Construction to start this summer for LOHA-designed housing near UCLA

Georgia-based real estate development firm Landmark Properties expects to break ground this summer on a new multifamily residential complex just west of the UCLA campus in Westwood, the company announced this week.

The Mark at Los Angeles, approved last year by the City Planning Commission for a property located at  10915 W. Strathmore Drive, will consist of a seven-story building featuring 37 two-, three-, four-, and five-bedroom apartments. In total, the building will feature 166 bedrooms, a portion of which will be set aside for rent as affordable housing per terms of approval imposed by the City of Los Angeles.

“Westwood is severely underserved with high-quality, purpose-built student housing, and we look forward to bringing our industry-leading product to the students of UCLA,” said Landmark Properties president and chief executive officer in a statement. “Our team did a great job of sourcing this off-market opportunity and navigating a challenging entitlement process to bring this project to fruition.” 

The apartments will all incorporate gourmet kitchens, synthetic hardwood-style floors in living areas, and carpet in bedrooms. Additionally, all units will come with washer-dryer sets and appliances.

LOHA is designing the project, which breaks the mass of the building into a series of cubic forms, using setbacks on its upper floors to create outdoor amenity spaces, including a courtyard amenity area and a resort-style pool at the rooftop. Plans call for an exterior of fiber cement boards and corrugated metal panels.

Landmark acquired the site from the Pacific Southwest District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, which had owned the land and the church which was built on the property in the mid-1950s. Sales proceeds from will go toward student ministries in Southern California, and even Arizona.

“Church and ministry are more than what happens in a building,” said Mike Gibson, the president of the Pacific Southwest District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. “The sale of this property allows the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod to reach students far beyond the parameters of what we were doing within the confines of the previous building. As we have set up the foundation, we will be able to serve students not only at UCLA, but at other college campuses throughout Southern California and Arizona. The proceeds from the sale will fund campus pastors that will remain involved in student life and provide resources to students for many, many years to come.”

Construction of the Mark at Los Angeles is expected by September 2024. The project is Landmark's fourth student housing development in California.

The private development follows UCLA's nearly $900-million investment in its own student housing, which has added thousands of new dormitories at sites across the campus.

• 10915 W Strathmore Drive (Urbanize LA)