New Main Street apartment building would have cool, peek-through element

A new Los Angeles-focused art museum isn’t the only development coming to Main Street in Downtown LA’s Historic Core.

New renderings of a 12-story apartment project—first spotted by Urbanize LA on the Downtown LA Neighborhood Council website—reveal a development slated to rise on a 0.435-acre site currently occupied by a parking lot just north of 5th and Main streets.

Called Main Tower, the 196-unit apartment building is described as “architecturally-compelling.”

Its most compelling feature would be a big opening in the middle of the building described as an “armature.” It would extend from the front facade of the building along Main Street through the center of the tower and open to the sky.

The so-called armature would, “[resemble] the keys of piano or some percussion instrument that symbolizes the harmonious symphony of downtown revitalization and modern urban living.”

A mix of predominantly studio and one-bedroom apartments, Main Tower would also have about 6,300 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor. The plan is for that space to be used by a small cafe, a “community-serving retail store,” and a courtyard.

Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council's Planning and Land Use Committee

The Nardi Associates-designed Tower would also contain 167 parking spaces in underground parking levels.

The Main Tower would be sandwiched between the 11-story Rosslyn Loft building and a six-story parking structure. The Regent Theatre, a music venue that reopened in 2014 following a major renovation, is just across the street.

Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council's Planning and Land Use Committee

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• First Look at the Historic Core's Main Tower [Urbanize LA]
• 433 S. Main Street Part 1 and Part 2 [DLANC]
• Old Bank District Art Museum Set to Start Work Soon [Curbed LA]