In the latest step in a battle last seen at the City Planning Commission in October 2022, the City Council moved yesterday to reject a pair of appeals which have sought to block the construction of a high-rise apartment building in Downtown.
Jade Enterprises, which owns a stretch of commercial buildings at 1123-1161 S. Main Street, has sought for several years to raze the existing structures to make way for a new 30-story tower that would feature 363 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments above a four-story podium featuring 12,500 square feet of retail and a 363-car garage.
Rendering of the 12th & Main towerMVE + Partners
MVE + Partners is designing the project at 12th and Main, which would rise 340 feet in height and have an exterior of glass. Plans show the trunk of the tower at the center of the property, with setbacks used to create podium-top amenity decks to either side. Other proposed amenities include a roof deck featuring with a swimming pool, as well as indoor lounge rooms.
The placement of the tower also aligns with another mixed-use project planned by Jade Enterprises on the opposite side of Main Street. Both projects would include street-level plazas, linked together by a mid-block crossing.
According to an environmental study circulated in 2021 by the Planning Department, construction of the tower is expected to occur over a roughly 30-month period, concluding as early as 2026.
As in the earlier Planning Commission hearing, the project was faced with two opponents.
The Supporters Alliance for Environmental Responsibility (SAFER), a union-affiliated organization which appeals developments requiring discretionary entitlements. As in the prior appeal, SAFER argued that the project may have unanticipated environmental impacts, and should be subject to further study.
Rendering of the 12th & Main towerMVE + Partners
The second appellant, an affiliate of Blue Arch Investments, owns a neighboring site along Broadway, which has been entitled for the construction of a Hyatt Centric. As in the original appeal, Blue Arch has argued that the design of the proposed tower would negatively impact the use of still unbuilt hotel, and have requested a reduction in scale and a relocation of the massing of the building.
The two companies have sparred before. Jade previously appealed the Hyatt Centric project, which forced Blue Arch to redesign the development to account for a four-foot widening of the alley which divides the two sites.
The vote by the City Council rejects both appeals, allowing project approvals to stand.
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- 1123-1161 S Main Street (Urbanize LA)
