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After nearly five years of waiting, the effort to transform a vacant lot in East Hollywood into public green space is finally back in motion. The proposed Madison Avenue Park, slated for a vacant half-acre lot at 1175 N. Madison Avenue, has been on the drawing boards since 2011, when the City of Los Angeles purchased the underlying property for $1.6 million. According to the website of the Trust for Public Land (TPL), the pocket park will be split into two components.

Chalmers Equity Group, an industrial and commercial real estate firm based out of Pico Rivera, has broken ground on a new office building on the eastern perimeter of the Arts District. The Santa Fe Business Center, now rising from an approximately one-acre site at 500 S. Santa Fe Avenue, will consist of a four-story building featuring just under 100,000 square feet of office space and a 199-car garage. Plans on file with the City of Los Angeles indicate that the project would also include a rooftop amenity deck.

Based on a photograph provided by an Urbanize reader, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is nearing completion on a $40-million expansion of its headquarters in North Hollywood. The Saban Media Center - named for Cheryl and Haim Saban of the Saban Family Foundation - is a two-story, 30,000-square theater and media center located at 5220 Lankershim Boulevard. The LEED-certified facility, designed by the global architecture Gensler, will also house the Television Academy and its Foundation, serving as a platform to provide internships, scholarships, professional training and recognition programs.

The Runyon Group, a full-service real estate firm which operates out of Los Angeles and New York, is planning another development near the Expo Line’s Culver City Station. According to an Active Projects list from the Culver CIty Planning Division, Runyon intends to construct a four-story office building at 8888 Washington Boulevard. The proposed development would include more than 68,000 square feet of floor area, including slightly over 6,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

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.

The $200-million sequel to Hollywood’s Eastown development is now kicking into high gear. Last week, a trio of tower cranes was raised at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Argyle Avenue, setting the stage for vertical construction on Blvd 6200 South. The mixed-use complex, which is being jointly developed by Clarett West and DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, will feature a series of seven-story buildings containing 507 apartments, 60,000 square feet of ground-level retail space and an underground parking garage.

One year after mysteriously stalling out, Los Angeles-based real estate firm CIM Group has restarted construction at 888 S. Hope Street, the future site of a high-rise apartment building in Downtown Los Angeles. Real estate publication Bisnow reports that last week, crews from Suffolk Construction officially began site preparation for the 34-story tower, which will sit across the street from both Grand Hope Park and a Ralphs supermarket. The project, now known as the Grand Hope Lofts, will include 526 residential units and approximately 6,200 square feet of ground-level commercial space.

An environmental report published by the Los Angeles Department of City Planning (LADCP) has unveiled new details about the Seven, a residential tower proposed in Downtown’s City West neighborhood. According to the LADCP document, Pasadena-based Pangea Development intends to build its proposed mixed-use complex at the corner of 7th Street and Lucas Avenue, replacing the two-story City Center Motel. The proposed development would consist of a 26-story tower offering 241 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units, nearly 7,300 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and a six-level, 341-car parking garage.

One block south of the Sunset Boulevard and Western Avenue, where the controversial Hollywood Target remains a half-finished husk, construction has quietly started on another mixed-use development. Gemdale Corp., a large Chinese real estate firm, is partnering with Los Angeles-based LaTerra Development to construct a $125-million residential-retail complex on the former home of the defunt post-production firm Deluxe Laboratories. The project, located on a 3.5-acre site at 1350 N. Western Avenue, will be highlighted by a six-story building featuring 254 apartments - including 21 units of affordable housing - and approximately 4,000 square feet of ground-level commercial space.

A draft environmental impact report published by the Los Angeles Department of City Planning has revealed AMCAL Multi Housing Company’s proposal for a new apartment complex on the site of the Woodland Hills Post Office. The proposed Clarendon Street Apartments, slated for a 4.2-acre site at 22055-22147 Clarendon Street, would consist of a five-story building features 335 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, in addition to enclosed parking accommodations for 564 vehicles and 369 vicycles.