Five years after breaking ground in Downtown Los Angeles, Greenland USA has put the finishing touches on a mixed-use development first envisioned during the Reagan administration.
Metropolis - which spans a 6.3-acre site bounded by James M. Wood Boulevard, 8th Street, Francisco Street, and the I-110 Freeway - consists of four high-rise buildings designed by Gensler and HED which feature more than 1,500 residential units, a 350-room Hotel Indigo, and 70,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
The Hotel Indigo, a 19-story structure at the intersection of James M. Wood Boulevard and Francisco Street, opened its doors in April 2017.
The first phase of the development opened its doors in April 2017, consisting of the 19-story hotel and a 38-story condominium tower featuring 308 studio, one-, and two-bedroom dwellings.
The second phase of Metropolis, located at the intersection of 8th and Francisco Streets, consists of two larger towers standing 40 and 56 stories in height.
The shorter 40-story structure, which debuted in 2018, features 514 studio, one-, and two-bedroom condominiums, in addition to a large amenity deck.
The larger, known as Thea at Metropolis, was initially planned as condominiums, but instead opened in late 2019 as rental apartments. The property, which is now managed by Greystar, includes 685 residential units.
Plans for the Metropolis site date to the 1980s, when the project site - once a sprawling surface parking lot - was first assembled for development. Since that time, the property has gone through several owners and design iterations - including a Michael Graves designed office complex during the 1990s. Greenland USA, an affiliate of the Chinese developer Greenland Holdings, acquired the property in 2013.
The project is one of several multi-building projects backed by Chinese capital in the Downtown area, joining the stalled Oceanwide Plaza complex near Staples Center, and the proposed Olympia development adjacent to L.A. Live.
Greenland USA, which was previously attached to the District NoHo project in partnership with Trammell Crow Company, has recently pulled back on its investments in American real estate - part of a broader trend among affiliates of Chinese real estate developers.
- Metropolis (Urbanize LA)
