Development WELCOME HOME

Following years of dormancy, two proposed high-rise developments near the LACMA campus are finally showing signs of life. Last month, permit applications were filed with the City of Los Angeles for new mixed-use developments at 6245 and 6401 Wilshire Boulevard. According to case filings from the Department of Building and Safety (LADBS), both properties would be developed with a combination of apartments, ground-floor commercial space and concomitant parking accommodations. Further records from the Department of City Planning indicate that the projects are linked to UDR, a Colorado-based developer of multi-family residential complexes.

Nearly two years after breaking ground, vertical construction continues for the Desmond on Wilshire, an upcoming multi-family residential complex on the famed Miracle Mile. The project, designed by Architects Orange, replaces a former parking lot behind the iconic Desmond’s Tower at 5500 Wilshire Boulevard. The finished product will consist of a seven-story structure, featuring 175 apartments and three underground parking levels. The low-rise building will offer a mixture of one- and two-bedroom units, accompanied by amenities such as a pool, a fitness center and a rooftop deck.

Excavation is now underway for the Mansfield, the latest residential-retail complex to set up shop on the Miracle Mile The seven-story project, which is rising from a 1.45-acre site at 5100 Wilshire Boulevard, consists of a seven-story structure featuring 138 apartments, approximately 13,000 square feet of ground-level commercial space and a 299-vehicle parking garage. According to the website of the Korda Group - the Mansfield’s Los Angeles-based developer - the building will also include two-floor lofts, private balconies, a swimming pool and a fitness center.

The website of architecture firm MVE & Partners has revealed new renderings for a luxury apartment tower planned by Grove developer Rick Caruso. The $155 million project, slated for a triangular site at 333 S. La Cienega Boulevard, would consist of a 19-story structure featuring 154 residential units, 3,500 square feet of restaurant space and a 26,000-square-foot grocery store. According to the Los Angeles Times, the building would include one- and two-bedroom apartments with private balconies, high ceilings and luxury finishes.

After years of delay, developer Genton Property Group has finally broken ground on a Four Seasons-branded residential tower in Beverly Grove. The Four Seasons Private Residences - Los Angeles, slated for an approximately 1.3-acre plot at 300 S. Wetherly Drive, will offer 59 luxury condominiums that are expected to be some of the most expensive in Southern California. The building will boast hotel-inspired amenities, including a private screening room and concierge service.

A student team from UCLA Extension’s Landscape Architecture Program recently won a competition held by the Los Angeles Department of Public Works to design drought-tolerant street medians for San Vicente Boulevard. The winning concept features easily reproducible materials and native plants, including desert willow, California gray rush and Pacific stonecrop. The contrast between the greenery and the surrounding concrete streetscape is intended as a visual metaphor for the blending of Southern California’s built and natural environments.

With two construction cranes now perched high above La Cienega Boulevard, the long-awaited makeover of the Beverly Center is officially underway. The $500-million renovation - announced earlier this year by owner Taubman Centers, Inc. - reenvisions the fortress-like shopping center with a more welcoming appearance and enhanced pedestrian access. Specific improvements, as designed by architecture firm Studio Fuksas, include the following: Construction is expected to be completed by late 2018.

Even June Gloom failed to put a damper on construction at the LACMA campus on the Miracle Mile, where the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ (AMPAS) long-awaited museum is well underway. The $300-million undertaking, located at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, will create a showcase for AMPAS’ vast collection of filmmaking artifacts, including tens of thousands of still photographs, screenplays, production and costume design drawings, manuscripts and storyboards. These assets will be displayed through a series of galleries, exhibition spaces, educational spaces and on-site theaters.

After years of planning, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has launched an official website for its proposed $600-million makeover, which would extend the campus over and across Wilshire Boulevard. The project, designed by the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, is dubbed the LACMA Building for the Permanent Collection. According to its website, the approximately 368,000-square-foot structure would be comprised by eight semi-transparent pavilions supporting a main exhibition level. The main exhibition level would extend over Wilshire Boulevard to a separate museum-owned property on the south side of the street.

As completion nears for the $100-million Fountainview at Gonda, the Los Angeles Jewish Home is now looking to build its second community outside of its longtime base in the San Fernando Valley. Yesterday, the nonprofit operator of senior housing announced plans for a new eldercare facility in the Beverly-Fairfax area, a short distance west of the Grove. The project, which would rise on Beverly Boulevard between Crescent Heights Boulevard and Laurel Avenue, is being developed in conjunction with local real estate firm Black Equities Group.