In the latest sign of shifting dynamics in the Downtown Los Angeles real estate market, the final tower of the colossal Metropolis development is now poised to open as rental apartments rather than for-sale condominiums.

The 58-story building, located at the southwest corner of 8th and Francisco Streets, ranks among the tallest residential towers in the State of California.  It consists of 685 residential units - in a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom floor plans - above a parking garage and a retail podium.

Greystar has been tapped to manage the building, which is now known as THEA at Metropolis.  Rents for the property have not been set, according to a project representative.

The tower, designed by HED, shares a large amenity deck with the second Metropolis condo tower.  A website advertises features such as a fitness center, a sauna, a game room, a movie theatre, and a business center.

Metropolis, which spans a large site adjacent to the Harbor Freeway, dates to the mid-1980s, when it was envisioned as a Michael Graves-designed office complex.  After several design iterations, the property came under the ownership of Greenland USA - the American arm of Chinese real estate firm Greenland Holdings - which proposed a four-tower development consisting of a 350-room hotel and more than 1,500 condominiums.

While the hotel - an IHG-operated Hotel Indigo - and two of the condo towers have already opened, the fourth Metropolis building has been the subject of much speculation among observers of the Downtown real estate, with lingering questions of oversupply in the condo market.

Oceanwide Plaza - a similar development backed by another Chinese firm - stalled in early 2019, and has only made incremental progress since.

Shenzhen Hazens Real Estate Group, which had planned a W Hotel and a condo tower across the street from L.A. Live, has not updated buildings permit filings for its project since 2018.

THEA joins an increasingly crowded field of existing and future apartment towers in Downtown Los Angeles, including a 64-story building now under construction next to the Figat7th shopping mall and a planned 41-story tower at 8th and Figueroa Streets.