Nearly eight years after the project was initially proposed, developer Maxxam Enterprises has secured a key approval to build a mixed-use residential complex at the intersection of 5th and Seaton Streets in Downtown Los Angeles.

The proposed development, slated for a site at 1100 E. 5th Street in the Arts District, calls for replacing a single-story commercial building with a new eight-story edifice featuring up to 220 live/work apartments above approximately 46,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and a three-level subterranean parking garage. Maxxam would also have the ability to replace up to 20 live/work units with an additional 17,765 square feet of commercial uses.

View looking south from 5th StreetHansonLA

As a condition of approval for granting a general plan amendment and a zone change, the project would be required to set aside up to 25 of the proposed studio, one-, and three-bedroom dwellings as affordable housing at the very low-income level.

HansonLA is designing 1100 E. 5th Street, which is shown in plans as standing approximately 116 feet in height. Renderings show a contemporary mid-rise structure with an open-air courtyard and lounge space on the exterior. Plans also call for resident amenities such as a fitness center, a recreation room, a rooftop pool deck, and an art gallery inside.

Construction of 1100 E. 5th Street is expected to occur over a 24-month period, according to an environmental study circulated for the project.

1100 E. 5th StreetGoogle Maps

The project was the subject of an appeal from the Supporters Alliance for Environmental Responsibility, an affiliate of LIUNA, which contends that the project's environmental study was flawed, and must be revised to address shortcomings. A staff report recommending denial of the appeal was affirmed by the Commission's decision.

“We are very proud to bring this well-designed mixed-use project with on-site affordable housing to the Arts District," said attorney Edgar Khalatian of Mayer Brown, who represented the project before the commission. "We need more projects like this to ensure our City has not only sufficient housing, but also jobs, in the heart of our City.”

The project is one of two mixed-use developments from Maxxam and HansonLA in the Arts District. The other, approved in 2022 for a nearby site at 676 S. Mateo Street, would feature up to 185 homes and commercial uses.

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