Although Mack Urban's upcoming South Park developments bring the exciting potential for new high-rises near the AT&T Center, the project also features a substantial low-rise component along Pico Boulevard.  Here is a first look, thanks to a presentation from the DLANC website.  Set to rise on adjacent parking lots between Olive and Hill Streets, this phase of the project consists of two seven-story buildings containing 360 condominiums and approximately 6,400 square feet of ground floor commercial space.  Designed by AC Martin Partners, the project features 23 townhouse units, in addition to standard residential amenities such as an outdoor pool and an on-site gym.  Residents will be served by a 382-car garage, with vehicular ingress and egress provided via an alley way at the center of the project site.  Automobile accommodations will be supplemented by 403 bicycle parking spaces.  This section of Pico Boulevard, currently surrounded by surface parking lots and nondescript commercial buildings, is poised for significant changes in the near future.  Besides Mack Urban's low-rise project, similar mixed-use developments are in the works from Jade Enterprises, the Wolff Company, and 4D Development.




The presentation also reveals that the project will offer 36,000 square feet of publicly accessible open space, located along Grand Avenue, Olive Street and Pico Boulevard.  Renderings from the Melendrez Design Group portray a series of grassy pocket parks, offering murals, generous seating, water features, and even room for food trucks.  The project offers a variety of streetscape improvements, including new trees, mid-block crossings and sidewalk bulb-outs.  AC Martin sets out to foster pedestrian activity in and around the development site by converting alley ways into inviting, landscaped paseos.  With the neighborhood slated for a residential construction binge over the next several years, setting aside pockets of land for green space will become all the more important.  As the presentation boldly proclaims, this project really is about putting the park in South Park.