Development WELCOME HOME

Ever since its completion in 2007, the Santee Court/Santee Village complex has felt a bit isolated. Sitting at the northern edge of the Fashion District, the 381-unit condo and apartment complex spans six former industrial buildings overlooking a central courtyard. The complex, along with the 64-unit Textile Building, are the only residential structures on the block defined by Seventh, Eighth, Los Angeles and Maple Streets. Too far east to feel like a contiguous part of the Historic Core, yet starkly different than the neighboring Flower District and Skid Row.

Later this week, Skid Row Housing Trust (SRHT) will grant the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council’s Planning and Land Use Committee a first look at SP7, a proposed supportive housing complex in the Flower District. Slated for two properties at the intersection of 7th and San Pedro Street, the project would create a total of 100 affordable apartments geared towards homeless veterans. At 419 E. 7th Street, plans call for the construction of a six-to-seven-story building featuring 81 residential units with a number of communal spaces.

If you’re interested in real estate development but have never heard of the Seafood District, there’s a good reason for that. The neighborhood - sandwiched between Skid Row and the Arts District - consists almost exclusively of businesses specializing in the wholesale distribution of fish. However, one property owner may be looking to change that. Earlier this week, plans were filed with the City of Los Angeles to convert a pair of industrial-zoned buildings at 719 and 823 East 5th Street into mixed-use complexes.

A document from the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council (DLANC)’s Planning and Land Use Committee has revealed new details about a proposed development which would convert a series of buildings in Skid Row into high-density housing. The project, described as the “Efficient City Apartments,” would span between four buildings at 721, 801, 809 and 813 E. 5th Street. Accordng to the presentation, designs for David Lawrence Gray Architects call for a total of 160 residential units above slightly over 10,000 square feet of retail space and parking accommodations for 32 automobiles and 40 bicycles.

Another day brings another mixed-use development to the Arts District. Earlier today, plans were filed with the City of Los Angeles to construct a residential-retail complex at 5th and Seaton Streets, one block west of the new Arts District park. The project, which is linked to the limited liability company WW-5th & Seaton, would consist of 218 live/work lofts above 18,400 squre feet of retail space. A total of 24 residential units would be set aside for very low income households.

A document from the the Los Angeles Department of City Planning has unveiled renderings for an upcoming development in northern Koreatown. Property owner Gabriel Gold, through the limited liability company Savier Melrose, is planning a mixed-use complex at Melrose and Oxford Avenues. The proposed development, slated for the current site of two single-family homes, would consist of a six-story building featuring 45 residential units and 3,760 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

Architecture firm Harley Ellis Devereaux (HED) has unveiled renderings for the residential component of the 100 West Walnut development, a mixed-use complex slated for the parking lots surrounding the Pasadena headquarters of the Parsons Corporation. AMLI Residential, a Chicago-based firm partnering on the development, is planning up to 475 residential units in a series of five-and-six story structures near the intersection of Walnut Street and Fair Oaks Avenue. Renderings of the project, which has been dubbed AMLI at Old Pasadena, portray contemporary buildings clad with brick facades centered around pedestrian passageways and large outdoor gathering spaces.

Koreatown’s largest land owner continues to look towards redevelopment for some of its underutilized properties. Yesterday, Jamison Services, Inc. filed plans with the City of Los Angeles to redevelop the parking garage at the back of 3470 Wilshire Boulevard, a mid-century office complex. The project site, which fronts 7th Street and Mariposa Avenue, would be redeveloped with two mixed-use buildings featuring 641 apartments, 18,454 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 1,910 vehicle parking spaces.

The sudden deluge of proposed developments continues in the Arts District. Earlier today, plans were filed with the City of Los Angeles to construct a mixed-use complex at 676 S. Mateo Street. The project calls for the demolition of a 27,000-square-foot warehouse, followed by the construction of a seven-story buildings featuring 172 live/work apartments, approximatley 23,000 square feet of retail space and parking for 286 vehicles. A case filing from the Department of City Planning links the proposed development to a limited partnership known as District Centre.

In recent years, a series of adpative reuse projects have added thousands of residents to the Fashion District, a low-slung area of Downtown Los Angeles which serves as the nexus of Southern California’s apparel industry. The neighborhood is now poised for its most noticeable change yet, as a potential high-rise development appears on the horizon. Earlier today, plans were filed with the City of Los Angeles to construct a residential tower at the corner of 7th and Maple Streets.