One year after our last update, developer IMT Residential's latest big apartment complex is rising quickly just north of the L.A. River in Sherman Oaks.

Citrus Commons, now taking shape at 14130 W. Riverside Drive, is named after the historic occupant of the property: the Sunkist Growers Cooperative. Surface parking lots surrounding the brutalist landmark at Riverside and Hazeltine Avenue have made way for a trio of new wood-frame structures which will feature a combined total of 249 apartments above 27,000 square feet of retail space at completion. Plans also call for more than 1,100 parking spaces in below- and above-grade structures, which would serve residents, retail tenants, and any future occupants of the office building.

View from Riverside DriveJohnson Fain

As a condition of approval imposed by the City of Los Angeles, IMT is expected to set aside 25 apartments for rent by moderate-income households.

According to a project website, the apartments at Citrus Commons will come in a mix of studio, one-, and two-bedroom floor plans, ranging from 530 to 1,240 square feet in size. Planned amenities include a fitness center and a swimming pool.

Johnson Fain is designing the Citrus Commons, which includes four- and five-story buildings that are to be clad in stucco and wood panels. The large site would be broken up with 3.5 acres of walking paths and publicly accessible green space - including a small park planned adjacent to the Los Angeles River. 

Construction of Citrus CommonsUrbanize LA

The former Sunkist building at the center of the property, designed by AC Martin, will be retained as approximately 140,000 square feet of offices for rent.

"The project design restores the landmark modernist building, pays tribute to the region’s agricultural heritage and integrates it into a pedestrian-centric urban village," reads a narrative from the Johnson Fain website. "Enhanced sidewalks and roadways will make this mixed-use urban village permeable and accessible to the public, while reinforcing scale, pedestrian activity, and auto access throughout the project."

Ground-floor retail is planned along the Riverside Drive side of the property, including 12,000 square feet of shops and restaurants and a nearly 15,000-square-foot grocery, which is already leased. Rumors have previously indicated that Trader Joe's is the as-yet unnamed tenant.

View from Hazeltine AvenueJohnson Fain

Construction of Citrus Commons, which kicked off roughly two years ago, is expected to occur over a 33-month period, according to an environmental impact report conducted for the project.

IMT Residential, which is based out of Sherman Oaks, has a portfolio of rental properties located in nine states. Its projects in Sherman Oaks also include Via Avanti, a similar mixed-use project featuring 325 apartments and 44,000 square feet of retail space now under construction at Sepulveda Boulevard and Camarillo Street.

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