First look at Chinatown mixed use project

GMPA Architects has released new renderings of a major mixed use project planned for Chinatown, where plenty of new developments have been popping up lately.

The project, which is being developed by a company owned by prolific Downtown developer Izek Shomof, is set to replace a one-story market building called Alpine Plaza.

Plans for the project were filed with the city in September, shortly after the opening of the fancy new Blossom Plaza apartment complex nearby. Also on the way in the area: a seven-story building on the site of the old Velvet Turtle restaurant, a huge mixed use complex at Spring and College streets, and a handful of other large residential projects.

This latest project will include 122 residential units (six of them set aside for very low-income tenants), 4,200 square feet of ground floor retail space, 120 parking spaces, and 124 spots for bikes.

The renderings show that the building will be a rectangular structure with boxy units and staggered balconies. The GMPA website notes that the design is “targeted to the millennial generation,” with a glassy exterior that provides the units with plenty of natural light. Units will evidently be on the small side, to keep rents affordable for “the likely resident demographic.”

Located just about a block from the Gold Line, the building will certainly be convenient for public transit riders.

• 122 apartments planned for Chinatown [Curbed LA]
• Here’s what’s coming to the empty Chinatown Velvet Turtle site [Curbed LA]
• Huge Chinatown Mixed-Use Project Ditches Its 20-Story Towers [Curbed LA]