The Los Angeles City Council has upheld the approval of a proposed mixed-use apartment complex at the Row DTLA campus, rejecting an appeal which sought to block the project's construction.

The project from Atlas Capital Group, approved by the City Planning Commission in February, would rise at 787 S. Alameda Street, replacing surface parking. Plans call for the new construction of three eight-story buildings containing 1,000 apartments in a mix of studio, one-, and two-bedroom floor plans with 6,547 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The project would also include parking for more than 1,000 vehicles.

View looking west from Alameda StreetKFA Architecture

Approvals granted by the City Planning Commission include density bonus incentives to allow the project to exceed certain limits imposed by zoning rules. In exchange, Atlas Capital would set aside 114 total apartments as affordable housing for very low-income renters.

KFA Architecture is designing the project, which is shown with a contemporary look and setbacks on the upper floors of the building that create a series of cascading terrace decks. Common outdoor courtyards and amenity spaces would be scattered throughout the buildings.

The appeal, filed by the Supporters Alliance for Environmental Responsibility (which is affiliated with LIUNA), argued that the project should be subject to an individual environmental impact report due to purported impacts to adjacent historic buildings on the Row DTLA campus and inconsistency with the City's land use regulations. The project utilized the housing element's environmental impact report, rather than a project-specific study.

Massing of proposed apartment buildings at 787 S. Alameda StreetKFA Architecture

The Row DTLA campus, formerly known as Alameda Square, spans roughly 30 acres at the intersection of 7th and Alameda Streets and is currently developed with 1.7 million square feet of commercial uses in nine separate buildings. The property was previously the headquarters of American Apparel.

Atlas Capital Group acquired the Row Site along with other assets once owned by defunct developer Meruelo Maddux more than a decade ago. In the years since, the New York company has pursued approvals for new mixed-use projects on some of the marquee properties it acquired in that deal. East across Alameda Street from the Row DTLA site, Atlas has secured approvals for a new production studio at the former Los Angeles Times printing plant. The company has also received approvals for a 725-unit apartment complex next door to Metro's Chinatown Station.

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