Four years after initiating plans to add a massive apartment tower to The Bloc's parking structure in Downtown Los Angeles, property owner National Real Estate Advisors has received the blessing of the Los Angeles City Council.

On September 16, the Council approved a transfer of development rights, a development agreement, and a sign district for the project, which spans a full city block and has the addresses of 700 S. Flower Street, 700 W. 7th Street, and 711 S. Hope Street. Under the approved plan, a 41-story tower would be built above the existing 12-level parking structure, adding 466 studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments to the property.

View of the proposed residential tower at The BLOC from 7th StreetShimahara

Handel Architects is designing the building, which would rise 710 feet in height, culminating in a sculpted glass rooftop containing an open-air amenity deck.

Plans also call for converting the roof of The Bloc's garage into a landscaped amenity deck, providing a swimming pool, a fitness center, and a lawn for residents. Relm is serving as the project's landscape architect.

According to an environmental study circulated for the project, construction is expected to take 35 months to complete. The study anticipated a start date in 2027 and an opening date in 2030.

Aerial view of rooftop at the proposed residential tower at The BLOCShimahara

The project is accompanied by a nearly $16.8-million public benefits payment in exchange for a transfer of development rights from the Convention Center property to accommodate the scale of the proposed tower. Half of that money, or approximately $8.4 million, will go toward amenities in the Downtown area, including an affordable housing acquisition in the Little Tokyo area, $3 million for Downtown street lighting repair, and the general public benefit trust fund for Council District 14.

Redevelopment of the project comes in the wake of the loss of The Bloc's shopping mall's anchor tenant Macy's, which shut its doors as part of the department store chain's latest wave of closures. However, the empty space has at least been partially filled by a new sports-oriented social club.

Aerial view of amenity deck looking northeastShimahara

The tower would build on a growing collection of high-rise residential buildings along the 8th Street corridor in Downtown Los Angeles, including a 50-story building planned across Hope Street by Mitsui Fudosan America and Brookfield's new Beaudry development next door to the Figat7th mall.

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