Steven Sharp WELCOME HOME

One year after we last dropped by, a sleek apartment building is taking form in Hollywood. Located at 1737 N. Las Palmas Avenue, the project consists of a six-story structure that will feature 82 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, 125 underground parking spaces and approxiamtely 1,200 square feet of ground-floor space for a coffee shop. Plans also call for amenities such as an outdoor pool deck, a fitness center and a rooftop obseration area.

According to a report from the Los Angeles Housing + Community Investment Department, the City of Los Angeles could partner with a number of non-profit and for-profit developers to build affordable housing on City-owned lots and former CRA assets. The properties, and the proposed developers, are listed as follows: If approved, the proposed development teams would be required to create permanent affordable housing units and single-family homes on the properties, intended to serve individuals and households earing at or below 30% to 120% of the Los Angeles area median income.

A new video released by Greystar Real Estate Partners offers a preview of Atelier DTLA, the 33-story tower now wrapping up construction at 8th and Olive Streets. The project, which was developed by Carmel Partners, will consist of 363 residential units seated above 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and a parking garage. Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, the the 352-foot tower will include amenity decks on its podium and roof levels, as well standard accommodations such as a fitness center and a swimming pool.

A 1.44-acre property flanking the Harbor Freeway could birth multifamily residential units and pedestrian-oriented commercial space. Earlier today, plans were filed with the City of Los Angeles to build a seven-story apartment building at 136 S. Beaudry Avenue. The property, which lies between 1st and 2nd Streets, would yield 220 dwelling units, in addition to 7,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space and amenities including a pool, a jacuzzi and a parking garage.

Though Exposition Park has not officially won the race to become the home of George Lucas’ Museum of Narrative Art, the legendary filmmaker is nonetheless moving forward with the entitlement process for his $1-billion legacy project. According to plans filed earlier today with the City of Los Angeles, the proposed museum at 3800 Vermont Avenue would take the form of a five-story structure featuring approximately 312,000 square feet of space dedicated to exhibits, theatres, offices, lecture halls, classrooms, a library, shops and restaurants.

Last Friday, Urbana Development broke ground on the Terminal at Douglas Park, a series of office condominiums in Long Beach. Phase one of the project, located at Conant Street and Brayer Avenue, will consists of two buildings featuring 50,000 square feet of office space in 20 condominium units ranging from 2,356 square feet to 2,888 square feet in size. The units could be combined in different configurations to create larger spaces.

Nearly one year after acquiring the abandoned Sears Hollywood site at 5601 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles-based real estate firm CIM Group appears to be proceeding with long-delayed plans for a mixed-use complex on the property. The so-called Paseo Plaza development would rehab the vacant Sears building - portions of which date back to 1928 - and build multifamily residential units and retail space on an adjoining parking lot. According to a 2006 filing with the Department of City Planning, the project would create 375 residential units and more than 260,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

Johnson Fain, the architecture firm behind several of the newest buildings in Downtown Los Angeles, is now looking to become a more direct participant in the development process. Earlier this week, the Downtown-based firm filed plans with the City of Los Angeles to demolish its longtime Chinatown headquarters and replace it with a mixed-use complex. The proposed development at 1201 N. Broadway would consist of a podium-style building containing 124 residential units, 8,700 square feet of ground-floor retail space and underground parking.

Yesterday, Trammell Crow Residential officially broke ground on the Alexan South Echo, a mixed-use development in Historic Filipintown, adjacent to Echo Park. Located at 1910 W. Temple Street, the project will consist of a six-story structure featuring 200 market rate apartments above approximately 22,000 square feet of street-fronting commercial space and underground parking. Plans call for a mixture of studio, one- and two-bedroom dwellings, with an average size of 898 square feet.

In the latest twist in George Lucas’ effort to build his proposed Museum of Narrative Art, the legendry filmmaker has simultaneously unveiled designs for potential locations in Exposition Park and at San Francisco’s Treasure Island. The Exposition Park site consists of two surface parking lots along Vermont Avenue, situated west of the California Science Center and south of Metro’s Expo/Vermont Station. According to preliminary designs presented eariler this week to Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne, the proposed building, designed by Ma Yansoung of MAD Architects, would contain between 265,000 and 275,000 square feet of interior space, of which 100,000 square feet would be dedicated for galleries.