New look for three-story office building planned at 8633 Wilshire in Beverly Hills

A presentation scheduled for the December 21 meeting of the Beverly Hills Architectural Commission reveals a new look for Skanska USA's proposed speculative office complex at 8633 Wilshire Boulevard.

Skanska USA, which acquired the .35-acre project site at Wilshire and Carson Road for $16 million in 2021, is modifying an already-approved plan for a three-story, 43,900-square-foot office building on the property. The property was originally entitled for development by a group of investment firms that includes IAG Capital, Enzo Equities, and Lucent Capital.

Doing away with an earlier design by Gabbay Architects, Skanska has brought on Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to craft the new look for 8633 Wilshire. Renderings portray a contemporary low-rise structure, clad largely in corrugated metal panels on its upper floors. Architectural plans also show that the building would include a rooftop deck, as well as balconies on the second and third floors.

"The building aspires to be a high-quality, well-crafted boutique office building. The materials, from the structural frame to the exterior enclosure, are durable and carefully-detailed, minimalist in expression and sophisticated in tone. The goal is to develop a building that is timeless and enduring which will accrue value over time and hopefully impart value onto its neighbors," reads a narrative included with the architectural plan set. "8633 Wilshire is a three-story infill building, occupying the entire site. In that sense, it fits in nicely with its neighbors. The three-story facade has a strong presence on Wilshire relating to the scale of the boulevard. Along Carson, it steps down on the north which relates to the scale of the residential neighborhood. Landscaping at the ground level and upper terraces provides privacy and acoustical buffers to the neighbors. The penthouse floor, which features a roof deck lunch room, is largely hidden from view from the adjacent streets by keeping a low profile."

At the time the property was acquired in 2021, executive vice president of Skanska USA Clare De Briere said in an interview that the company's interest in the site was due to the pending arrival of Metro's Purple Line extension, which will have a station three blocks west at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and La Cienega Avenue. The low-rise structure could offer a prospective tenant the opportunity to have its own building on Wilshire , a potentially attractive alternative to leasing two floors in a tower, she said.

Skanska USA has already demonstrated its interest in the Beverly Hills market, having broken ground on a similar four-story, 46,000-square-foot development less than one mile west at 9000 Wilshire Boulevard just over two years ago.

Besides its Beverly Hills projects, Skanska USA has also announced plans to build a 15-story, 290,000-square-foot office tower at 1811 E. Sacramento Street in the Arts District of Downtown Los Angeles.

• 8633 Wilshire Boulevard (Urbanize LA)