City Century, the Los Angeles-based subsidiary of Shanghai real estate developer ShengLong Group, has quietly unveiled plans for multiple high-rise complexes in Central Los Angeles. The developer’s website was recently updated with new renderings of two condominium towers they plan to build at the intersection of 12th Street and Grand Avenue in the South Park neighborhood of Downtown Los Angeles. Renderings portray two glass, balcony-laden structures perched atop podiums, with a design aesthetic not dissimilar from the neighboring Evo tower. The proposed 22-story building at 1233 S. Grand Avenue would be known as the “Grand Residences,” and would consist of approximately 150 condominium units and 5,000 square feet of retail space or a small restaurant. With 180,000 square feet of cumulative floor area - spread over 9,000-square-foot floor plates - the building would rise to an architectural peak of 240 feet above street level. Plans also call for a total of six levels of parking - two subterranean and four above-grade. The tower is reportedly being designed by Los Angeles-based Steinberg Architects. No further details about the larger tower at 1201 S. Grand Avenue are currently available on City Century’s website, but a May article from the Los Angeles Times reported that it would stand 37 stories tall.
The company’s website also showases nascent plans for a multi-tower development near Staples Center and L.A. Live. The mixed-use complex, dubbed L.A. Gateway, would rise upon a 3.5-acre site at 1025 W. Olympic Boulevard. As with other Downtown developments from Chinese firms, the project would include a mixture of hotel rooms, luxury condominiums and pedestrian-oriented retail space. Sketches displayed on the City Century website portray three towers above a podium structure stretching between 9th Street and Olympic Boulevard. Plans call for a 5-star hotel feature 125 to 150 guest rooms, a 4-star conventional hotel with 400 to 500 guest rooms, and an unspecified number of residential units. Approximately 50,000 to 75,000 square feet of retail space would be concentrated along Olympic Boulevard.
A third development would replace a one-story retail complex on the eastern fringe of Koreatown. The project, slated for a 1.5-acre property at 2972 W. 7th Street, would consist of a high-rise tower featuring over 300 condominiums and ground-level commercial space. Further details about the proposed development, including its height, are unclear at this point in time. The property was previously intended for a six-story development that would have included 180 apartments and 15,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.