|
Residential Construction Rising From Arts
District to South Park
By Greg Aragon
There are 3,000 housing units under construction and about
4,000 planned in downtown Los Angeles through 2007. The next
wave of building may need to include suburban amenities such
as drug stores, supermarkets, bookstores and more restaurants
to keep downtown's 100,000 closer to home when they go shopping
or dine out.
|
|
|
The Grand Avenue
Lofts project in the South Park area of downtown Los
Angeles is scheduled to be completed this summer. The
66-unit apartment building is a development of the Lee
Group Inc. (photo by Paul Napolitano).
|
The demand for housing in downtown Los Angeles is as hot
as the opening of a blockbuster movie on a Fourth of July
weekend.
With housing getting harder to find and the excitement of
a downtown pad calling, people are flocking in big numbers
to inner-city lofts, apartments and condos from Little Tokyo
to South Park.
"It's a boom," said Bill Witte, president of The
Related Cos. of California, which is based in Los Angeles.
He said that a big reason for the wave is "a high number
of people age 50-65 who are interested in a return to the
ease of urban living and a large number of people age 20-30,
who are also interested in urban living."
"Downtown residential is [the] hottest market,"
added Wade Killefer, principal with Santa Monica-based Killefer
Flammang Architects. "People have finally discovered
the development opportunities in downtown L.A."
Killefer, whose company presently has about 20 projects worth
well over $250 million under construction or in the pipeline
in the downtown business district, said that a "tremendous
imbalance in supply and demand" is a factor in the rapid
growth of the city's core. "There is not enough housing
in the basin, and many people can't find affordable housing
at any level, so they are looking to downtown," he added.
'Bargain" Prices Downtown
The median price of a home in Los Angeles County reached
the $500,000 mark in May, according to Dataquick, a Southern
California-based company that tracks monthly home prices in
the region. By comparison, prices for loft-style condominiums
now on the market in downtown Los Angeles start at about $300,000.
The downtown area, with a population of roughly 100,000 people,
is bounded by the 101 Freeway to the north, 10 Freeway to
the south, Los Angeles River to the east and the 110 Freeway
to the west. Since 1999, more than 3,500 units have been added
to the downtown market and there are now more than 7,800 market-rate
apartments and lofts in the central business district-a 53
percent increase since 1998.
With about 3,000 housing units under construction and approximately
4,000 planned through 2007, the business epicenter is obviously
welcoming the influx.
"Downtown is one of the only places to build in L.A,"
said Greg Vilkin, president of Cleveland-based Forest City
West Residential Group, which is currently developing three
downtown projects. "Downtown has reached critical mass,
which has created an opportunity for sufficient retail and
other services to support the housing."
|
|
|
A 128-unit apartment
building at 373 E. Second St. gobbles up an entire block
of real estate in the Arts District on the eastern side
of downtown Los Angeles. The developer, MacFarlane Partners,
expects to open the five-story complex next month. Monthly
rental rates will range from $980 to $2,695 (photo by
Paul Napolitano).
|
Daniel Gehman, a partner with Irvine based-Thomas P. Cox
Architects agreed. He said the recent additions of projects
such as Staples Center, Disney Concert Hall, and the Cathedral
of Our Lady of the Angels, are helping to draw new residents.
Vilkin, whose company's downtown projects total 940,000 sq.
ft. in 1,036 units and add up to about $250 million, said
the combination of retirees and new college grads looking
for their first home, is helping "Los Angeles grow up
and become a metropolitan city."
If he has his way, many of the shoppers will move into the
$60 million Metropolitan Lofts, $70 million Metro 417 or $120
million 1100 Wilshire projects designed by his firm.
Office-Building Conversions
Eleven hundred Wilshire is the conversion of a 17-year-old,
37-story office high-rise into 230 condominiums, which will
sell from the mid-$300,000s to about $2 million. The units,
ranging between 600 sq.- ft to nearly 3,000 sq.- ft., will
be broken up into studios, one bedrooms, two bedrooms, two-story
lofts and penthouses. The project is located at 1100 Wilshire
Blvd. It broke ground in March and is currently in the framing
stage and scheduled for a March opening. San Mateo-based Webcor
is the general contractor. The high-rise will feature an outdoor
"sky deck" with pool, full-service spa and a health
club and a sky lounge. There will also be about 10,000-sq.-ft.
set aside for retail. With the tower's residential units beginning
at the 17th floor, all condos will have a panoramic view of
downtown L.A. and the neighboring communities. "The views
are jaw-dropping," Gehman said.
Gehman, whose company does about 25 percent of its business
downtown, is also working on a project in Little Tokyo with
The Related Cos. Known as Block 8, the $250 million endeavor
is currently in schematic design. The 1-million-sq.-ft. project
sits on a 6-acre site and includes the construction of up
to 800 apartments and condos, with 50,000 sq. -ft. of retail
space and 600 parking spaces. The development is located on
Second Street, between Los Angeles and San Pedro streets.
An even bigger project currently in the planning stage for
The Related Cos. is the $1.2 billion Grand Avenue Project
on Grand, most of which will be between First and Second Streets.
The build-out plan calls for approximately 3.2 million sq.
ft. of space for entertainment venues, retail shops and office
buildings. Also to be improved as part of the project is the
existing County Mall, which will be transformed into a 16-acre
park stretching from the Music Center at the top of Bunker
Hill to City Hall at the bottom of the Hill.
Of the project's $1.2 billion cost, approximately $300 million
will be needed for public infrastructure improvements and
approximately $900 million for real estate development. The
city expects the venture to create more than 16,000 long-term
jobs and generate over $85 million annually in local, county
and state taxes. The Related Cos.' Witte, whose firm currently
does about 70 percent of its California business in downtown
L.A., said that if all goes right, construction on the Grand
Avenue Project could begin in mid-2006.
|
|
|
Metropolitan Lofts
is a $58.8 million, 264-unit loft-style residential
building at 1030 S. Flower St., one block east of Staples
Center. The Forest City Enterprises' project will include
11,500 sq. ft. of retail space and an attached parking
structure (photo by Paul Napolitano).
|
Another interesting project is the $50 million Eastern Columbia
Lofts, a former haven for garment industry factories and offices,
located on South Broadway, between Eighth and Ninth streets
and near the fashion, jewelry and South Park districts. Clad
in turquoise terra cotta and gold leaf, the 13-story art deco
retail tower was considered opulent when it opened in 1930.
The 270,000-sq.-ft. building, listed on the National Register
of Historic Places, is being developed by Hancock Park-based
Kor Group and designed by Santa Monica-based Killefer Flammang.
When completed early next year, it will feature 147 condominiums,
residential rental units, retail space, a restaurant and a
nightclub. Units will range from $300,000 to $600,000 and
average 1,200 sq. ft. The interiors was redesigned by Los
Angeles-based Kelly Wearstler Interior Design. It will boast
11- to 14-ft. ceilings, polished concrete floors, stone-accented
bath and kitchen counters, and gourmet kitchens equipped with
stainless steel appliances. Other amenities include a rooftop
fitness center, sun deck, pool, spa and fireplace.
More Growth Predicted
Killefer, whose company will see about 60 percent of its
business come from the downtown Los Angeles market this year,
said a major factor facilitating the area's growth is that
"there is nobody trying to stop development or say it
shouldn't go on." He said that he expects development
to keep steady for the next 10 years. After that, "I
think we will be developing along the L.A. River (at the far
east end of downtown)," he added.
Gehman called the downtown dwelling demand "insatiable"
and predicted about five years of growth before many of the
current projects finish and the local population increases.
"Then the initial hiccup will occur when the new proposed
projects begin to get opposition from neighbors," he
said. "Up until now, there aren't any neighbors."
Listed below are links to additional
stories included in the Los Angeles/Long Beach Market Report:
|
print this page
e-mail this page
