After five years of wending its way through the entitlement process, a proposal to replace a cold storage facility in Downtown Los Angeles with a $2-billion mixed-use complex has secured the approval of the City Council.

Aerial view looking eastStudio One Eleven / Adjaye Associates

The Fourth & Central project, which is named for its two major cross streets of 4th Street and Central Avenue, calls for the construction of 10 buildings and 2.3 million square feet of floor area across a nearly eight-acre area. The total project would include:

  • 1,589 residential units (inclusive of 262 units of affordable housing);
  • Approximately 400,000 square feet of offices;
  • 145,748 square feet of retail and restaurant space;
  • two acres of publicly-accessible open space; and
  • parking for 2,426 vehicles.

“We have literally spent years working on our plan to transform this industrial property into a mixed-use community. To hear our city’s decision-makers agree with our vision for what Downtown Los Angeles can and should be makes today’s major milestone all the more rewarding,” said Larry Rauch, president of Los Angeles Cold Storage, which owns the property. “I particularly want to thank both City Councilmember Jurado and Mayor Bass and their staffs for helping us reach this stage and make sure all community members benefit from the project. We are big believers in the potential of our city, and that’s why we have chosen to make this substantive investment in its future.”

Designed by a team that includes David Adjaye and Studio One Eleven, the project would include buildings ranging up to 30 stories in height - the tallest of which would stand 364 feet at its apex. The current maximum height of the project has been scaled back from the 44-story building originally included in plans.

Daytime aerial view from 5th Street pocket parkStudio One Eleven / Adjaye Associates

The project was faced with two appeals from members of the Little Tokyo community, who have vocally objected to the scale of the project. The appeals of the project's tract map and environmental study, both of which were rejected, contend that the City Council should have rejected the plan due to inconsistency with the Downtown Community Plan (which was adopted after the project began the entitlement process) and an over-concentration of businesses selling alcohol in proximity to Skid Row, among other issues.

Against that, the project assembled supporters including organized labor, East LA Community Corporation, The People Concern, The Downtown Neighborhood Council, and various business organizations. Likewise, the Downtown Women's Center has been tapped to provide supportive services to residents of the affordable housing.

Originally announced in 2021, the project was at the time a joint venture between property owner Los Angeles Cold Storage and Denver-based development firm Continuum Partners. Continuum Partners has since stepped away from the project, although Los Angeles Cold Storage saw the entitlement process through to completion. The project required a general plan amendment and a zone change.

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