Development WELCOME HOME

Most of the news coming out of Hollywood’s development front in recent months has been bad, but there are glimmers of hope to be found. Three nondescript buildings just west of Sunset Boulevard and La Brea Avenue are slated for demolition were recently demolished, making way for a new mixed-use development. Located at 7124 Sunset, the 44-unit building would rise to a maximum height of 65 feet, containing 3,000 square feet of ground level restaurant space.

Amongst the first developers to cash in on Downtown LA’s 21st century residential boom, Geoff Palmer has lined the Central City’s freeway ring with his Italian Renaissance themed apartment buildings. True to form, his newest projects both overlook the 110, albeit in very different parts of the neighborhood. The Lorenzo, which stands seven stories tall, occupies the majority of a city block bounded by Flower Street, Adams Boulevard, Grand Avenue and 23rd Street.

Resurgent Koreatown continues on its upward trajectory, with a new residential development planned one block south of Wilshire Boulevard. A surface parking lot at 2867 Sunset Place, just a short walk from Lafayette Park, is set to make way for a new 60-unit apartment building. Located three blocks east of Wilshire/Vermont Station, the development would include parking accommodations for 77 vehicles. This section of the neighborhood is currently in the midst of mini-development boom, with the signs of adaptive re-use projects and ground up construction apparent throughout the neighborhood.

The controversial Village at Westfield Topanga, scourge of neighbors and Southern California taxpayer advocates alike, is shrinking. According to an economic feasibility study commissioned by the LA City Council, the Australian mall developer has dropped its plans for a hotel as part of the first phase of their Warner Center mega-project. The hotel, which Westfield may still pursue at a later date, would have risen 16-stories from the intersection of Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Erwin Street.

We’re one month into construction on the $2 billion Crenshaw/LAX Line, and the view from Exposition Boulevard has already changed significantly. With Earlez Grille safely relocated two blocks south, the low-rise commercial structures which previously stood next to Expo/Crenshaw Station are no more. By 2020, this now vacant lot will sit above the northern terminus of Metro’s newest light rail line. Set to add 8.5 miles of track and seven new stations to the Metro Rail network, long term plans call for extensions of the Crenshaw Line to Wilshire Boulevard and even as far north as Hollywood.

UPDATE: Information supplied by Curbed LA indicates that the above rendering no longer represents the current vision for the project. Plans now call for 200 apartments and 4,700 square feet of retail space. Sunset Boulevard, already in the midst of a pronounced building boom, is adding yet another large scale project to the pipeline. According to a recent case filing with the Department of City Planning, the parking lot adjacent to the historic Earl Carroll Theatre will be replaced with a new mixed-use complex.

The Hollywood skyline was starting to get a little sparse, with construction cranes having recently disappeared at both Emerson College and Blvd 6200. Then, along came the $380 million Columbia Square development to save the day. While little more than a giant dirt pit at this point in time, developer Kilroy Realty will eventually turn the parcel at 6121 Sunset Boulevard into over 300,000 square feet of new Class-A office space and a 20-story residential high-rise.

Back in January, news of a supportive housing project adjacent to the Gold Line’s Indiana Station was met with hostility from Boyle Heights residents. Hopefully a proposed transit oriented development next to Soto Station will get a warmer response. According to a recent case filing with LADCP, plans are in the works for a 64,000 square foot mixed-use structure near the intersection of 1st and Soto Streets. Rising six stories, the project would consist of 50 residential units, 3,400 square feet of street level commercial space, and 8,500 square feet of office space on its top floor.

The post-Cold War exodus of Los Angeles’ aerospace industry has left behind large swaths of underutilized industrial land. Chief amongst those properties is a 47-acre parcel at the intersection of Victory Boulevard and Canoga Avenue, which was previously occupied by Rocketdyne. Located in the heart of Warner Center, talk of development has swirled around the property since 2011. Finally, developer Boston Global Investors tipped their hand last week. In a Wednesday article from the Daily News, BGI announced plans for LA Warner Center, a $3 billion dollar development consisting of residential, office, retail and hotel uses.

Adaptive re-use…in the Valley? Apparently so. According to an environmental notice published by LADCP last week, the mid-century office building at the southwest corner of Riverside Drive and Lankershim Boulevard is going condo. Plans from the Sterling Real Estate Group call for converting the seven-story structure into 56 residential units and just over 11,000 square feet of ground floor retail space. The condo development would provide parking for 163 vehicles in an existing surface lot.