 22-single and multi-family residential units and approximately 2,000 square feet of commercial floor area and the construction of a new five-story mixed-use residential building.  The residential component of the building will include 122 residential units with 11 units reserved for very low income households, and a total of 93,885 square feet of floor area, and 122 parking spaces.  The building will also include 3,500 square feet of commercial floor area, and 7 additional parking spaces for commercial use.

The development will go by the name of "3rd and Witmer."  Fairly nondescript, but a nice shot in the arm for City West.  Just south of this location, a significantly larger development is springing up next door to the Good Samaritan Hospital.

Bixel and Lucas, designed by Nadel Architects

The Bixel and Lucas development will create 648 new apartments and approximately 40,000 square feet of retail space.  606 of those residential units would be contained in the new 6-story building seen above.  The remaining 42 units are encompassed by the adaptive re-use of the handsome 1923 Medical Office Building at the corner of Lucas Avenue and 6th Street.

The Medical Office Building

• 1435 W 3rd Street (Department of City Planning)
• Good Samaritan Mixed-Use (Nadel Architects)
• Bixel and Lucas Project DEIR (Department of City Planning)

Wilshire Coronado Condominums to Rise Near McArthur Park

Wilshire Coronado Condominiums

Tucked away on the western edge of McArthur Park, a mixed-use development will rise on Wilshire Blvd.  The New York based Somerset Group has been working out details with the LA City Council regarding construction of the Wilshire Coronado Condominiums, a 7 story mixed-use building featuring 154 luxury condominiums and 8,500 square feet of retail.  The project will have studio, one and two bedroom units, set to open in Fall 2015.  Design work comes from Rio Clementi Hale Studios and DeStefano Partners.

This project represents a scaled down version of the Somerset Group's original 18 story proposal for the site, also designed by Rios Clementi Hale.

The now outdated design of the Wilshire Coronado proposal, featuring a tall parking podium.

I am curious to know if Somerset is serious about developing this project as for sale units.  While I am a fan of the Westlake/McArthur Park neighborhood, I don't see it as a place for "luxury condominiums," in the near future.  Then again, Somerset's proposal is one of several new developments that have popped up around McArthur Park.  Perhaps this is the direction the neighborhood will take in the long run.

•  Wilshire Coronado Condominiums (Somerset Group)

Another Mixed-User on the Way in Westlake

1324 W Wilshire Blvd

More apartments appear to be coming to the stretch of Wilshire Blvd that traverses the Westlake neighborhood.  Here are the details filed with the Department of City Planning:

1324 1/2 W Wilshire Blvd

This project includes the demolition of two three-story existing office buildings for the construction of a 6-story, approximately 73-ft. tall building with 52 residential dwelling units, 54 parking spaces, approx. 5,281 sq. ft. of ground floor neighborhood serving retail, and a total of approx. 56,598 sq. ft. of floor space.

1324 1/2 W Wilshire is part of a trend of new developments emerging with reduced parking components.  Always a nice thing to see, and it makes perfect sense in a transit rich neighborhood like Westlake.

This proposal joins two larger scale developments located less than one block away.  To the east, Good Samaritan Hospital's Medical Plaza is currently under construction at the corner of Wilshire and Witmer.

Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Plaza.  The expansion is the building on the right hand side featuring blue glass.

To the west, Sonny Astani plans to build a six story mixed-use development with 220 apartments at the corner of Wilshire and Valencia.

Development Coming to Long Vacant Echo Park Lot

330 N Union Avenue

This dusty sliver of land has been touched by a fair bit of drama in recent years.  Now it appears that a mixed-use development is on the way.  Lets take a look at the details:

330 N Union Avenue

NEW CONSTRUCTION OF A 69-UNIT RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING 500 SF. OF GROUND-FLOOR COMMERCIAL/RETAIL SPACE WITH A MINIMUM OF 98 ON-SITE PARKING SPACES

Back in 2011, Realtor Jovelle Schaffer put together a detailed chronology of the parcel's history on her blog at Echo Park Cool.  330 N Union has seen multiple changes in ownership since 2000.  One potential developer actually died in a plane crash.

Eventually, the land was purchased by Advanced Development and Investments, Inc. (ADI).  The company intended to complete a 52 unit affordable housing development known as the Temple Union Apartment Homes

Temple Union Apartment Homes.  Image via LoopNet.

Of course, that wasn't the end of the story.  In 2010, ADI came under investigation for defrauding the cities of Los Angeles and Glendale out of millions in affordable housing subsidies.   Allegations included inflating construction costs and funneling company money into personal bank accounts.  Local and state politicians came under fire for accepting conveniently timed campaign donations from ADI.  Following two years of controversy, the company's assets went into receivership in January 2013.

Now in August, a new developer is picking up the pieces and trying their hand at building on the parcel.  Hopefully it works out this time.  Fingers crossed for something better looking than the Temple Union Apartments.

• Greed, Misdeeds Surround Stalled Echo Park Project (Echo Park Cool)
• 6 Killed in Crash of Small Plane (LA Times)
• Lockyer, Chiang Freeze Money They Got From Developer (LA Times)
• Federal Authorities Probe LA Developer (LA Times)
• ADI Assets Are on Sale (Glendale News-Press)

87 Apartments Coming to Westlake

The bustling Westlake neighborhood will soon get an influx of new residential units, per a recent filing with City Planning.  Check it out:

1419 W. 7^th St.; Westlake

The project includes 87 multi-family residential units and approx. 900 sq. ft. of commercial floor area in the construction of a new seven-story mixed-use residential building. The 87 residential units will include 82 market rate units and 5 units reserved for very low income households....up to 135 parking spaces (2 retail spaces, 133 residential spaces) on two levels...an approximately 1,003 sq. ft. gym, 1,200 sq. ft. of recreation room, and 1,962 sq. ft. of recreation deck on the third level.

The party behind this project appears to be Canfield Development.  The locally based developer has built a short roster of low rise apartments in some of the more upscale neighborhoods of the city.  This time they picked a location on the far opposite end of the gentrification spectrum, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.  Westlake has incredible food, great pedestrian activity, a Red/Purple line subway station, and perhaps the best park in Los Angeles.

Two Residential-Retail Complexes Start Work in Westlake

After more than a year of inactivity, mixed-use construction is finally returning to City West.  In the shadow of Good Samaritan Hospital, two developers are now in the midst of site preparation for a pair of residential complexes that will infuse the Westlake neighborhood with more than 800 new market rate apartment units.

On a 4.1 acre property immediately northeast of the hospital, the Vancouver-based Holland Partner Group recently commenced work on a long delayed $125 million mixed-use development.  Known as the Bixel and Lucas project, plans call for a low-rise development with 648 residential units and 40,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space.  According designs drawn up in 2011, the project will consist of two phases, the first of which entails the conversion of a vacant eight-story office building at 1136 W. 6th Street into 42 apartments.  The second stage, which consists of approximately 600 residential units, calls for the construction of a new, six-story building that would occupy most of the project site.  Residential amenities would include a landscaped interior courtyard, recreation room, dog run, and parking accommodations for 762 vehicles.  As part of a density bonus granted by the city, Bixel and Lucas shall reserve 30 of its residential units very low income households.  The almost 925,000 square foot development comes on the heels of 1111 Wilshire, a significantly smaller building opened by HPG in early 2013.  Bixel and Lucas, like 1111 Wilshire, features a colorful facade designed by Nadel Architects.

Image credit: Nadel Architects

1136 W. 6th Street, currently being refurbished as part of HPG's Bixel and Lucas Development.  See what it looked like before.

A few blocks southwest, Astani Enterprises recently commenced demolition on the cluster of one-story commercial buildings formerly located at 1501 Wilshire Boulevard.  In their place, the Beverly Hills-based developer intends to construct Valencia, a 218-unit complex designed by Killefer Flammang Architects.  Rising six stories, the building will offer 4,400 square feet of ground floor commercial space, in addition to a 258-car underground parking garage.  Similar to many Downtown projects currently in predevelopment, the project utilized the city's recently instated bicycle parking ordinance to allow for a 10% reduction in total number of vehicular parking stalls required.  Like Bixel and Lucas, stipulations of a density bonus granted by the city also require Valencia to include affordable housing.  In this case, a total of 18 residential units will be reserved for low income households.  The $60 million development is located just one block west of Vero, another residential-retail complex opened by Sonny Astani in 2006.

• City West Project With 640 Units to Break Ground in 2014 (Downtown News)
• Good Samaritan Mixed-Use (Nadel Architects)
• Astani's Latest Westlake Mixed-User Revealed (Building Los Angeles)

Astani's Latest Westlake Mixed-User Revealed

Image Credit: Astani Enterprises

The resurgent Westlake neighborhood is about to get another influx of market rate units, this time courtesy of Sonny Astani.  As reported by the Downtown News, the Beverly Hills-based developer plans to start construction later this year on Valencia, a mixed-use development to be located at 1501 Wilshire Boulevard.  Designed by Santa Monica-based Killefer Flammang Architects, the six-story building will contain 218 apartment units, 18 of which shall be reserved for low income households.  The project will also feature 4,400 square feet of street level retail and a 253-car garage.  Valencia utilized the city's bicycle parking ordinance to receive a 10% reduction in the required number of vehicle parking spaces.  The $60 million development will require the demolition of several low-rise commercial structures that currently occupy the 1.5 acre parcel at Wilshire and Valencia Avenue.

Astani's project arrives as the long neglected Westlake neighborhood is witnessing a revival of construction activity at all ends of the specturm.  One block east of Valencia, Good Samaritan Hospital is currently in the midst of an $80 million expansion project.  North of the hospital, Holland Partners intends to break ground this year on a 648-unit development at the corner of Bixel Street and Lucas Avenue.  The Seattle-based company also completed a 210-unit building at 1111 Wilshire Boulevard in early 2013.  Further west, Metro and developer McCormack Baron Salazar are planning the second phase of an affordable housing project on the land above Westlake/MacArthur Park Station.

1501 Wilshire Boulevard

• 1501 Wilshire (Astani Enterprises)
• Developer Astani Plans Mixed-Use Project Near Downtown L.A. (Los Angeles Times)

Good Sam Expansion Still Moving Along

When we last checked in on Good Samaritan Hospital's Medical Plaza and Outpatient Pavilion, steel had barely progressed to the second level above ground.  Flash forward six months, and the frame of the 190,000 square foot structure is mostly complete.  Standing seven-stories tall, the $80 million expansion project topped out in a January ceremony.  The state-of-the-art facility will eventually house the hospital's radiology and oncology departments, in addition to an ambulatory surgery center.  Designed by Irvine-based Ware Malcomb, the expansion building will share a two-story lobby with one of the hospital's existing structures next-door.  The finished product will also include a ground floor cafe and a street facing window display focused on medical history.  Good Sam's newest wing rises at a time when the formerly derelict City West neighborhood is experiencing a flurry of renewed interest from developers.  Last February, Holland Residential opened a 210-unit apartment building one block east of new medical building.  Further west, Sonny Astani plans to break ground this year on a mixed-use development at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Valencia Street.  The "New Jersey," of Downtown?  Not for much longer.

• Steel Rises For Good Sam's Medical Plaza (Building Los Angeles)
• Good Samaritan Expansion Tops Out This Week (Downtown News)

Mini Development Boom Spawning Near Lafayette Park

Strange as it is to say, it seems like developers have recently zeroed in on the residential neighborhood south of Wilshire Boulevard's Lafayette Park.  Last month brought the news that a new 60-unit apartment building would be replacing a surface parking lot on Sunset Place.  Now, plans submitted to the city indicate that a vacant lot on 7th Street will give rise to a much larger mixed-use complex.  Located just west of Hoover Street, the new six-story building would consist of 158 apartment units above an uspecified amount of street level commercial space.  Occupying the majority of a city block, this project joins a wide variety of low-rise apartment proposals which have sprung up in the Westlake neighborhood over the past twelve months.  While building so much market rate residential in a currently low-income neighborhood may raise some eyebrows, similar developments were once a questionable proposition in Downtown.  With enviable transit access and gentrification bearing down on all sides, this could finally be Westlake's time to shine.  Other projects recently constructed nearby include Seventh & Coronado, a self described "68-unit, transit-oriented, community of affordable housing with social service space for large families."

• Case Information Summary Sheet (LADCP)

Second Half of MacArthur Park TOD Finally Moving Forward

It might be a little behind schedule, but development is finally coming to K.O. the underutilized space atop the Westlake/MacArthur Park subway station.  According to a document from the Los Angeles City Council, Metro and developer McCormack Baron Salazar are gearing up to start work on the second phase of their $45 million MacArthur Park transit oriented development.  Set to rise five stories in-between Alvarado Street and Westlake Avenue, the Torti Gallas/Roschen Van Cleve-designed structure will contain 81 low-income apartments above approximately 17,000 square feet of ground floor retail space.  The highly successful phase one, which opened across the street in May 2012, received over 1,000 applications for its 92 affordable units.  Given that level of demand, it's probably safe to assume that phase two will have little trouble finding tenants.  Especially at a location which provides a front row view of MacArthur Park.  The city memo indicates that work on phase two must commence by March 24, 2014 in order to comply with affordable housing financing requirements.  In other words, Red and Purple line passengers should be on the lookout for construction fencing and heavy equipment.

• 660-686 South Alvarado/Alley Vacation Proceedings (LA City Council)
• Housing Secretary Tours Metro's Westlake/MacArthur Park Transit Oriented Development (The Source)

Renderings Revealed for Pico Union Hotel Development

Planning documents presented to the Los Angeles City Council have unveiled renderings for a new hotel development in Pico Union.

The low-rise Hotel Olympia would be built a one-acre property at 1700 West Olympic Boulevard, located within a half-mile of LA Live and approximately one mile from the Los Angeles Convention Center.  Plans from developer CK Hospitality call for a five-story structure containing 149 guest rooms above 8,600 square feet of street-level restaurant space.  The hotel would feature a standard array of guest amenities, including a banquet room, outdoor pool deck and a 113-car underground garage.

Designs from architecture firm PKA & Associates orient the tallest portion of the building towards Olympic Boulevard, so as to maintain better harmony with adjacent residential buildings to the south.  Hotel Olympia would feature a variety of exterior finishes, including tile, tinted glass and corrugated metal.

The project, which first began meandering through the City Planning process in 2013, requires multiple discretionary approvals to begin construction.  Most notably, CK Hospitality has requested a General Plan Amendment from the highway-oriented commercial and medium residential land use designations to a community commercial land use designation throughout the entire site.

• CPC Recommendation Report: CPC-2013-3834-GPA-ZC-HD-CU-CUB-SPR (LA City Council)
• Low-Rise Hotel Planned in Westlake (Building Los Angeles)

Construction Cranes Rises in City West

With the recent installation of a tower crane, construction is now going vertical at City West's massive Sixth & Bixel development.

Work kicked off for the $200 million project last year, when Vancouver-based Holland Partner Group began converting a 1920s medical office tower at the corner Sixth Street and Lucas Avenue into apartments.  The eight-story edifice, designed by A.C. Martin, will consist of 42 residential units when open in mid-2015.  Holland Partner Group will reserve 27 of the building's units as affordable housing, in accordance with a density bonus granted to the project.

The project also includes the construction of two colorful six-story buildings, designed by architecture firm Togawa Smith Martin.  The low-rise structures will comprise an additional 606 residential units, seated above 25,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and a 762-car garage.  Plans call for a slew of residential amenities in this phase of the project, including a fitness center, an outdoor pool, and multiple rooftop decks.

A complete build out of the 900,000-square-foot complex is expected by late 2016.  By total number of residential units, Sixth & Bixel is the currently the second largest development under construction in Downtown, following Carmel Partners' monolithic G8 apartments.

• Rainy Day Westlake Construction Update (Building Los Angeles)