Steven Sharp WELCOME HOME

When we last checked in on Good Samaritan Hospital’s Medical Plaza and Outpatient Pavilion, steel had barely progressed to the second level above ground. Flash forward six months, and the frame of the 190,000 square foot structure is mostly complete. Standing seven-stories tall, the $80 million expansion project topped out in a January ceremony. The state-of-the-art facility will eventually house the hospital’s radiology and oncology departments, in addition to an ambulatory surgery center.

Strange as it is to say, it seems like developers have recently zeroed in on the residential neighborhood south of Wilshire Boulevard’s Lafayette Park. Last month brought the news that a new 60-unit apartment building would be replacing a surface parking lot on Sunset Place. Now, plans submitted to the city indicate that a vacant lot on 7th Street will give rise to a much larger mixed-use complex. Located just west of Hoover Street, the new six-story building would consist of 158 apartment units above an uspecified amount of street level commercial space.

It might be a little behind schedule, but development is finally coming to K.O. the underutilized space atop the Westlake/MacArthur Park subway station. According to a document from the Los Angeles City Council, Metro and developer McCormack Baron Salazar are gearing up to start work on the second phase of their $45 million MacArthur Park transit oriented development. Set to rise five stories in-between Alvarado Street and Westlake Avenue, the Torti Gallas/Roschen Van Cleve-designed structure will contain 81 low-income apartments above approximately 17,000 square feet of ground floor retail space.

With the rapid expansion of Downtown LA’s residential population, a variety of eateries and retail establishments have set up shop in the neighborhood. Another (albeit less exciting) necessity for a growing community is improved medical services, an area which now must play catch up due to Downtown’s growth spurt. With that in mind, Good Samaritan Hospital’s $80 million expansion finally got concrete in the ground this past August. The steel skeleton of the Medical Plaza and Outpatient Pavilion currently stands two floors above the northeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Witmer Street.

Last year, the LA Times reported that developer Sonny Astani was in the planning stages for a mixed-use project at the corner of Wilshire and Valencia. Today, an initial study is out for the low-rise development, to be known as the Valencia. Details read as follows: 1501 W Wilshire Blvd The project also includes a two-story gym and over 20,000 square feet of open space, divided between multiple courtyards and a dog run.

With a slew of high-rise buildings rising in both Downtown Los Angeles and Koreatown, it appears that construction cranes may soon spread to the adjacent Westlake neighborhood. Yesterday, plans were filed with the City of Los Angeles for the construction of a 41-story tower on a parking lot at Wilshire Boulevard and Bonnie Brae Street. The proposed development would feature 478 apartments - including 39 affordable units - as well as a learning and performing arts center.

A small residential building in Weslake built during the 1920s could make way for a mixed-use complex. Yesterday, plans were filed with the City of Los Angeles to construct a mid-rise building at 1322 W. Maryland Street. The proposed eight-story building would consist of 47 residential units above 760 square feet of retail space and a two-level underground parking garage. The project is contingent on several density bonus incentives, which are requested in exchange for setting aside four apartments for very low income households.

4Site Real Estate, a Los Angeles-based development firm, has begun construction on a residential-retail complex in Westlake. Twenty Three Hundred Beverly, named for its location at 2300 Beverly Boulevard, will consist of a four-story building featuring 45 apartments above ground-floor retail space and a parking garage. According to the developer’s website, the low-rise development will include a mixture of 22 one-bedroom flats and 23 two-bedroom, two-story units. The project, designed by Tighe Architecture, will locate its main driveway and garage off-street, to minimize auto-pedestrian conflicts.

Yesterday, local and state officials joined with the nonprofit developer LINC Housing Corporation to announce the start of construction for Mosaic Gardens at Westlake, a new affordable housing complex on the outskirts of Downtown Los Angeles. The approximately $57-million development, located on a 1.2-acre site at the southwest corner of Beverly Boulevard and Lucas Avenue, will consist of five- and six-story structures featuring 125 residential units reserved for formely homeless families and households making between 30% and 60% of the Los Angeles area median income.

New environmental documents published by the Los Angeles Department of City Planning offer a first look at the 7th & Witmer Project, an upcoming affordable housing complex in the Westlake neighborhood. The mixed-use development from the nonprofit real estate firm Deep Green Housing would consist of a six-story structure featuring 76 residential units, 6,000 square feet of ground-level commercial space and a 32-car garage. The project, which is named for its location at the northwest corner of 7th and Witmer Streets, would include a mixture of studio and one-bedroom apartments for very low income households, as well as amenities such as two interior courtyards and a roof deck.