Later this week, the DLANC Planning and Land Use Committee is scheduled to take a close look at details of the Greenland Group's plans for Metropolis.  The first stage of the $1 billion project, which quietly began site preparation last week, will create 350 hotel rooms and 308 condominium units in towers of 19 and 38 stories.  Buildings will surround a ground-level automobile courtyard, lined by more than 7,000 square feet of pedestrian-oriented retail space.  Both towers would sit atop a seven-floor parking garage, featuring five above-ground levels.

The more ambitious second phase of the development calls for two additional high-rise towers, oriented towards the northern end of the 6.3-acre project site.  Buildings would rise to heights of 58 and 40 stories, containing a cumulative 1,250 condominiums and 67,000 square feet of retail space.  The larger structure, peaking 647 feet above street level, would narrowly edge out the Onni Group's proposed tower at 820 Olive Street for the title of Los Angeles' tallest residential building.

Both of Metropolis's phase two towers would sit above a ten-floor parking structure, featuring eight above-grade levels.  Earlier reports from the Downtown News have indicated that a combination of loft units and retail stalls will screen the garage from view along Francisco Street.  The parking structures will also serve as the foundation of Metropolis's amenity decks, offering outdoor pools, landscaped courtyards and the soothing ambience of the 110 freeway.

Construction of phase two is expected to occur over a 60-month period, beginning in 2015 and concluding in 2020.  This would involve approximately one year of overlap with Metropolis's phase-one construction timeline, which is scheduled for completion in mid-2016.

The presentation also refreshes an earlier Gensler concept known by the clichéd title "Avenue of the Angels."  The proposal from AEG endeavors to transform Francisco Street into a Gaslamp-like commercial corridor, anchored by the Wilshire Grand in the north and LA Live in the south.  Metropolis, spanning a full block between 8th Street and James M. Wood Boulevard, would feature prominently in this concept.  Potential expansion plans for the FIGat7th shopping center could likewise play a significant role