After spending decades as a surface parking lot, one of the most desirable development sites in Downtown Los Angeles is finally slated to birth a high-rise complex. Last week, plans were filed with the City of Los Angeles to construct a 43-story residential tower at the northeast corner of 8th and Figueroa Streets. The proposed development, located directly across the street from the FIGat7th shopping mall, would feature 436 dwelling units and slightly over 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space. Futher details about the project are currently unclear. The approximately one-acre property has long been listed amongst the portfolio of Mitsui Fudosan America (MFA), the U.S. arm of the prominent Japanese real estate developer Mitsui Fudosan. The company had previously attempted to build a 400-key hotel on the property during the 1990s. MFA, which is based in New York, opened a satellite office in San Francisco two years ago, with the expressed purpose of pursuing developments on the West Coast. In addition to the Figueroa lot, the company owns another development site on 8th Street between Hope Street and Grand Avenue.