Although some Arts District land owners have begun preaching patience, others are still looking to capitalize on Downtown's ongoing building boom.

Earlier this week, an environmental review was requested for a proposed development at 520 S. Mateo Street.  The project, slated for a two-acre site which also fronts Santa Fe Avenue and 4th Place, would consist of 600 live-work condominiums and approximately 60,000 square feet of commercial floor area.  An existing industrial building, built in 1988, would be demolished for the development.

According to a tipster, the project is being developed by the San Francisco-based real estate firm Carmel Partners, which has numerous active projects throughout Los Angeles.

As currently planned, the project will require a general plan amendment and a zone change.  Futher details about the development are unclear.

The proposed mixed-use complex is situated in the midst of a slew of new commercial developments that have begun to reshape the formerly industrial Arts District.  A short distance north on Santa Fe Avenue, excavation began in March for a $215-million project that will create 472 apartments and 22,000 square feet of retail space next to the Southern California Institute of Architecture.  Almost directly across the street, construction is well underway on an $80-million retail and office complex known as At Mateo.

With 600 residential units planned, 520 S. Mateo Street may be the largest residential development proposed in the Arts District thus far, eclipsing the totals of similar projects such as One Santa Fe and the Garey Building.