Glassy Rework for Downtown's Huge Eighth & Grand Mixed-User

The Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton stores at the bottom of Carmel Partners's rendering for the Eighth & Grand project (via the SkyScraper Page) should be taken with a salt lick. Nevertheless, here is our first look at the proposed mixed-user from San Francisco-based Carmel--who took over the already-entitled project from local developer Sonny Astani (they paid $63 million). We're counting seven floors, which we know will contain 700 residential units, a 40 foot rooftop pool, (with lounge and cabanas), approximately 36,000 square feet of retail space, nearly an acre of open space, and 737 parking spaces. Carol Schatz, the CEO of the Downtown Center Business Improvement District, indicated in early October that a groundbreaking was coming soon, while Carmel's website says the project is now in pre-construction.
· Huge Eighth & Grand Mixed-Use Site Sells, Work to Start By Fall [Curbed LA]