Nine months after making it through the Los Angeles City Planning Commission, a proposal to redevelop the Sportsmen's Lodge hotel in Studio City has now cleared the Los Angeles City Council.

Midwood Investment & Development's Residences at Sportsmen's Lodge, which would rise at 12825 Ventura Boulevard, calls for clearing the existing 1960s hotel to make way for a new 520-unit apartment complex with 46,000 square feet of ground-floor shops and restaurants and parking for 1,385 vehicles.

Residential courtyardMarmol Radziner

The proposed project calls for a mix of studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments, 78 of which would be set aside for rent as very low-income affordable housing. That would permit buildings which are larger than normally allowed by zoning rules through density bonus incentives.

"We are excited that the Los Angeles City Council has approved our plans for The Residences at Sportsmen's Lodge," said Midwood president Jeff Dvorett in a statement. "This new development will provide much-needed housing, including 78 affordable housing residences. We are looking forward to delivering this mixed-use offering to the community."

Marmol Radziner is designing the complex, with MVE + Partners serving as architect and Olin as landscape architect. Renderings show new four- and seven-story buildings incorporating Mid-century Modern architecture, with roughly 21,000 square feet of publicly accessible open space in the form of courtyards for residents and retail customers, as well as a new pedestrian path connecting Ventura Boulevard to the neighboring Los Angeles River.

Retail courtyardMarmol Radziner

An environmental study conducted for the project has projected a 43-month construction period concluding in 2027.

The Residences are intended as a complement to the adjacent Shops at Sportsmen's Lodge, which was built next door along Coldwater Canyon Avenue. The 94,000-square-foot retail center is anchored by an Erewhon, the upscale supermarket chain, which appealed its landlord's plans along with the Studio City Residents Association and hospitality labor union Unite Here Local 11. Each of the appellants contend that the project should have been the subject of additional study under the California Environmental Quality Act, and is incompatible with the zoning and built environment of the surrounding area. A Planning Department staff report recommended denial of all three appeals, finding no evidence to support their arguments.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Erewhon has been in a legal battle with its landlord since 2022, when Midwood sued the grocer alleging that it had failed to pay rent and was overusing a communal parking lot. In response, Erewhon filed its own lawsuit arguing that the developer had not prohibited employee use of the parking lot.

River viewMarmol Radziner

While the project may be the biggest seen in Studio City in recent memory - of the Ventura-Cahuenga Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan has seen no residential construction since its inception more than 30 years ago.

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