Steven Sharp WELCOME HOME

CenterCal Properties, an El Segundo-based real estate firm, intends to raze Long Beach’s aging SeaPort Marina Hotel to build a new shopping center. Located at the intersection of 2nd Street and Pacific Coast Highway, the nearly 11-acre property has been the subject of numerous failed developments going back to the 1990s. Although previous attempts were felled by a combination of community resistance and lukewarm market conditions, CenterCal will look to avoid those stumbling blocks through a relatively modest proposal.

According to an upcoming presentation to the Mid City West Community Council’s Planning and Land Use Committee, an entity known as Candleberry Properties intends to convert a 1950s office building in Beverly Grove into a 176-room boutique hotel. The 11-story structure, located at 6399 Wilshire Boulevard, would be gutted and transformed into the AC Marriott Hotel at Wilshire and La Jolla. As with other establishments under the AC Brand, the project is being marketed as a minimalisty luxury hotel catering to business travelers.

The contentious plan to convert a medical office building in West Hollywood into a multifamily residential complex has survived a major legal hurdle. The Park La Brea News reports that a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge has rejected an appeal by the West Hollywood Residents Association (WHWRA) seeking to overturn approvals for the adaptive reuse project at 8899 Beverly Boulevard. Developer Townscape Partners intends to convert the 10-story building into 76 residential units - 15 of which would be set aside as affordable housing.

On a 1.8-acre site at 6th Street and Virgil Avenue in Koreatown, developer Century West Partners is building its latest multifamily residential complex. The project, known as Next on Sixth, will consist of a seven-story building featuring 398 rental apartments and just over 20,000 square feet of retail space. As reported last year by the Los Angeles Times, discount retailer Target has leased the entirety of the building’s ground floor. An official website shows that the project will offer a combination of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, featuring walk-in closets, floor-to-ceiling windows and nine-foot ceilings.

Renderings have emerged for the residential-retail complex proposed for a 1.1-acre site at Argyle and Selma Avenues in Hollywood. Two months ago, a subsidiary of Mill Creek Residential Trust filed plans to redevelop property at 1546 N. Argyle Avenue, which has long been the home of Ametron Electronics. The proposed development, which has been dubbed Modera Argyle, would consist of a podium-type building featuring 263 market rate apartments, 13 units of very low income housing and approximately 30,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

The Kor Group, in partnership with Stork/Alma Development group, has announced the official start of construction on the Proper Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. First announced in July 2015, the future 148-room lifestyle hotel will be located in the former YMCA Building at 11th Street and Broadway, near the intersection of the Fashion District and South Park. Under the adaptive reuse project, the 91-year-old building will add features such as a rooftop pool and lounge deck.

Plans for a Frank Gehry-designed development near the Sunset Strip were approved earlier today by the Los Angeles City Council, following a contentious process which resulted in significant alterations to the $300-million proposal. Slated for a 2.5-acre property at 8150 Sunset Boulevard, the project would consist of 191 market rate apartments, 38 units of workforce and affordable housing and approximately 65,000 square feet of ground-level commercial space. Renderings have portrayed the development with two mid-rise buildings, which could rise to a maximum height of 178 feet above grade.

Yesterday, affordable housing developer Abode Communities announced the grand opening of Selma Community Housing in Hollywood. Located at the corner of Selma and Cherokee Avenues, the five-story structure features 66 units of affordable housing on property owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District. Abode received 1,500 applications for the $32.9-million building, which is targeted at LAUSD and families earning between 30% and 60% of the Los Angeles area median income.

Dinerstein Cos., a Houston-based real estate firm, has commenced with construction for a multifamily residential complex at the former site of Santa Monica’s Village Trailer Park. The Millennium East Village, which is rising from a 3.5-acre site at 2930 Colorado Avenue, will consist of a series of five-story buildings featuring 374 residential units, coming in studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. Approved plans call for 38 of the apartments to be set aside as affordable housing, as well as 25,000 square feet of commercial space along Colorado Boulevard.

An upcoming presentation to the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council’s Planning and Land Use Committee has revealed new details about the proposed Cambria Hotel near L.A. Live. Local developer Pacific Property Partners has teamed with private equity firm Sun Capital on the mixed-use project, which would create an 18-story tower at the intersection of James M. Wood Boulevard and Georgia Street. At completion, the development would add 247 guest rooms and suites in close proximity to the Los Angeles Convention Center.