Financial District WELCOME HOME

After signing seven new tenants, the Ratkovich Company has announced that more than 300,000 square feet of office space has been leased at the Bloc in Downtown Los Angeles. The 33-story building at 700 S. Flower Street is already host to a variety of technology and design firms, such as DLR Group, HauteLook, Studio One Eleven and Golin. The latest additions to its roster include KPFF, Placeworks, Krug Furnite, One Medical, MediaAlpha, Arc Capital Partners and Mance Media.

Leaders in business, government and research return to Los Angeles on November 10 for CityAge: Build the Future. CityAge: Build the Future, in Downtown Los Angeles on November 10, will look at the investments in infrastructure, innovation, resilience, transportation and energy systems that are required to build a globally competitive urban economy in the 21st Century. The conference will gater a leadership network of executives in government, architecture and planning, academia, investment, engineering and technology who are building L.A.’s future.

A new video released by Greystar Real Estate Partners offers a preview of Atelier DTLA, the 33-story tower now wrapping up construction at 8th and Olive Streets. The project, which was developed by Carmel Partners, will consist of 363 residential units seated above 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and a parking garage. Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, the the 352-foot tower will include amenity decks on its podium and roof levels, as well standard accommodations such as a fitness center and a swimming pool.

An initial study published by the Los Angeles Department of City Planning offers up new details for the Fig & 8th development, a proposed high-rise development that would replace one of Downtown’s most prominent parking lots. Mitsui Fudosan America, the U.S. subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Mitsui Fudosan, has owned the one-acre subject site at 8th and Figueroa Streets for more than 20 years. They plan to remove the existing parking lot to construct a 42-story high-rise edifice that would feature 436 residential units, approximately 10,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and a 479-car garage with four below-grade levels and four above-grade levels.

Six months after purchasing Downtown’s Foreman & Clark Building for $52 million, Canadian developer Bonnis Properties is moving forward with plans to convert the late 1920s building into apartments. Earlier today, the Vancouver-based real estate firm submitted plans to the City of Los Angeles to create approximately 79,000 square feet of residential area on the upper levels of the 13-story structure, with an average unit size of 660 square feet. Plans also call for approximately 8,500 square feet of retail space on the building’s ground-floor.

Last Friday, Greenland USA officially topped-off the second residential tower at Metropolis in Downtown Los Angeles. The 40-story building, which is on pace for completion in 2018, will feature 514 condominiums and pedestrian-oriented retail space near the intersection of 8th and Francisco Streets. Designed by architecture firm Harley Ellis Devereaux, the 461-foot tower will feature a combination of studio, one- and two-bedroom floor plans, some of which will include private balconies and terraces.

This past Saturday, all eyes were focused above the Downtown skyline, as Turner Construction raised a steel tube 1,100 feet above street level to complete the Wilshire Grand’s architectural spire. When all was said and done, the 73-story hotel and office tower had officially claimed the title of the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. Our friend and frequent collaborator Hunter Kerhart captured the entire saga from the rooftop of Ernst & Young Plaza.

Earlier this week, we were afforded the opportunity to tour the Metropolis site in Downtown Los Angeles. For a progress updated on the mixed-use complex, look below to the images from architectural photographer Hunter Kerhart. The $1-billion development from Greenland USA consists of four high-rise towers designed by architecture firms Gensler and Harley Ellis Devereaux. The buildings, ranging from 19 to 56 stories in height, will feature a combined 1,558 condominiums, 75,000 square feet of commercial space and a 350-key Hotel Indigo.

In this week’s Throwback Thursday, architectural photographer Hunter Kerhart shows eight months of progress on 801 S. Olive Street, the latest Downtown development from Carmel Partners. The first image, taken in February, captures the tower just past the halfway point of its 33-story climb. The second, snapped earlier this week, shows that vertical construction and exterior glass work are nearly complete. When finished in 2017, 801 Olive Street will feature 363 residential units and 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

According to a document from the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council, a major upgrade is planned for a prominent tower in the Financial District. Dallas-based real estate firm Lincoln Property Company intends to add new restaurant space and outdoor seating to the Wedbush Center, a 22-story office building at 1000 W. Wilshire Boulevard. The project would require the demolition of an existing cafe counter and associated features on the building’s ground floor.