A proposed Mid-Wilshire high-rise from developer Walter N. Marks, Inc. continues to make its way through the city approval process.

Last week, the Planning Department published a draft environmental impact report for the Mirabel development, which would replace a 1930s commercial building located at 5411 Wilshire Boulevard. In its place, plans call for the construction of a 42-story tower which would feature 348 studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments above parking for 309 vehicles and 12,821 square feet of ground floor commercial uses.

Evening view looking westKeating Architecture

Requested entitlements include density bonus incentives to more floor area than otherwise allowed by zoning rules. In exchange, plans call for 29 apartments which would be set aside for rent as very low-income affordable housing.

Keating Architecture is designing Mirabel, which rise approximately 530 feet in height. Plans show an undulating glass facade and an amorphous footprint sprouting above a podium amenity deck.

"The architectural design of the Project interprets the Streamline Moderne style of several buildings in the surrounding Miracle Mile through the imposition of a unique curvilinear tower with structural form," reads a narrative included with the initial study. "The tower would be set back from the podium edges to reduce the appearance of Project massing from the street level. Architectural features would include material changes, horizontal design elements, and Art Deco-inspired canopied entryways."

Aerial view looking eastKeating Architecture

While the project would replace one vintage building, not all is lost. The facades of the former Sontag Drug Store at Wilshire and Cloverdale Avenue would be preserved as part of the ground-floor of the new tower.

Pending approval of entitlements and building permits, construction of Mirabel is expected to take approximately 36 months.

The project is one of two Miracle Mile apartment towers currently in the works, joining a similar 46-story tower from Onni Group which would rise at the opposite corner of Wilshire and Cloverdale.

5411 Wilshire BoulevardGoogle Maps

Walter N. Marks, Inc., perhaps best known as the owner of the Helms Bakery District, has ventured into ground-up development in other parts of Los Angeles as well. The company has also proposed a more modest mixed-use residential development for a parking lot across Venice Boulevard from the Helms complex.

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