City West WELCOME HOME

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.

We may be in store for yet another Tuscan themed apartment building in City West. The “Under Development,” section of G.H. Palmer Associates’ website was recently updated to include a 9.6 acre property at 1000 W. Temple Street. The website currently provides no information on the number of units planned or a completion date. Geoffrey Palmer has become one of the most prolific developers of residential units in Downtown Los Angeles over the past decade, but has received much criticism in the process.

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.

Take another look at Bixel & 6th, the fortress-like mixed-use development currently sprouting next to Good Samaritan Hospital. Designed by Togawa Smith Martin, the six-story complex will offer 606 studio to three-bedroom apartment units, seated above 25,000 square feet of commercial space and a 762-vehicle parking garage. The $200 million development also entails the adaptive reuse of an A.C. Martin-designed office building, located at the corner of 6th Street and Lucas Avenue.

The Downtown construction boom continues to spill over the Harbor Freeway, as yet another mixed-use complex heads to City West. Earlier this week, plans were filed with the City of Los Angeles for a new residential-retail complex near Good Samaritan Hospital and Los Angeles Center Studios. The proposed development, located on a two-acre site at 1111 West 6th Street, would consist of two buildings featuring 362 residential units and approximately 25,800 square feet of ground-level commercial floor area.

A vacant office building in City West may soon give way for a high-rise residential development. The approximately one-acre property, located at 1247 W. 7th Street, was reportedly purchased for $19 million by Lifan Tower, LLC. The company is an American-based subsidiary of the Lifan Group, a Chinese manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles. Although exact details about the proposed development are currently unclear, a flythrough video of the project portrays it as an approximately 28-story glass tower.

After briefly turning over a new leaf on Broadway, developer Geoffrey H. Palmer is back to his old ways, with yet another large apartment complex planned on the perimeter of Downtown Los Angeles. The latest project, known as Ferrante, would rise from an approximately 9.6-acre site bounded by Temple Street, Beaudry Avenue, Mignonette Street and the Harbor Freeway. Plans call for the construction of a sprawling seven-story building which would include approximately 1,500 residential units, 30,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and on-site parking accommodations for up to 2,606 vehicles and 1,680 bicycles.

Jerry’s Motel, a small but well-reviewed budget hotel in the City West neighborhood of Downtown Los Angeles, is slated to make way for a larger boutique inn. The new establishment, to be known as the Metric Hotel, would consist of a five-story structure featuring 28 guest rooms and various amenities. All existing structures on the approximately .21-acre site at 285 Lucas Avenue would be demolished to make way for the new development.

One year after we last dropped by, Holland Partner Group’s massive Sixth & Bixel development has begun to take form. The $200-million development, located at 6th and Bixel Streets in City West, will consist of a pair of six-story structures designed by architecture firm Togawa Smith Martin. When completed, the two buildings will comprise 606 residential units, 25,000 square feet of ground-level commercial space and parking accommodations for up to 762 vehicles.

An initial study published by the Los Angeles Department of City Planning has revealed plans for Sapphire, an upcoming residential-retail complex in Downtown’s City West neighborhood. The project, which is being developed by Jade Enterprises, would rise from an approximately two-acre site fronting 5th and 6th Streets between Lucas Avenue and Bixel Street. Plans call for the demolition of an existing office complex and an associated parking garage at 1111 W.