15-Story Condos Could Give First-Time Buyers a Chance in DTLA

Downtown developer Barry Shy is multi-tasking across the neighborhood, with a 38-story tower on the way in the Historic Core and a 32-story building headed to a lot behind the Ace Hotel in South Park, and now there's also this 15-story mixed-use tower planned for the northwest corner of Olympic and Broadway, on the border between South Park and the Fashion District. And get this: its 163 smallish condos will be angling for the attention of first-time buyers and younger people.

The units will range from 665 to 1,465 square feet, with the average being a relatively modest 937 square feet, says land use rep Kate Bartolo, who's working on the development (as well as the two other Shy projects currently in the works Downtown). The building will also feature two community spaces—a second-level outdoor area and a rooftop deck on the fifteenth floor that will have the complex's pool, barbecue, and gardens. On the ground floor, there will be 4,600-square-feet of commercial space with eight units that Shy hopes will attract that key neighborhood-serving retail.

Design-wise, the building's going for a "clean contemporary" look, but it's also trying to blend in a bit with the surrounding historic structures, giving its Broadway-facing balconies (nearly every unit has one) a sort of fire-escapey look, like the ones on the two buildings to the north, and adding a blade sign along Broadway. Like the two Shy towers, this one will incorporate major greenscaping, including a green wall and planters in the alley along Olympic to the west of the structure, plus some new trees (the site is currently a surface parking lot).

Sandwiched between this new mid-rise building and the Ace Hotel, Shy is also planning an adaptive reuse of a 12-story former garment building that will bring 160 residences when it's finished.
· Barry Shy Planning 4 Big Residential Towers in Downtown LA [Curbed LA]
· First Look at Downtown's Ace-Adjacent 32-Story Condo Tower [Curbed LA]
· Here's the First Look at the Historic Core's First Skyscraper [Curbed LA]