At its meeting on April 11, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission voted to uphold the approval of a proposed mixed-use development in Palms, rejecting an appeal which sought to block the project's construction.

Wiseman Residential, the Sawtelle-based firm behind the project, secured approvals last year to redevelop a site at 10626 W. Venice Boulevard with a new seven-story building that would feature 136 apartments above 6,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and parking for 161 vehicles. The project, spanning from Overland Avenue in the west to Keystone Avenue in the east, would replace a shuttered gas station and several smaller residential and commercial buildings.

10626 W. Venice BoulevardGoogle Street View

Approved plans rely on Transit Oriented Communities incentives to permit a larger, denser apartment complex than otherwise allowed by zoning rules.  In exchange, the city would require that 14 of the one-, two-, and three-bedroom dwellings be set aside as affordable housing at the extremely low-income level.

A rendering of 10626 Venice depicts a contemporary podium-type building featuring a courtyard, a swimming pool, a recreation room, and a rooftop garden.

10626 W. Venice BoulevardGoogle Maps

The project appellant, SAFER, an affiliate of Laborers International Union of North America Local 270, challenged the exemption from study under the California Environmental Quality Act which was granted to the project. A staff report, finding no evidence to support the union's claims, recommended denial of the appeal.

The mixed-use project, originally planned as a smaller 109-unit development, now encompasses the entire frontage of Venice between Overland and Keystone Avenues. When built, it will be the third recent project for Wiseman in the Palms neighborhood, following a 68-unit apartment complex now wrapping up work at 3659 S. Motor Avenue and a 104-unit complex under construction at 3557 Motor.

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