145 apartments slated for 6865 S La Cienega Boulevard in Westchester

In recent years, an aging strip mall at the southwest corner of La Cienega Boulevard and Centinela Avenue in Westchester has been revamped with new offerings including an Amazon Fresh grocery store and Chick-Fil-A. Now, the owners of a neighboring apartment complex also have their eyes on redevelopment.

Late last year, an entity affiliated with Sacramento-based real estate management firm IRC and Associates filed an application with the L.A. Department of City Planning seeking approvals to redevelop a cluster of 1950s apartment buildings with a larger multifamily residential complex featuring a total of 145 studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom dwellings and parking for 197 vehicles.

Requested entitlements for the project include density bonus incentives which would permit greater height than typically allowed by zoning rules, as well as a reduction to a required setback. In exchange, 33 of the new apartments would be set aside as very low-income affordable housing, offsetting 50 existing rent-stabilized units within the existing complex.

Vanos Architects has been tapped to design the project, named "The Legacy," which would consist of interconnected four- and five-story buildings with a contemporary look. Besides housing, the building would incorporate open spaces for use by residents, including multiple common rooms, courtyards, and roof decks.

"The Project has been designed utilizing a historic multifamily design strategy, known as the ‘Alphabet’ strategy," reads finding included with the entitlement application. "The large-scale plan organization of the project features articulated segments, similar to the Letter E or F. This organization provides for a scaled building massing, and increases the exterior surface area of the building, therefore allowing for significant light and air access for the residential units. The building’s architectural style builds on a very long history of what would now be recognized as classical mid-century modernism. The proposed design utilizes simple scaled masses, articulated with clean geometry."

The Legacy joins a handful of large apartment complex planned for the Westchester neighborhood, the bulk of which are in the works on the west side of the 405. Among the largest is a proposed 441-unit mixed-use project from Cityview, which would replace a Pep Boys tire shop and a Del Taco near the intersection of Sepulveda and Manchester Boulevards.

Correction: The project proposes 33 units of restricted affordable housing, not 50 as previously stated. We regret the error.

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• Westchester (Urbanize LA)