At its November 14 meeting, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve plans from Hines for a large office complex near the L.A. River in the Arts District.

The proposed development at 2045 E. Violet Street would abut the historic Ford Factory complex which has been converted into offices for Warner Music Group. Hines is planning to demolish two existing structures and surface parking to clear the way for a new 13-story building featuring 435,000 square feet of offices, 15,499 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, and a seven-level parking garage. The six-acre site also has capacity to accommodate an additional 211,000 square feet of office and restaurant uses through a future expansion.

View from Violet Street looking northeastRios

Rios is designing 2045 Violet, which is shown in renderings with a sloping facade of glass, steel, and brick veneer. The tower, which would stand approximately 217 feet in height, would also incorporate 74,000 square feet of open space, including terrace decks on its upper floors and ground-level spaces that connect the Ford Factory with surrounding streets.

Pending approval of entitlements and issuance of a building permit, construction of 2045 Violet is expected to occur over an approximately three-year period.

The project was the subject of an appeal from the CREED LA, a coalition of building trades unions, which argued that the project is inconsistent with zoning rules and constitutes an environmental hazard. A staff report recommending denial of the appeal was affirmed by the Commission's vote.

2045 E Violet StreetGoogle Maps

The proposed Ford Factory expansion represents the latest and largest block of new office space in the works for the Arts District, joining similar projects from Jade Enterprises and Skanska. However, as market conditions have soured for offices, other developers such as Tishman Speyer and Onni Group have recently stepped away from plans to build office space nearby.

Hines, in addition to its Arts District project, has recently built the West Edge office and housing complex next to Expo/Bundy Station and is planning a large mixed-use complex in Santa Ana.

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