Baldwin Hills WELCOME HOME

Over two years after quietly filing for construction permits for a high-rise office building in Baldwin Hills, husband-and-wife developers Frederick and Laurie Samitaur Smith expect to break ground on the project within the next four months. According to the Los Angeles Times, the 17-story (W)rapper development is currently on track to begin construction in early 2017. At completion, the building would offer approximately 160,000 square feet of office space with a monthly asking rate of approximately $4 per square foot.

With the release of its final environmental impact report, minor revisions have emerged for the plan to redevelop the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza shopping mall with two million square feet of apartments, office space, hotel rooms and pedestrian-oriented shops and restaurants. Capri Capital Partners, the Chicago-based real estate investment firm behind the project, intends to construct new mid-rise buildings on the parking lots flanking the shopping mall, which dates back to 1947.

A document from the Los Angeles City Planning Commission (CPC) has revealed renderings for the Amalfi Apartments, a proposed multifamily residential development in Baldwin Hills. Developer Abraham Shofet, through his company JMDB Holdings, is planning to demolish a vacant medical office building at 3831 W. Stocker Street to build a four-story apartment building featuring 74 studio, one- and two-bedroom dwellings and a below-grade parking garage. The project would utilize density bonus incentives, which are requested in exchange for providing seven units of very low income housing.

Local real estate firm Vista Investment Group has announced for refurbishing two of its Los Angeles properties. In Echo Park, Vista is restoring the Jensen Recreation Center at 1706 Sunset Boulevard as a mixed-use property featuring 46 residential units and pedestrian-oriented retail space. Ground-floor tenants in the 50,000-square-foot structure already include Sage Vegan Bistro and Blue Bottle Coffee, while a brewery concept from Sage is expected to launch in Fall 2016.

In conjuction with the impending arrival of a $2-billion light rail line, the City of Los Angeles is pushing forward with streetscape improvements along Crenshaw Boulevard. The Crenshaw Boulevard Streetscape Plan, which is part of a larger effort to reorient neighborhoods around new transit stations, is intended to serve as a blueprint for new landscaping and public amenities along a five-mile stretch between 79th Street and the I-10 freeway. Per a presentation from the Department of City Planning, the goals of project include 1) the creation of a multi-modal corridor hospitable to automobiles, pedestrians cyclists and transit passengers and 2) the implementation of coordinated streetscape elements along the boulevard, making for a lively environment that is attractive to shoppers.

From the ashes of blighted Marlton Square rises a new medical office building, courtesy of healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente. Two years ago, the Oakland-based nonprofit announced plans to construct a new outpatient facility on an 8.6 acre parcel near the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Marlton Avenue. Now, an environmental report just released by LADCP has finally revealed all of the juicy details. Known by the glamorous title of “Kaiser Permanente Outpatient Medical Facility - Baldwin Hills MOB,” the project offers a four-story, 105,000 square foot building, surrounded by surface parking lots and a landscaped central plaza.

Expo Line passengers in-between the Culver City and La Cienega/Jefferson Stations might be getting some very noticeable eye candy in the not-so-distant future. Believe it or not, LADBS permits appear to be in the works for (W)rapper, the poorly-named, Eric Owen Moss-designed creative office building slated for the intersection of Jefferson and National Boulevards. Due to an extremely high floor-to-ceiling ratio, the 12-story tower would stand 230 feet tall, giving it a monolithic presence within the primarily low-rise Baldwin Hills neighborhood.

A potentially transformative development is planned for the current West Adams broadcast facility of radio stations KABC and KLOS. According to new environmental documents published by the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, the 11-acre site at La Cienega and Jefferson Boulevards is to be redeveloped with multiple podium-style buildings that would offer a combination of residential, office and retail uses. Although an exact development program would likely hinge on market conditions, the project’s initial study establishes a baseline plan of 1,218 multi-family residential units and 300,000 square feet of commercial space.

Last week brought the unveiling of a striking mixed-use development planned for the park-and-ride lot of Metro’s Culver City Station. Now, travel one stop east on the Expo Line to check out what San Francisco real estate firm Carmel Partners has in store for an 11-acre property which abuts the elevated La Cienega/Jefferson Station. Earlier this week, the Los Angeles Department of City Planning published a draft environmental impact report (DEIR) for the Jefferson and La Cienega project, a proposed transit oriented development which would replace the broadcast facility of radio stations KABC and KLOS with 1,900,000 square feet of residential units, office space and pedestrian-oriented retail.

Stalled plans for a new shopping center on Crenshaw Boulevard are going back to the drawing board. According to an agenda item from an upcoming meeting of the CRA/LA Governing Board, the Charles Company has suspended its efforts to construct District Square - a 300,000-square-foot retail complex which was to be located steps from Metro’s Expo/Crenshaw Station. Instead, the West Hollywood-based developer is now pursuing new entitlements for the property - a 6.5-acre expanse bounded by Crenshaw Boulevard, Rodeo Road, Norton Avenue and Coliseum Street.