Steven Sharp WELCOME HOME

Los Angeles has found itself in an identity crisis, with many of its low-slung neighborhoods now in direct conflict with the harsh realities of a housing shortage. Some have sought to combat the region’s rental crunch by increasing housing supply through high-density developments. Mayor Eric Garcetti, as well as several other state and local officials, have looked to ease the construction process through a variety of measures such as streamlining permitting and speeding environmental lawsuits against large projects.

Aerial images supplied by architectural photographer Hunter Kerhart show completion nearing for developer UDR, Inc.’s $107-million Koreatown tower. The 18-story development, located at 3033 Wilshire Boulevard, features 190 apartments atop 5,500 square feet of retail space and a parking garage. The project offers a mixture of studio, one- and two-bedroom units, with amenities such as a fitness center, a rooftop garden, a swimming pool and a spa. According to the website of Steinberg Architects, the 201-foot tall building is defined by a series of protruding decks that give its facade a fluid experience.

Approximately $6 billion in investment is coming to Anaheim, by way of expansions to the city’s major theme parks and new commercial developments surrounding Angel Stadium. Besides the addition of the much-vaunted Star Was land at Disneyland Park, planned developments include four luxury hotels, an expansion of the Anaheim Convention Center, new homes, offices, hotels and retail destinations in the Platinum Triangle district. This past July, Anaheim granted approval to a trio of hotels in the city’s Resort District.

A new promotional video offers a flythrough tour of One Beverly Hills, a planned $1.2-billion development by the Dalian Wanda Group. The project, which is being developed in partnership with the Athens Group, would consist of two mid-rise structures between Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards, featuring 193 luxury condominiums, 134 hotel rooms and multiple restaurants. Plans also call for multiple roof terraces, meeting rooms, event space, green space and parking for 1,140 vehicles.

Local investment firm Ikon Hospitality, which specializes in hotel properties, is in the midst of construction on a new boutique inn near North Hollywood Station. The four-story development, designed by Irvine-based architecture firm nKlosures, will feature 43 guest rooms and gallery space for local artists. Guest rooms will come will be supplemented by a number of amenities, including private patios and a restort style pool. The low-rise building, located at the southeast corner of Tujunga Avenue and Weddington Street, is on pace for completion in 2017.

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.

According to the Los Angeles Daily News, demolition is now underway at the 61-year-old Rocketdyne Propulsion & Power Plant at Victory Boulevard and Canoga Avenue in Warner Center. The approximately 46-acre property, vacant for the last several years, is being converted by owner United Technologies Corp. into what has been described as a $3-billion “sustainable urban neighborhood.“ The project, which is being developed in partnership with Boston Global Investors (BGI), will feature a series of high-rise and mid-rise buildings offering residential units and office space above ground-floor shops and restaurants.

The live cameras may be down for the count, but aerial images from architectural photographer Hunter Kerhart showcase progress on the Sixth Street Viaduct replacement. Crews are currently in the process of demolishing the 3,500-foot long bridge, which was compromised by an alkali-silica reaction. Past studies indicated that the condition put the 1932 structure at a high risk of collapse during a major seismic event. One of the bridge’s iconic metal arches was removed earlier this month, and will eventually be incorporated into a park that is planned beneath the viaduct.

In January, the resurrection of the Los Angeles Rams marked the end of the NFL’s 20-year absence in Southern California. The team has now settled into temporary accommodations at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and will play its home games at a $2.66-billion stadium in Inglewood by the year 2018. While the return of professional football was met with great fanfare by countless Angelenos, two organizations were left disappointed by the outcome.

A new environmental report offers a first glimpse of a proposed mixed-use development in West Los Angeles. Markwood Enterprises, a Beverly Hills-based real estate firm, has proposed the construction of a new residential-retail complex at the northwest corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Barrington Avenue. Plans filed with the city describe a five-story building that would feature 53 apartments, five of which would be set aside for very low income households.