After building and rehabilitating numerous small and mid-sized office buildings across Los Angeles, local developer Redcar Properties broke ground last year on its biggest project yet: a 120,000-square-foot mixed-use structure across the street from Chinatown Station. Now, the Santa Monica-based firm is planning an even bigger project a short distance north.

Rendering of 1635 N Main StreetAllied Works Architecture

Late last year, Redcar filed an application with the Department of City Planning to renovate and expand a series of industrial buildings at 1635-1639 N. Main Street with the intention of converting them into offices to rent. The project, which also calls for some ground-up construction, would result in approximately 140,000 square feet of offices and 10,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space in a campus-like setting, with one-, two-, and three-story buildings featuring terrace decks, and a central paseo cutting between Main and Naud Street to the west.

Portland-based Allied Works Architecture is designing the proposed development, which would maintain the industrial aesthetic of the existing brick-clad buildings, while adding new metal and glass construction with sawtooth rooflines. Plans also call for adding stackers to an existing basement on the property, creating 171 parking stalls.

Construction is expected to occur in a single 19-month phase commencing in Fall 2022 and concluding in 2024, assuming that entitlements for the project are included - specifically the removal of conditions restricting the amount of floor area allowed on the property and limits on vehicle access.

1635 N Main StreetCity of Los Angeles

Redcar is not the only developer with an interest in the surrounding area, which is located at the heart of the Cornfield Arroyo Seco Specific Plan Area, and sits a short walk east of L.A. State Historic Park. One block south on Main Street, Universal Standard Housing has secured approvals to redevelop another industrial site with a mixed-use project featuring 244 live/work apartments and commercial space.