For decades, the Los Angeles Convention Center was neighbored by sprawling surface parking lots and decrepit commercial structures.  Now, the explosive growth of the South Park district is quickly transforming previously desolate blocks into a thriving mixed-use community.  The latest addition to the development pipeline is a low-rise residential-retail complex, proposed for an approximately half-acre parking lot at 1400 S. Figueroa Street.  Check out the details, via a document from DLANC's Planning and Land Use Management Committee.

Plans submitted to the city last month by developer DHG Family Trust call for a seven-story structure that would contain 106 residential dwellings and parking accommodations for 114 vehicles and 126 bicycles.  At ground level, 1400 S. Figueroa Street would feature 1,400 square feet of retail and restaurant space, plus either four ground floor live/work units or an additional 3,350 square feet of commercial space.  The project would offer standard residential amenities including as a fitness center, indoor-outdoor gathering space, and a pool and spa deck.

Designed by Downtown-based GMP Architects, the low-rise structure would feature aluminum paneling to match the aesthetics of the nearby Staples Center, in addition to red and blue colored elements.  Standing approximately 80 feet tall, the building would closely match the height profile of the adjacent AVANT Apartments.  The potentially LEED certifiable development would build upon streetscape improvements made by its next-door neighbors, adding widened, landscaped sidewalks along Figueroa Street.  To further this pedestrian emphasis, vehicular ingress and egress would be restricted to the alley way at the back of the property.







Located a short walk from Metro's Pico Station, 1400 Figueroa Street is one of several mixed-use developments planned in close proximity to the Downtown Sports and Entertainment District.  Nearby at the corner of Pico Boulevard and Flower Street, developer Jade Enterprises plans to erect a similar mixed-use complex known as Onyx.  Further north, multiple high-rise hotel and residential projects are planned by entities including the Oceanwide Real Estate Group, the Onni Group, Jamison Services and the Hankey Group.