Architectural plans recently reviewed by the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council and the Highland Park-Garvanza Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ) Board reveal renderings of a proposed mixed-use apartment complex near the intersection of Figueroa Street and York Boulevard.
View looking east on GarvanzaGreen City Building Company
The proposed development, which comes from Los Angeles-based real estate firm Skya Ventures, calls for replacing a surface parking lot at the southwest corner of Avenue 64 and Garvanza Avenue with a new three-story edifice containing 33 studio, four-, and five-bedroom apartments above 2,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and a two-level basement garage.
Skya's entitlement application requests streamlined approvals for the project in accordance with SB 330, as well as Transit Oriented Communities incentives allowing for increased density and floor area. In exchange for the development incentives, three of the proposed apartments would be reserved as deed-restricted affordable housing.
El Monte-based architecture firm Green City Building Co. is designing the project, which would have a brick exterior, similar to nearby historic structures. Plans call for a U-shaped footprint above the ground level, wrapping a central courtyard. Additional amenity spaces would include a movie room, co-working space, and a lounge.
Ground-floor commercial spaceGreen City Building Company
The project, according to architect Matthew Foss, is designed according to the requirements of the Highland Park-Garvanza HPOZ. The current project was originally envisioned as a Spanish Colonial Revival building, but was later revised after pushback from city officials and the surrounding neighborhood. Foss anticipates further design revisions, but expects the finished product to be similar to the concepts depicted in new renderings.
Despite the design revisions, plans for an apartment building at Avenue 64 and Garvanza Avenue have continued to face opposition from a handful of members of the surrounding neighborhood who have submitted letters to the city arguing that the project is oversized in its current form, should not qualify for Transit Oriented Communities incentives, and does not comply with the HPOZ guidelines.
Nonetheless, the project team anticipates approval within 2021. A construction timeline has not been set, however.
141 N Avenue 64Google Maps
Skya Ventures, which is based out of the San Fernando Valley, is also developing a 92-unit apartment complex near the intersection of Vermont and Fountain Avenues in East Hollywood.
