area newsletter OCTOBER 2019 • LOS ANGELES
20 19
Community News 22 Story office Tower underway in West Adams
The developers behind the high-concept (W)rapper Tower have unveiled plans for a 22-story office tower in the West Adams area. The proposed project shows plans for 50,000 square feet of commercial space with four stories of subterranean parking. The plans would require city approval in order to exceed the 61-foot height limit. This new development would add to the other properties owned by Samitaur Constructs in the area. The local firm also owns property currently leased by WeWork and Jukin Media just north of the development site, as well as the unbuilt architectural (W)rapper Tower. Samitaur has not officially disclosed plans for the 22-story tower and currently only a proposal has been filed. At this time there is no official date of construction set for the proposed project.
Developer plans for affordable 81-unit complex in Echo Park An affordable developer has revealed plans to build permanent housing support as an 81-unit complex in Echo Park. This comes at a time when Los Angeles is
working to address the rising homeless population. According to county records, SRO Housing corporation filed these plans through the city’s Transit-Oriented Communities project, encompassing a series of lots at the corner of North Alvarado Street and West Kent Street. The development would replace low-rise commercial buildings and be called Alvarado Kent Apartments. This project is one of two plans underway by SRO Housing Corporation who also has plans for a similar 120-unit supportive housing project in Westlake. The housing projects are aimed at chronically homeless individuals with mental illness as well as homeless veterans and anyone with an income 60 percent below the area median income.
Affordable TOC Project Planned Near Watts Tower Station
The 2-acre parcel of land picked up by developer Thomas Safran and Associates will set aside an undisclosed number of affordable units in its 196-unit new build. The company filed for Los Angeles TransitOriented Communities Program which provides density bonuses and incentives for development projects near transit that include affordable housing.
Community News According to the LA Times, other developers have embraced the TOC program with nearly 20,000 units that include 3,900 at various levels of affordability. A key tool for addressing the city’s affordability concerns. Safran and Associates build and manage both marketrate and affordable developments with currently 66 properties across the LA metro area. No date has been released regrading when their newest development will break ground.
Opportunity Zone Fund Launched by Real Estate Crowdfunding CrowdStreet
CrowdStreet, a crowdfunding platform for real estate is launching $20 million fund to target new developments and redevelopments in small and mid-market Opportunity Zones. The firm has not yet specified in which cities it is looking to place investor capital, but it appears at this time the targets do not appear to be major gateway markets. CrowdStreet’s Ian Formigle said in a statement, “These markets are up-and-coming metro areas with population and job growth rates that, in many cases, are outpacing
larger 24-hour cities such as New York and SF”. The fund will be managed through CrowdStreet Advisors, which is the company’s registered investment advisory service that administers real estate investments for clients. Since launching in 2016, the firm has crowdfunded $700 million in capital through real estate projects across the country.
Affordable housing project is in the works in Rampart Village
Flexible PSH Solutions filed plans with Los Angeles for what will be a 454-unit permanent supportive housing development. The site is now comprised of several small commercial buildings and parking lots on Beverly Boulevard. All units will be for varying brackets of low-income tenants with the first phase of the multi-building project being around 100 units in two buildings. Flexible PSH head John Molloy said this is the firm’s first project, though he spent several years running the prolific affordable developer PATH Ventures. Jim Reis, SVP at Craig Lawson & Company is working with Flexible PSH on the development and said the team could break ground as early as next June if Gov. Gavin Newsom signs a bill on his desk that would fast-track HHH projects.
Restaurant
Spotlight
Twozone Chicken
Bianca Bakery
Mon Petit Poulet
3516 W. 8th St. Los Angeles, Koreatown
8850 Washington Blvd. Culver City
541 S. Spring St. Los Angeles, Downtown
South Korea’s Twozone Chicken opened its first stateside location in Koreatown. The fried chicken specialist is best known for its plethora of flavors. These tasty options include cajun, wasabi, and honey butter. The hotspot encourages patrons to mix and match flavors according to taste preferences. Great spot for anyone who loves fried chicken and Korean fusion food with unique flavors and juicy tenders.
Bianca Bakery has transformed the Platform into an inviting spot to gather, caffeinate, and luxuriate. The quirkily-shaped shop, located a building over from the main Platform development and beneath the large parking garage, features a retail section for takeaway pastries and breads as well as a large, inviting dining room inside. Find freshly baked bread, carefully made cakes, sweet and savory pastries.
Mon Petit Poulet keeps its menu simple, offering only organic roasted chickens and a handful of sides including rice, potatoes, and a baguette. The French hit has quietly expanded overseas to this first new Los Angeles location. The menu is about as concise as you’d expect: roasted chicken comes with a few different seasoning options and a variety of organic vegetables to pair with. Chicken flavor “profiles” include thyme, rosemary, oranges, figs, and olives.
SIGHTS & SOUNDS in LOS ANGELES
LACMA
Petersen Automotive Museum
5905 WIlshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036
6060 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036
J. Paul Getty Museum 1200 Getty Center Drive Los Angeles, CA 90049
CURRENT EXHIBITION:
CURRENT EXHIBITION:
CURRENT EXHIBITION:
Mary Corse: A Survey in Light July 28 - November 11, 2019
Hollywood Dream Machines: vehicles of Science Fiction and Fantasy Open Now - May 2020
Eighteenth-Century Pastel Portraits August 28, 2018 – October 13, 2019
Mary Corse’s first solo museum survey is a long overdue examination of this singular artist’s career. Initially trained as an abstract painter, Corse emerged in the mid-1960s as one of the few women associated with the West Coast Light and Space movement. She shared with her contemporaries a deep fascination with perception and with the possibility that light itself could serve as both subject and material of art.
Hollywood Dream Machines: Vehicles of Science Fiction and Fantasy explores cult classic films and stories that have envisioned fantastic futuristic worlds, technologies, characters and cars. Through props, design drawings and physical vehicle models, this exhibit brings pop culture’s visions of dystopian, utopian, and science fiction worlds to life.
Celebrating a medium that is often overlooked in other time periods, this exhibit delves into the favored form of portraiture in late 18th century Europe. Pastels allowed the artist to create classically beautiful works without the arduous process that oil painting often requires. This flexibility coincided with the growing class of people who patronized portrait artists, creating a unique body of work that represented both an evolving craft and an evolving society.
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