Seven months after we last checked in, the concrete frame of a mixed-use apartment building is starting to rise in the Beverly Grove community.
The 16-story building, which replaced a surface parking lot at the northwest corner of Wilshire Boulevard and La Jolla Avenue, is being developed by Santa Monica-based WS Communities. Plans call for 112 apartments above a five-level podium structure containing parking and 6,000 square feet of street-fronting commercial space.
The 193-foot-tall building, designed by Steinberg Hart, will have a convex footprint above its podium level. In addition to referencing the shape of a camera lens, the building's curving facade is intended to provide unique view corridors for residents. Renderings show that the tower's roof and podium would be utilized to provide landscaped amenity decks for residents.
The under-construction project originated from an entitlement application filed with the City of Los Angeles more than 15 years ago, when an earlier property owner proposed a slightly larger 143-unit tower. In 2015, the land was purchased by UDR, Inc., which entitled the current development and sold the project to WS Communities for $38 million in 2019, according to city records.
While UDR ultimately sold the Wilshire -La Jolla property, the company did move forward with plans for a separate Beverly Grove high-rise - the 20-story Vision on Wilshire - which opened in 2018.
WS Communities is best known for a sprawling collection of mixed-use projects planned and under construction in its hometown of Santa Monica and other Westside communities.
- 6401 Wilshire Boulevard (Urbanize LA)
