Chinatown WELCOME HOME

A Chinatown parcel that once harbored high-rise ambitions instead may give way for something much shorter. Earlier this month, LA City Planning received an application for a mixed-use development at the northwest corner of Cesar E Chavez and Grand Avenues. The project’s case filing calls for a seven-story building, containing 225 residential units, 8,000 square feet of ground floor retail, and a two-level subterranean parking garage. Back in 2006, the Downtown LA News reported that siblings Larry and Ralph Cimmarusti were working on plans for a 31-story mixed-use tower at this location.

All of a sudden, real estate around Chinatown Station seems to be a hot commodity. Forest City finally started work on the long delayed Blossom Plaza back in October, and now another nearby mixed-use development has shown its first sign of life in years. T.A. Patty Development is currently seeking the approval of a vesting tentative tract for the Chinatown Lofts, pegged for the triangular shaped parcel at 1101 N Main Street.

Stranded north of the 101 Freeway, Chinatown has largely missed out on the Central City’s post-millennial renaissance. However, with the arrival of new mixed-use developments and a $20 million remodel of the Cornfield Park, it appears that Downtown’s northernmost nabe has finally hit its stride. Now, the stage is set for Chinatown to welcome an ambitious project that could literally stand head and shoulders above the neighborhood. EVOQ Properties, owner of the Arts District’s Alameda Square complex, plans to construct a mixed-use development that would replace a vacant 5.24-acre property near the Cornfield Park.

Construction has progressed to the fourth level above ground at Blossom Plaza, an upcoming residential-retail complex from the West Coast arm of Forest City Enterprises. The $100 million development, located in Chinatown, will include 237 apartments when completed in Spring 2016. The low-rise will include a mixture of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans, including 53 units reserved as affordable housing. The project will also feature 21 townhouse-style apartments along its southern perimeter.

A forgettable warehouse near Chinatown may give way for a multi-family residential development. Last week, plans were filed with the City of Los Angeles which would allow for the construction of a condominium complex adjacent to the Arroyo Seco Parkway. The approximately one-acre site, located at 788 West College Street, could eventually birth a development featuring 102 residential units and parking accommodations for 230 vehicles. Further details about the proposed development are currently unknown.

After nearly two years of construction, developer Forest City Enterprises is finally nearing completion for Chinatown’s $100-million Blossom Plaza. The mixed-use development, located on an approximately two-acre site next to Metro’s Chinatown Station, consists of two colorful five-story structures featuring 237 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, including 54 reserved for low-income households. The project, designed by local architecture firms Togawa Smith Martin and Johnson Fain, is clad with exterior finishes including metal and cement plaster.

College Station, a controversial mixed-use complex planned near the Chinatown Gold Line Station, has received a design overhaul - complete with a haircut. The proposed development, slated for a 5.7-acre site at Spring and College Streets, calls for the construction of six low-rise buildings featuring residential units and pedestrian-oriented commercial space. When completed, the project from New York-based Atlas Capital Group will include 770 apartments and 51,000 square feet of ground-level retail - including a 37,000-square-foot market.

Cimmarusti Holdings, a Los Angeles-based company which operates a significant number of Burger King restaurants, is reviving an abandoned plan for a high-rise development north of Bunker Hill. The proposed 22-story edifice, slated for the southwest corner of Grand and Cesar E Chavez Avenues, would feature 299 residential units and 8,000 square feet of ground-level retail space. The approximately 250-foot tall building would be seated above a six-level parking structure, which would include one subterranean floor.

Following a full year of delays, the highly-anticipated renovation of Los Angeles State Historic Park has finally kicked back into gear. The 34-acre expanse on the northern edge of Chinatown - alternatively known as the Cornfield - shut down for its $20-million overhaul in April 2014, and was originally scheduled to re-open one year later. However, the Downtown News reports that construction crews discovered contaminants buried underneath the park during utility installation, including an uncharted building foundation and layers of ash from the railyard which once occupied the site.