Development WELCOME HOME

After more than a year of inactivity, mixed-use construction is finally returning to City West. In the shadow of Good Samaritan Hospital, two developers are now in the midst of site preparation for a pair of residential complexes that will infuse the Westlake neighborhood with more than 800 new market rate apartment units. On a 4.1 acre property immediately northeast of the hospital, the Vancouver-based Holland Partner Group recently commenced work on a long delayed $125 million mixed-use development.

The resurgent Westlake neighborhood is about to get another influx of market rate units, this time courtesy of Sonny Astani. As reported by the Downtown News, the Beverly Hills-based developer plans to start construction later this year on Valencia, a mixed-use development to be located at 1501 Wilshire Boulevard. Designed by Santa Monica-based Killefer Flammang Architects, the six-story building will contain 218 apartment units, 18 of which shall be reserved for low income households.

When we last checked in on Good Samaritan Hospital’s Medical Plaza and Outpatient Pavilion, steel had barely progressed to the second level above ground. Flash forward six months, and the frame of the 190,000 square foot structure is mostly complete. Standing seven-stories tall, the $80 million expansion project topped out in a January ceremony. The state-of-the-art facility will eventually house the hospital’s radiology and oncology departments, in addition to an ambulatory surgery center.

Strange as it is to say, it seems like developers have recently zeroed in on the residential neighborhood south of Wilshire Boulevard’s Lafayette Park. Last month brought the news that a new 60-unit apartment building would be replacing a surface parking lot on Sunset Place. Now, plans submitted to the city indicate that a vacant lot on 7th Street will give rise to a much larger mixed-use complex. Located just west of Hoover Street, the new six-story building would consist of 158 apartment units above an uspecified amount of street level commercial space.

It might be a little behind schedule, but development is finally coming to K.O. the underutilized space atop the Westlake/MacArthur Park subway station. According to a document from the Los Angeles City Council, Metro and developer McCormack Baron Salazar are gearing up to start work on the second phase of their $45 million MacArthur Park transit oriented development. Set to rise five stories in-between Alvarado Street and Westlake Avenue, the Torti Gallas/Roschen Van Cleve-designed structure will contain 81 low-income apartments above approximately 17,000 square feet of ground floor retail space.

With the rapid expansion of Downtown LA’s residential population, a variety of eateries and retail establishments have set up shop in the neighborhood. Another (albeit less exciting) necessity for a growing community is improved medical services, an area which now must play catch up due to Downtown’s growth spurt. With that in mind, Good Samaritan Hospital’s $80 million expansion finally got concrete in the ground this past August. The steel skeleton of the Medical Plaza and Outpatient Pavilion currently stands two floors above the northeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Witmer Street.

Last year, the LA Times reported that developer Sonny Astani was in the planning stages for a mixed-use project at the corner of Wilshire and Valencia. Today, an initial study is out for the low-rise development, to be known as the Valencia. Details read as follows: 1501 W Wilshire Blvd The project also includes a two-story gym and over 20,000 square feet of open space, divided between multiple courtyards and a dog run.

With a slew of high-rise buildings rising in both Downtown Los Angeles and Koreatown, it appears that construction cranes may soon spread to the adjacent Westlake neighborhood. Yesterday, plans were filed with the City of Los Angeles for the construction of a 41-story tower on a parking lot at Wilshire Boulevard and Bonnie Brae Street. The proposed development would feature 478 apartments - including 39 affordable units - as well as a learning and performing arts center.

A small residential building in Weslake built during the 1920s could make way for a mixed-use complex. Yesterday, plans were filed with the City of Los Angeles to construct a mid-rise building at 1322 W. Maryland Street. The proposed eight-story building would consist of 47 residential units above 760 square feet of retail space and a two-level underground parking garage. The project is contingent on several density bonus incentives, which are requested in exchange for setting aside four apartments for very low income households.

4Site Real Estate, a Los Angeles-based development firm, has begun construction on a residential-retail complex in Westlake. Twenty Three Hundred Beverly, named for its location at 2300 Beverly Boulevard, will consist of a four-story building featuring 45 apartments above ground-floor retail space and a parking garage. According to the developer’s website, the low-rise development will include a mixture of 22 one-bedroom flats and 23 two-bedroom, two-story units. The project, designed by Tighe Architecture, will locate its main driveway and garage off-street, to minimize auto-pedestrian conflicts.