South Park WELCOME HOME

With a Park Hyatt officially on the way at Oceanwide Plaza, an official website has now unveiled new renderings for the $1-billion mixed-use complex adjacent to Staples Center and L.A. Live. Oceanwide Real Estate Group, the Chinese developer behind the project, is well into the construction process for three high-rise towers on the city block bounded by 11th, 12th, Figueroa and Flower Streets. When completed in 2019, the sprawling 4.6-acre site will yield 504 condominiums, 184 hotel rooms and more than 150,000 square feet of commercial space.

The rumored Cavalli Hotel may not have panned out, but it seems that another luxury hotel brand will gladly set up shop at Oceanwide Plaza. According to the Wall Street Journal, Park Hyatt has signed on to operate the hotel component of the $1-billion mixed-use development, which is now rising across the street from Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles. The project, which is the first U.S. venture of the Beijing-based Oceanwide Real Estate Group, will consist of three high-rise buildings that include 504 condominiums and a 153,000-square-foot open-air galleria featuring shops and restaurants.

Efforts to boost the number of hotel rooms in Downtown Los Angeles continue to bear fruit, as another developer zeroes in on a property near the Convention Center and L.A. Live. According to a motion by 14th District Councilmember Jose Huizar, local developer Pacific Properties Partners has announced its intention to construct a 250-room Cambria Hotel at Georgia Street and James M. Wood Boulevard. Cambria, a limited-service brand catering to business travelers, operates under the banner of Choice Hotels International.

Developer Mack Urban has announced the debut of Wren, a seven-story luxury apartment complex in Downtown’s South Park neighborhood. Located on Pico Boulevard between Olive and HIll Streets, the project consists of 362 residential units seated above 4,000 square feet of restaurant space connected to a private outdoor park. Rents in the building will range from approximately $1,850 to $6,200 per month, with the first move-ins scheduled for February 2017 Wren, designed by Togawa Smith Martin, features a variety of studio one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans, as well as a collection of townhomes fronting Olive and Hill Streets.

Fresh off an impromptu groundbreaking ceremony for 1133 S. Hope Street, another Downtown development has suddenly begun prepping for construction. Onni Group, a Canadian real estate developer, has set up protective fencing around a surface parking lot at 1212 Flower Street. The approximately 1.5-acre site, which abuts Pico Station, is slated for a pair of high-rise towers featuring 730 residential units, 8,000 square feet of retail space and parking accommodations for 830 vehicles.

Fulton Street Ventures, the American subsidiary of Chinese real estate firm R&F Properties, held a groundbreaking ceremony this weekend for a long-delayed high-rise development in Downtown Los Angeles. The small gathering was first spotted by Downtown-based entrepreneur Andy Rosillo. The project, 1133 S. Hope Street, is a proposed 28-story residential tower located east of Staples Center and the L.A. Live entertainment district. Plans call for an approximately 330-foot building would contain roughly 200 condominiums, 5,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, a parking garage and residential amenities.

An image provided by architectural photographer Hunter Kerhart shows that exterior work is nearing completion for Lennar Corporation’s mixed-use development in Downtown Los Angeles. The project, designed by KTGY Group, consists of a six-story building at the southwest corner of Olympic and Olive Streets. When completed in 2017, the podium-style structure will offer 201 apartments and 4,000 square feet of retail space, seated above underground parking for 228 vehicles and 221 bicycles.

Holland Partner Group has taken construction vertical for the second phase of Apex, a high-rise development in the South Park neighborhood of Downtown Los Angeles. The project, located at 9th and Figueroa Streets, would consist of 341 apartments and approximately 11,600 square feet of retail space in a 28-story, LEED-Silver building. Plans also call for a rooftop amenity deck and an underground parking garage. Designed by Gensler and the Preston Partnership, the tower will feature a glass curtain wall and a prominent digital sign.

A new environmental report offers up additional details on Shenzhen Hazens Real Estate Group’s proposed redevelopment of the Luxe Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. The L-shaped property at 1020 S. Figueroa Street, currently developed with a mid-rise hotel and associated parking lot, is located directly across the street from Staples Center and the L.A. Live complex. Under plans from the Chinese developer, the existing structures would be demolished for a trio of high-rise towers featuring hotel rooms and condominiums above approximately 80,000 square feet of commercial space.

Over the weekend, the installation of a tower crane kicked off vertical construction for CIM Group’s Grand Hope Lofts. The 34-story building, located at 888 S. Hope Street, will feature 526 residential units above approximately 6,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Plans also call for an outdoor pool, a lounge, a rooftop deck and green space above an adjacent parking garage. Renderings from architecture firm CallisonRTKL portray the tower with a contemporary glass facade.