Steven Sharp WELCOME HOME

A 108-year-old warehouse in the Arts District could see new life as a hotel. Earlier today, plans were filed with the City of Los Angeles to convert the three-story building at 400 S. Alameda Street into 66 “condominium-hotel” units above 5,400 square feet of ground-floor restaurant and speciality retail space. A case filing from the Department of City Planning lists the project’s developer as Habita Arts District, a Delaware limited liability company.

Nick Andert, best known for his numerous Metro Rail fantasy maps, is now producing videos. In a YouTube video titled “A Visual Breakdown of LA’s Measure M,” Andert walks viewers through all of the rail and bus rapid transit projects which would be funded by the November ballot initiative. For further reading on the subject, please see our past coverage here and here. If passed by Los Angeles County voters in November, Measure M would raise $120 billion to build light rail and subway lines criss-crossing Southern California.

The Zackary Brothers have filed updated plans for a residential-retail complex in Westwood. The project, slated for a .31-acre property at 1855 S. Westwood Boulevard, would consist of a four-story structure featuring 33 apartments above 3,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving commercial space and two levels of underground parking. Renderings portray a contemporary building with balconies and a central courtyard. It is unclear how substantially the project has changed since March 2015, when it was initially submitted to the Department of City Planning.

This November, Los Angeles County voters will decide whether or not to tax themselves indefinitely to build hundreds of miles of transit infrastructure criss-crossing Southern California. One of those projects, the $1.3-billion East San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor, is expected to open in 2027. In preparation for a light rail or bus rapid transit line down Van Nuys Boulevard, the City of Los Angeles is now planning for future development along the approximately nine-mile corridor.

As the dust finally settles following the return of the Los Angeles Rams, a series of new developments have emerged which could eventually bring Metro Rail to the team’s doorstep in Inglewood. This week, Metro’s Board of Directors is scheduled to discuss how to improve transit access for the $2.66-billion stadium that Rams owner Stan Kroenke is developing on the 298-acre property which formerly housed the Hollywood Park race track. A motion introduced by Board Members Mark Ridley-Thomas, James T.

Meta Housing Corporation has announced the completion of the Cabrillo Family Apartments, a new mixed-use development in the City of Torrance. The project, motivated by Southern California’s need for affordable housing, replaces a dilapidated commercial structure at 1640 Cabrillo Avenue. The new residential-retail complex consists of a three-story structure, featuring 44 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and approximately 3,700 square feet of ground-level retail space. Amenities include private balconies, a community room, a recreation deck and a 7,500-square-foot courtyard.

Los Angeles-based real estate firm RBM of CA has started construction on a multifamily residential development in the South Robertson neighborhood. The seven-story structure, now rising at 8950 Pico Boulevard, will offer 36 apartments with studio, one- and two-bedroom floor plans, seated above approximately 1,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Three of the building’s residential units would be set aside for very low income households. According to a page from the RBM website, units in the podium-style complex will range from 530 square feet to 1,078 square feet in size.

A tall construction fence now surrounds 300 S Wetherly, the site destined for Genton Property Group’s 12 story Wetherly Luxury Residences. When completed, the Wetherly will create 55 condominiums next to the border between Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. However, most of the existing apartment buildings on the construction site have yet to be demolished.

The Mid-Wilshire area has been on quite a roll in 2013. Construction is well underway on several new mixed-use developments and the J.H. Snyder Company has announced plans for a 13-story office tower overlooking Hancock Park. To top that, upwards of $1 billion in upgrades are potentially coming to LACMA by way of a new Motion Picture Museum (designed by Renzo Piano and Zoltan Pali) and the proposed redesign of the main campus by Peter Zumthor.

Out to Beverly Hills we go, where McMansions reign supreme and subways under high schools cause natural disasters.. A trio of low-rise apartment buildings at 332-336 Oakhurst Drive are slated to be demolished to make way for 31 residences. The Oakhurst Condominiums, designed by Sherman Oaks-based Michael Ball Architects, would rise five stories above a subterranean parking garage. Residential amenities include a lounge and fitness center on the project’s ground level, with vehicular access provided by the alley at the back of the property.