Development WELCOME HOME

According to the Los Angeles Daily News, demolition is now underway at the 61-year-old Rocketdyne Propulsion & Power Plant at Victory Boulevard and Canoga Avenue in Warner Center. The approximately 46-acre property, vacant for the last several years, is being converted by owner United Technologies Corp. into what has been described as a $3-billion “sustainable urban neighborhood.“ The project, which is being developed in partnership with Boston Global Investors (BGI), will feature a series of high-rise and mid-rise buildings offering residential units and office space above ground-floor shops and restaurants.

The live cameras may be down for the count, but aerial images from architectural photographer Hunter Kerhart showcase progress on the Sixth Street Viaduct replacement. Crews are currently in the process of demolishing the 3,500-foot long bridge, which was compromised by an alkali-silica reaction. Past studies indicated that the condition put the 1932 structure at a high risk of collapse during a major seismic event. One of the bridge’s iconic metal arches was removed earlier this month, and will eventually be incorporated into a park that is planned beneath the viaduct.

In January, the resurrection of the Los Angeles Rams marked the end of the NFL’s 20-year absence in Southern California. The team has now settled into temporary accommodations at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and will play its home games at a $2.66-billion stadium in Inglewood by the year 2018. While the return of professional football was met with great fanfare by countless Angelenos, two organizations were left disappointed by the outcome.

A new environmental report offers a first glimpse of a proposed mixed-use development in West Los Angeles. Markwood Enterprises, a Beverly Hills-based real estate firm, has proposed the construction of a new residential-retail complex at the northwest corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Barrington Avenue. Plans filed with the city describe a five-story building that would feature 53 apartments, five of which would be set aside for very low income households.

After two years of silence, the Park La Brea News has reported that developer J.H. Snyder will break ground next Spring on a new office building along the Miracle Mile. The $170-million development, located adjacent to SAF-AFTRA plaza on Wilshire Boulevard, will create a 12-story structure featuring 250,000 square feet of office space, as well as 2,100 parking spaces in an expansion of an existing garage. Renderings of the project, designed by the Jerde Partnership, portray a mid-rise tower clad with angular glass panels.

According to plans filed earlier this year with the Culver City Planning Division, a residential-retail complex is proposed for a vacant lot near the city’s Expo Line station. The project, slated for a .34-acre property at 3434 Wesley Street, would consist of a low-rise structure featuring 15 residential units and approximately 14,000 square feet of ground-floor gallery or office space. City records list the project’s applicant as the president of Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects, the local firm responsible for designing a number of striking mixed-use developments throughout the city, including several in West Hollywood and West Los Angeles.

Over the past several years, a series of commercial developments have reactivated a series of parking lots along Koreatown’s stretch of Wilshire Boulevard. A local investor is now looking to spread that momentum south. Yesterday, plans were filed with the City of Los Angeles to construct a residential-retail complex 1054 S. Vermont Avenue. The project - which is being developed by 1054 Vermont, LLC - would consist of a seven-story structure featuring 228 condominiums, approximatley 53,000 square feet of retail space and a subterranean parking garage for 563 vehicles.

The Hollywood Walk of Fame continues to shed its once-grungy reputation. Yesterday, plans were filed with the City of Los Angeles to construct a mixed-use development at Hollywood Boulevard and Wilcox Avenue, featuring 260 residential units and 17,800 square feet of commercial space. According to a case filing from the Department of City Planning, the proposed 280,000-square-foot building would range from 42 feet to 160 feet in height. The development site is currently home to the Attie Building, an early 1930s structure at 6436 W.

Earlier this week, we were afforded the opportunity to tour the Metropolis site in Downtown Los Angeles. For a progress updated on the mixed-use complex, look below to the images from architectural photographer Hunter Kerhart. The $1-billion development from Greenland USA consists of four high-rise towers designed by architecture firms Gensler and Harley Ellis Devereaux. The buildings, ranging from 19 to 56 stories in height, will feature a combined 1,558 condominiums, 75,000 square feet of commercial space and a 350-key Hotel Indigo.

Aerial images captured by architectural photographer Hunter Kerhart showcase progress on the $800-million expansion of the Westfield Century City shopping mall. The project, slated to open in phases starting in 2017, will add 422,000 square feet of shops and restaurants to the flagship retail center. Prominent new tenants will include a three-level Nordstroms, a remodeled Bloomingdale’s, a new Macy’s and the first West Coast location of the Italian market chain Eataly.