Developer wants to fill historic Foreman and Clark building with 124 apartments

Last week, we reported that the new owners of the Jewelry District’s Foreman and Clark building were gearing up to convert the historic, 13-story tower into housing with ground-floor retail. Land use consultant Kate Bartolo, who’s working with developers Bonnis Properties on the project, shared more details with us today about the plans.

Bortolo says Bonnis intends to fill out the 1920s Foreman and Clark building with 124 market-rate apartments (meaning none will be set aside for low-income tenants), with sizes ranging from 470 to 1,075 square feet. She said she did not know how much the units will rent for, but noted some of the apartments will be smaller than units in other "adaptive reuse" projects, which might help keep pricing relatively low.

The Foreman and Clark redevelopment will also include two penthouses, which will be converted from space formerly used as mechanical rooms. The penthouses measure about 1,300 and 2,600 square feet, respectively, with the larger penthouse being a two-story pad.

The Foreman and Clark building, which sits at the corner of 7th and Hill streets, is rectangular for the first four floors, but then it splits into a U-shaped structure, meaning that atop that fourth floor there is open space. Bonnis is aiming to convert that area into communal space for residents.

At street level, the building will have about 8,500 square feet of retail space. Bartolo says Bonnis is looking for either one or two "traditional retail" tenants (i.e. not a restaurant) to fill up the space. There will be no parking on site. The building’s never had parking, says Bartolo, and there are no plans to add any. The developer wants future tenants to consider alternative transportation or maybe—gasp—go carless.

Bartolo says Bonnis is applying tax credits under the Mills Act right now in addition to seeking permits, and construction is expected to start in the next 12 to 15 months. The architect is Los Angeles-based OKB Architects.

• Downtown LA’s historic Foreman and Clark building could bring housing to the Jewelry District [Curbed LA]