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Fly Through Hollywood's Academy Square

A promotional video from Kilroy Realty has unveiled a fly-through glimpse of Academy Square, a proposed mixed-use complex in Hollywood. The $300 million project - which is being designed by architect Joey Shimoda - would feature a combination of low-rise and high-rise structures on a 3.5-acre lot bounded by Vine Street, DeLongpre, Ivar and Homewood Avenues. A series of four-story buildings would rise on the eastern edge of the property, creating 280,000 square feet of office and retail space.

New Hotel Rises in Old Town Pasadena

Construction continues for a new Residence Inn by Marriott at the northern edge of Old Town Pasadena. The project, which is being developed by real estate and construction firm R.D. Olson, will feature 144 extended-stay guest rooms and approximatley 1,000 square feet of meeting space. Planned amenities include a fitness center, an on-site market, a breakfast area and an elevated pool-and-spa deck. According to a 2014 press release, designs from ACRM Architects call for a five-story structure with stylings that evoke a “playful rendition of the arts and crafts heritage of Old Town Pasadena.“ The Mediterranean architecture will feature parapets and tiled gable roofs, plaster walls, and large multi-story windows which allow natural light to enter the building.

Architecture Meets Country Club Living at the Villas at Bear Creek

AIA award winning architect Doug Ewing FAIA has teamed up with Mi Casa Property on the Villas at Bear Creek Country Club, a new single-family subdivision in the Inland Empire. The project sits in the foothills of Murrieta and overlooks the Country Club and its famous Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, known for its rolling hills, lakes and natural terrain. The Villas consist of eight townhome-style dwellings with alternating floor plans.

Hollywood Apartments Receive Full Makeover

Conventional wisdom holds that most Angelenos will greet new developments with alternating complaints about traffic congestion and gentrification. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in Hollywood, where a small-but-vocal group of residents have fought tooth and nail against the dense commercial and residential complexes which have recently swept through the neighborhood. With that information in hand, it is an exceedingly rare sight for Hollywood residents to not just tolerate, but to actually embrace a new development.

Shiny New Renderings for the Historic Core's Topaz Mixed-User

During Downtown’s mid-2000 development boom, the bulk of construction work within the Historic Core consisted of converting derelict office towers into residential space. With most suitable buildings now spoken for, developers have set their sights on the neighborhood’s limited supply of surface parking lots. One such parking lot between Main and Los Angeles Streets is the site of Topaz, a mixed-use development proposed by Fashion District landlord Jade Enterprises. Topaz would rise seven-stories, containing 159 apartment units and 23,000 square feet of commercial space on its ground floor.

Luxury Apartments Open in Santa Monica

Real estate firm Alliance Residential has announced the grand opening of Sway, an upscale apartment complex in the heart of Downtown Santa Monica. The five-story development, located at the intersection of 5th Street and Broadway, consists of 122 residential units and approximately 4,500 square feet of ground-level commercial floor area. The building - which is now 45% leased - offers a wide range of floor plans, including studios, one-and-two bedroom-dwellings and multi-level walk-up units.

Exclusive: Urbanize LA Tours The BLOC

One of the most important projects currently underway in Downtown Los Angeles is the renovation of the erstwhile Macy’s Plaza fortress into an open-air mixed-use complex known as the Bloc. This process began when the Ratkovich Company submitted an unsolicited offer to purchase the shopping center from the previous owner, local office landlord Jamison Services. Within months, the transformation was already underway. One of the myriad benefits of adaptive reuse projects is that they can operate on much shorter timelines.

City to Explore Developments on San Pedro Waterfront

Over the coming years, the San Pedro Waterfront is expected to become a regional hub of commercial activitity, thanks to the $500 million AltaSea Marine Research Center and the planned redevelopment of the Port o’ Call Village. Now, the City of Los Angeles is exploging the possibility of adding apartments and hotel rooms to the mix. According to a memo from the Los Angeles City Council, the City’s Harbor Department and Economic Workforce and Development Department have hired a consultant to study the feasibility of developing multiple publicy-owned properties along the waterfront.

Crane Action in Little Tokyo

After seven months of digging, construction is finally going vertical for a new residential-retail complex adjacent to the deconsecrated Cathedral of St. Vibiana. The eight-story building, which being developed by Holland Partner Group, will consist of 237 apartments and nearly 4,000 square feet of ground-level retail and restaurant space. Designs from architecture firm Togawa Smith Martin call for a wide array of residential amenities, including a fitness center, a clubhouse and a shared pedestrian paseo with the former cathedral.

Hollywood Office Building Goes Vertical

With a tower crane now in place, the J.H. Snyder Company is finally ready to take its $70 million Hollywood office building above ground. 1601 Vine Street, proposed since 2005, will consist of an eight-story structure featuring approximatley 115,000 square feet of office space, 174 underground parking spaces and roughly 2,000 square feet of ground-level commercial floor area. Renderings from architecture firm Gensler portray the building with a glass curtain wall.