After six months of excavation, foundation work is now in progress for the latest mixed-use complex next to Metro's La Cienega/Jefferson Station in Baldwin Hills.

The Habitat development, a joint venture between Lendlease and Aware Super, is now taking shape on the former site of a Public Storage facility at 3401 S. La Cienega Boulevard. The 3.5-acre site is approved for the construction of two buildings which will feature a combined total of 260 apartments and 253,000 square feet of office space.Plans also call for parking for more than 700 vehicles.

Aerial view looking southwest at Habitat Los Angeles development siteTimothy Swope

Project approvals for Habitat include density bonus incentives to permit a larger residential building than would normally be allowed by zoning rules. In exchange, the project will include 22 units of deed-restricted very low-income affordable housing. Lendlease has also agreed to set aside an additional 7 apartments as workforce housing.

Shop Architects is designing the project, with Steinbert Hart serving as architect of record. Permits describe a 12-story residential building, accompanied by a six-story office building. Renderings portray the mid-rise structures with a contemporary design and a series of stepped terraces providing balconies and amenity spaces for residents and office tenants. Plans also call for roughly one acres of open space at ground-level, opening onto the adjoining bike trail.

Completion of Habitat is expected in 2025.

Ground-level interior view of 3401 La CienegaSHoP Architects

Habitat is the third large mixed-use project to break ground in close proximity to La Cienega/Jefferson Station, following the Cumulus District from Carmel Partners, a 12-acre complex consisting of more than 1,200 apartments and a Whole Foods Market, and the 17-story Wrapper office tower from Samitaur and Eric Owen Moss Architects.

More projects are set to follow. The area's future construction pipeline includes a 254-unit apartment complex planned on the opposite side of La Cienega Boulevard and a series of office buildings proposed by Kilroy Realty Corp. and Lincoln Property Company.

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