This week we're taking a look at the construction along the Wilshire Corridor, between the 405 Freeway and Los Angeles Country Club. We'll refrain from calling this stretch the Golden Mile, as we can't handle the abuse from the comments. Yesterday, we looked at the The Ashton Wilshire.
The elderly and physically infirm - i.e. the oldies - should not be denied the pleasure of living in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in LA. Belmont Village, a new senior living facility, located between Warner Avenue and Holmby Avenue, is proposed to provide 172 units (118 assisted living units and 54 independent living units), per the project approval letter. The new building, like yesterday's Ashton Westwood, will rise only six stories. As an indignant commenter noted yesterday, all of you criticizing the height should know that the Westwood Specific Plan only allows six stories and that the other tall buildings being built were grandfathered in... blah, blah, blah. The architect for the project is identified as RNL Design, a multi-national architecture, engineering and planning firm with offices in Denver, LA, Phoenix and Dubai. Opening of the Belmont Village is scheduled for Summer 2009.
This week we're taking a look at the construction along the Wilshire Corridor, between the 405 Freeway and the Los Angeles Country Club. We'll refrain from calling this stretch the Golden Mile, as we can't handle the abuse from the comments. Previously, we looked at the new buildings popping up in the Miracle Mile.
Today's trip through the Wilshire Corridor begins at Wilshire and Gayley, site of the now empty, not long for this world, Hollywood Video building which closed earlier this year. So far nothing has been announced for the site, but rumors of a big new hotel moving onto the site are swirling around the neighborhood. Hopefully we'll find out more details when the project is filed with City Planning.
The other site, northeast of the Hollywood Video site, is the sad remains of the former Mann National theater. Regrettably, it's nothing more than a dirt lot with a promise of future development in the form of a pretty rendering on a wooden sign. So what happened? Paraphrasing what we heard, developer Ron Simms made it through the approval process but hit a snag as he tried to clear his conditions of approval. One of the conditions allowed the Bureau of Engineering (BOE) to ask for a street widening along the property frontage, which against the advice of the Planning Department, BOE decided to ask for. Now the project is stuck in bureaucratic limbo as a street widening would kill the project and BOE refuses to back down. A lone bottle of wine rises from the dirt lot for now.
Tomorrow, we go east!
Hollywood Video/Mann National sites
Wilshire & Gayley/ Lindbrook & Gayley, Westwood Hotel rumors, Wino's dirt Lot, Stalled retail Previous Mann National coverage
Thanks for getting us the info we requested. If you have stuff for next week, please email us at la@curbed.com. We like getting pictures, too. Merci.
[The proposed retail portion at Solair Wilshire]
1) Koreatown: From the depths of our email archives we were able to partly answer the question regarding the proposed retail in the structure near the Solair Wilshire. It appears you will now have access to a hair salon, a bank and something called UHAP, which may be the Korean version of IHOP.
2) Downtown: It wasn't as big a secret as we were lead to believe. Several of you spotted the location of the Kobe Bryant viral marketing video on YouTube. Via reader R.G.: "Parking Garage adjacent to the LA Athletic Club on 7th and Olive. Kobe and Co. were at the club most of the day. They took video on the 7th floor basketball court as well."
Those who gun it through the Wilshire corridor may miss all the construction going on in this pocket between Comstock Avenue and Westwood Boulevard. Most interesting to potential buyers: Beverly West, a 22-story tower that could be done by the end of the year (pictured above). It was once lauded for planning to have the most expensive condos in the city! Meanwhile, it's within walking distance of the putting green--fore!--at Holmby Park. Click through for renderings and description. UPDATE: Yup, the LABJ reported back in September that Fifield Cos. sold the Beverly West, known back then as the Club View development, to a Dubai developer for $95.4 million. [Rendering via KeatingKhang Architects]
· Wilshire Boulevard Construction: A Primer [Curbed LA]
· Olympic Boulevard Construction: A Primer [Curbed LA]
Add another project to your list of developments for Wilshire Boulevard. A reader emails us the details on a new project, proposed for the corner of Wilshire and Crescent Heights. Neighbors of the property have been notified of a proposed tower on the northeast corner of the intersection, currently home to a one-story Wells Fargo bank. Via our email:
"It says that they want to put in a 21-story mixed-use building with 133 residential units and 6,850 of ground level retail. The building will reach a maximum height of 255 feet. They also propose to put four 3-story town homes, totaling 11,000 square feet at the back along Orange, where it is zoned residential. From the outline, it looks like the residential tower will be oriented toward Wilshire, set back pretty far from the residential units behind."
Thank you to those participating in this week's game. We gave you a property for sale, and you tried to give us what you thought the listing price was. Now the answer to last Friday's Back on the Golden Mile...
Asking Price: $1,395,000 Listing: Described as the perfect pied-a-terre, this 1,850 sq. ft. condo boasts 1 bedroom and 1.5 baths. You're already sold, right? Features an "expansive master bedroom with office area, [and] large balcony..." The fifth floor unit also features views of Century City and the ocean. Doorman, concierge, pool and gym. It's also available for lease for $7,500/month.
This week's award goes to guesser Gray #11 who guessed $4,000 above the actual price. Registered users travelingman and rolo tomassi guessed $5,000 above asking. Nice job! Most of you guessed within $300k. Guesses averaged $94,593 above the actual listing price. More next week.
· 10560 Wilshire Blvd, #506 [Luxury Condo Specialists]
PriceSpotter is going condo shopping again on the Golden Mile. As per usual, we're giving you pictures, location, and specifications of a property. You're putting them together and giving us the ASKING PRICE. Will you go under or over? Submit your guesses in the comments, and Monday we'll reveal the listing.
What/Where: 1 BR, 1.5 BA condo on Wilshire in Golden Mile Size: 1,850 sq. ft. condo Additional details: Views of Century City and the ocean. Custom moldings, balcony, fireplace. Gourmet kitchen with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. Marble tub and steam shower. Concierge and doorman.
LACMA has conquered new land on Wilshire Blvd., claiming the space across the street. We believe this is the building that was previously owned by Lennar and identified as the "Gallery Lofts," but are seeking to verify. "According to the Los Angeles Times, the sale was made for close to $12 million. A 1960 five-story office building and a formerly planned loft complex are currently present on the site, for which LACMA representative Barbara Pflaumer says the museum does not have any specific plans." [ArtInfo]
Bankruptcy and lawsuits aren't stopping Axium International from expanding its ugly little empire at the intersection of Curson and Wilshire (ed note: as you may recall, Axium's headquarters was a finalist in the Curbed LA Ugliest Building Contest last year). Axium CEO John Visconti is presently seeking approval for a zone change to permit the construction of a new three-story office building adjacent to the existing Axium building on Curson Avenue. The project is currently wending its way through the City of LA. The proposed building will include two-levels of subterranean parking and a coffee shop on the ground floor. The elevations of the building we have seen leave out the important details, like windows and colors, so we're not exactly sure how ugly this building will be. Judge for yourself.
PriceSpotter is squeezing one in before the holiday. As per usual, we’re giving you pictures, location, and specifications of a property. You’re putting them together and giving us a SALE PRICE. That's right, this one has sold! Submit your guesses in the comments, and tomorrow we’ll reveal the sale price.
What/Where: 2 BR, 3 BA condo on Wilshire (Golden Mile) Size: 2,345 sq. ft. Additional details: Another Golden Mile condo this week. This unit sold in November of this year. Features include stunning city and ocean views, a balcony, office/study and bright master bedroom. Granite kitchen countertops, breakfast nook and exercise room. Plus an onsite pool. This week we are looking for sale price. No cheating, please.
Scouring the web to find renderings of that 47-tower in Century City--where a construction mishap is apparently causing everyone to sweat--we discovered this rendering for the Carlyle on Wilshire on the Skyscraper forum page. Swanky-looking, no doubt. Lots of fancy amenities, too: library, LA Fitness gym, pool, salon and "executive car wash" services. We're told the building hasn't opened yet for sales. But back to that 47-story building, anyone have images?
· LA Metro Project Run-Down [Skyscraper Page]
· Carlyle On Wilshire [Official Site]
The outlook for the real estate market can’t be so bad when one developer, The Fifield Compaies, is moving forward with the most expensive condominium project in Los Angeles’ history. The proposed 21-story 1200 Club View Tower, at the corner of Comstock Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard, will have approximately 35 units priced at about $2000 per square foot; that’s about twice what other condos in the area sell for. Units in the Club View will range from about $4 million to $14 million. To be sure, the Club View won’t be short on ostentatious luxurious amenities that any buyer of this caliber would expect:
Each floor of the tower will have no more than two condo units, and between five and seven of the floors will feature a single, penthouse-style unit. Designed by the Keating/Khang Architecture firm, the 163,000-square-foot building will feature heavy use of glass and granite, and a motor court with a floating metal ceiling and a “dignified Parthenon-like space with columns done in a modern architecture style,” said principal Richard Keating.
The “most expensive” honor probably won’t last long though: the planned Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills will have condos atop it that may sell for as much as $3000 per square foot. We’d like to know who are the suckers buying these places.
· Condos Priced at Record $14 Million [L.A. Business Journal]
What kind of urban development blog would we be if we didn't have at least one story about a monorail. A reader emailed us a link to the Wilshire Monorail web site that touts the benefits of monorail transportation. In addition to a multitude of pretty pictures, the site also features an endorsement from David Hernandez, a candidate for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. So what's the benefit of building a monorail? We're glad you asked.
"While the proposed "Subway to the Sea" would eventually cost far more than the currently projected $350 million per mile to build, the Wilshire Monorail can actually be built for an estimated $100 million per mile. And while the proposed subway will take a projected 20 years to complete, the Wilshire Monorail can be up and operating in less than five years. That translates to less than one-fourth the cost to construct and less than one-fourth the time to complete."
So as you can see, the monorail is the solution to all of our transportation problems. Monorail!
Site: Wilshire Monorail
· Wilshire Monorail [West LA Business Monthly]
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