Construction is finally underway for a Beverly Grove high-rise that has been in the works for more than a decade.

The project, which is being developed by WS Communities, replaces a surface parking lot at 6401 Wilshire Boulevard.  Approved plans call for the construction of a 16-story tower featuring 112 apartments above a five-level podium containing 275 parking stalls and 6,000 square feet of retail space.  Amenity decks are planned at the building's roof and podium levels.

The 193-foot tower, designed by Steinberg Hart, will have a convex shape and an undulating facade, allowing for easy view corridors for residents.  The building, inspired by the film and television industry, is described as "lens-shaped."

Plans for a high-rise at Wilshire and La Jolla Avenue date to 2004, when it was envisioned as a larger 143-unit tower called "Wilshire Skyline."

That project was waylaid by economic conditions for more than a decade until being purchased in 2015 by UDR, Inc., which received approvals for the current project.  WS Communities, the current developer of the project, took stewardship long afterward.

The NMS La Jolla development is the latest in a string of high-rise buildings to rise on Wilshire Boulevard, following the Vision development - completed at Wilshire and Crescent Heights Boulevard in 2018 - and a 20-story tower now under construction adjacent to the Museum Square complex.

The tower site is also located across the street from a new AC Hotel by Marriott, which opened last year in a repurposed 1950s office tower.

NMS La Jolla is located midway between the under construction Wilshire/La Cienega and Wilshire/Fairfax subway stations.