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Changes underway in Chinatown, mapped

From mixed-users to parks

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North of Downtown and well-connected to transit, Chinatown is seeing a surge in interest from developers, many of whom are looking to put large projects in the neighborhood. Some proposed developments will include adaptive reuse, like the project underway now at the Capitol Milling Building, while others would involve razing existing buildings. Others, like the Gold Line-adjacent College Station project or the slim Elysian Park Lofts, would fill in vacant lots.

Here, we’ve mapped all the planned projects in Chinatown, from parks to mixed-users.

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Kim Sing Theatre

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A “micro hotel” and event space is now occupying this old neighborhood theater that opened in 1926. The space is being marketed to groups (at a nightly rate of $1,199), and eventually, the owners aim to have a coffee shop and a restaurant on site. 

Photos by Juwan Li, courtesy of Indra & Company

849 North Bunker Hill

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Bunker Heights, LLC is planning to build two neighboring apartment complexes here: a six-story apartment building with 33 units at 708 South New Depot Street and a five-story building with 37 units at 849 North Bunker Hill Avenue. Combined, five of the units will be earmarked for tenants with low incomes.

View of vacant lot Google Maps

Yale and Ord Street Park

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A steep plot of land at the intersection of Yale and Old streets will eventually be a new park with an open-air amphitheater, chess tables, a bamboo grove, a climbing wall, and a wheelchair-accessible pathway. AHBE Landscape Architects is designing the park, which will be geared toward multi-generational recreation.

Details for the park were first unveiled in 2014. At that time, city officials predicted the park would be open by now. Construction is now expected to begin in September.

Courtesy of AHBE Landscape Architects

Velvet Turtle lot

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On the site that was once home to the popular restaurant, The Velvet Turtle, Avant Development is planning to erect a seven-story building with 162 apartments and ground-floor commercial space. But the site is still empty to date.

Studio Gang-designed tower

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This Spring Street property is slated to become the site of the first Los Angeles project of the lauded Chicago-based architecture firm Studio Gang. A French developer, Compagnie de Phalsbourg, plans a 26-story building holding 300 apartments, 149 hotel rooms, shops, and public open space. 

The building’s wavy, tapered design would allow for fresh air and sunlight in every unit, the architects told Curbed LA.

In January 2017, Chinatown developer Redcar had filed plans for 203 new residential units plus parking and retail to the site. They withdrew their plans in September 2017.

© Studio Gang

211 Alpine

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Downtown developer Izek Shomoff is branching out in Chinatown with this apartment complex. The seven-story project will hold 122 residential units (six of them set aside for very low-income tenants), plus 4,200 square feet of ground floor retail space, 120 parking spaces, and 124 spots for bikes.

Shomoff recently submitted plans under the city’s transit-oriented communities guidelines that seek to add 31 more apartments to the originally planned project.

Rendering of Alpine Street project Courtesy GMPA Architects

Harmony

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A site that now hosts the East West Bank and a handful of storefronts could give way to a 27-story mixed-use development from Vancouver-based Townline and Forme Development. The project will hold 178 apartments with five set aside for low-income housing.

A painting-like rendering of the ground floor of the project that shows pedestrians walking, street trees, and, in the background, the bottom of the new development. Courtesy of Townline and Forme Development

Capitol Milling Company

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The former mill complex is being transformed into a microbrewery, restaurants, and offices. Workshop Design Collective is the architect on the project, which will feature exposed brick, vaulted ceilings, and walls of glass.

Photo by Bianca Barragan

Elysian Park Lofts

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An ambitious plan would bring 920 apartments, including 17 live-work units, along with 21,406 square feet of commercial space to a long, slim property that curves around the northern end of the LA State Historic Park, between the park and Broadway. At its tallest, the project would rise to 14 stories.

The developers are Lincoln Property Company, co-developer of Lincoln Heights Jail reboot, and S & R Partners, which is run by the Riboli family that founded the San Antonio Winery 101 years ago. Neighborhood opposition to the project has been firm.

Courtesy of Newman Garrison + Partners

College Station

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Early designs for the 5.7-acre property just east of the Chinatown Gold Line once called for two 20-story towers, but the most recent designs by architects Johnson Fain show a shorter plan for the site. The project, developed by Atlas Capital Group, now calls for six low-rise buildings, street-level retail, and a 37,000-square-foot grocery store.

Work was expected to start at the end of 2016, but doesn’t appear to have gotten underway. The lots are still regularly used as parking for big events.

Los Angeles State Historic Park

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The beloved park reopened last year after a $20-million renovation, but there’s still a bit of work to be done. Coming to the eastern end of the park are a giant water wheel and a connection to the soon-to-be-restored Los Angeles River.

Courtesy of Eric Lowenbach

Baby’s All Right

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Williamsburg, Brookyln-based music venue Baby’s All Right is opening a West Coast branch in a portion of a 28,000-square-foot warehouse near the Spring Street Bridge, just south of the Los Angeles State Historic Park. The warehouse would be reused, plus a second story, an outdoor bar with seating, and a rooftop deck would be added to the existing structure.

The project requires series of approvals from the city, but operator Eli Kagan said he wanted to open the venue in late 2018 or early 2019.

The warehouse complex that includes Baby’s All Right is host to a handful of other hip, New York-associated spots, including David Chang’s Majordomo and a fancy cocktail bar.

A screenshot from Google Maps of the former commercial warehouse where the music venue is proposed. Google Maps

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Kim Sing Theatre

A “micro hotel” and event space is now occupying this old neighborhood theater that opened in 1926. The space is being marketed to groups (at a nightly rate of $1,199), and eventually, the owners aim to have a coffee shop and a restaurant on site. 

Photos by Juwan Li, courtesy of Indra & Company

849 North Bunker Hill

Bunker Heights, LLC is planning to build two neighboring apartment complexes here: a six-story apartment building with 33 units at 708 South New Depot Street and a five-story building with 37 units at 849 North Bunker Hill Avenue. Combined, five of the units will be earmarked for tenants with low incomes.

View of vacant lot Google Maps

Yale and Ord Street Park

A steep plot of land at the intersection of Yale and Old streets will eventually be a new park with an open-air amphitheater, chess tables, a bamboo grove, a climbing wall, and a wheelchair-accessible pathway. AHBE Landscape Architects is designing the park, which will be geared toward multi-generational recreation.

Details for the park were first unveiled in 2014. At that time, city officials predicted the park would be open by now. Construction is now expected to begin in September.

Courtesy of AHBE Landscape Architects

Velvet Turtle lot

On the site that was once home to the popular restaurant, The Velvet Turtle, Avant Development is planning to erect a seven-story building with 162 apartments and ground-floor commercial space. But the site is still empty to date.

Studio Gang-designed tower

This Spring Street property is slated to become the site of the first Los Angeles project of the lauded Chicago-based architecture firm Studio Gang. A French developer, Compagnie de Phalsbourg, plans a 26-story building holding 300 apartments, 149 hotel rooms, shops, and public open space. 

The building’s wavy, tapered design would allow for fresh air and sunlight in every unit, the architects told Curbed LA.

In January 2017, Chinatown developer Redcar had filed plans for 203 new residential units plus parking and retail to the site. They withdrew their plans in September 2017.

© Studio Gang

211 Alpine

Downtown developer Izek Shomoff is branching out in Chinatown with this apartment complex. The seven-story project will hold 122 residential units (six of them set aside for very low-income tenants), plus 4,200 square feet of ground floor retail space, 120 parking spaces, and 124 spots for bikes.

Shomoff recently submitted plans under the city’s transit-oriented communities guidelines that seek to add 31 more apartments to the originally planned project.

Rendering of Alpine Street project Courtesy GMPA Architects

Harmony

A site that now hosts the East West Bank and a handful of storefronts could give way to a 27-story mixed-use development from Vancouver-based Townline and Forme Development. The project will hold 178 apartments with five set aside for low-income housing.

A painting-like rendering of the ground floor of the project that shows pedestrians walking, street trees, and, in the background, the bottom of the new development. Courtesy of Townline and Forme Development

Capitol Milling Company

The former mill complex is being transformed into a microbrewery, restaurants, and offices. Workshop Design Collective is the architect on the project, which will feature exposed brick, vaulted ceilings, and walls of glass.

Photo by Bianca Barragan

Elysian Park Lofts

An ambitious plan would bring 920 apartments, including 17 live-work units, along with 21,406 square feet of commercial space to a long, slim property that curves around the northern end of the LA State Historic Park, between the park and Broadway. At its tallest, the project would rise to 14 stories.

The developers are Lincoln Property Company, co-developer of Lincoln Heights Jail reboot, and S & R Partners, which is run by the Riboli family that founded the San Antonio Winery 101 years ago. Neighborhood opposition to the project has been firm.

Courtesy of Newman Garrison + Partners

College Station

Early designs for the 5.7-acre property just east of the Chinatown Gold Line once called for two 20-story towers, but the most recent designs by architects Johnson Fain show a shorter plan for the site. The project, developed by Atlas Capital Group, now calls for six low-rise buildings, street-level retail, and a 37,000-square-foot grocery store.

Work was expected to start at the end of 2016, but doesn’t appear to have gotten underway. The lots are still regularly used as parking for big events.

Los Angeles State Historic Park

The beloved park reopened last year after a $20-million renovation, but there’s still a bit of work to be done. Coming to the eastern end of the park are a giant water wheel and a connection to the soon-to-be-restored Los Angeles River.

Courtesy of Eric Lowenbach

Baby’s All Right

Williamsburg, Brookyln-based music venue Baby’s All Right is opening a West Coast branch in a portion of a 28,000-square-foot warehouse near the Spring Street Bridge, just south of the Los Angeles State Historic Park. The warehouse would be reused, plus a second story, an outdoor bar with seating, and a rooftop deck would be added to the existing structure.

The project requires series of approvals from the city, but operator Eli Kagan said he wanted to open the venue in late 2018 or early 2019.

The warehouse complex that includes Baby’s All Right is host to a handful of other hip, New York-associated spots, including David Chang’s Majordomo and a fancy cocktail bar.

A screenshot from Google Maps of the former commercial warehouse where the music venue is proposed. Google Maps