Though it was officially designated as Sawtelle Japantown by the LA City Council this year, the West LA neighborhood of Sawtelle might soon be known more for it's hulking apartment complexes than Japanese culture. Sawtelle Boulevard has recently been inundated with proposals for multi-story housing projects that would dwarf older homes and change the character, not to mention the height, of the neighborhood. A total of nine projects at various states of development are pushing height limits on the street: Urbanize LA has the story of two of the latest developments joining a long list of similar projects along Sawtelle.
At 1650-1654 S. Sawtelle Boulevard, on the site of a bookstore and small apartment complex, Nayssan Properties is developing a 56-foot tall apartment complex called Sawtelle Terraces. The five-story structure would house a total of 48 apartments (studio, one, and two bedrooms), with four of the units designated as affordable housing. Down below, three levels of underground parking would be available for up to 77 cars. Up top, a 4,888 square foot rooftop deck with fire pits.
Sawtelle Terraces are just up the street from developer Wellesley Manor's Soho Square and St. John's Wood condominium projects. Speaking of Wellesley Manor...
Peter Wilson, the man behind Wellesley, seems poised to practically take over the entirety of Sawtelle Boulevard with no fewer than five residential complexes in his portfolio. Right next to St. John's Wood, work is just being finished on Camden Town, a four-story complex offering 15 total residential units.
Down the street, on a small corner lot at 1854 S. Sawtelle Blvd., Wellesley is at work on a five-story mixed-user. Regents Park, as it will be known, will feature 25 one-bedroom and live/work apartments. The bottom floor will house 650 square feet of retail space with underground parking for 28 cars and 27 bikes. There will be a rooftop deck as well, offering stunning views of the 405 Freeway, mere feet away from the complex.
Regents Park is going up just across the street from another Wellesley project under construction, the Notting Hill Apartments (maybe they should change the name to Sawtelle Englandtown?). Notting Hill will be another five-story structure, with 52 total units, including nine live/work apartments on the ground floor and five low-income units. The developers promise parking for at least 78 cars in a three-level underground garage. Several outdoor gathering spaces are also included, presumably to take advantage of the aforementioned views of the 405.
But Wellesley is not the only game in town—ther developers are jumping in on the Sawtelle bonanza too. There are plans for three more multi-story complexes on the already bustling boulevard: California Landmark Group has ambitious plan to turn the site of a YMCA at 1947 Sawtelle into a five-story mixed-user with 73 residential units and 7,700 square feet of commercial space. Uriu & Associates has begun construction on a three-story apartment housing 30 units at 1831 Sawtelle. Just down the street from that, at 1837 Sawtelle, architect David Forbes Hibbert is working on getting permits for a four-story, 19 unit project.
Multi-story developments along Sawtelle Boulevard
· Renderings Revealed for New Sawtelle Developments [Urbanize LA]
· New Developments Transforming Sawtelle [Urbanize LA]
· West LA's Sawtelle is Now Officially Designated "Japantown" [Curbed LA]