Months after acquiring a vacant commercial building in Downtown Los Angeles for $13.5 million,. Erewhon is moving forward with plans to open its latest location, per a recent filing with the L.A. Department of City Planning.

Erewhon's plans for the property at 940 S. Hill Street calls for transforming the interior into an approximately 17,500-square-foot market, including the brand's standard array of goods, as well as seating for up to 120 diners. The market has applied for a conditional use permit to sell alcohol, and will provide parking for up to 46 vehicles in an existing rooftop lot.

The project, which is being designed by AO, will include two additional tenant spaces a - 5,826-square foot ground-level space and an 8,446-square-foot basement area - which do not have identified tenants at the current time.

940 S. Hill StreetGoogle Maps

Plans for an Erewhon at the intersection of Hill Street and Olympic Boulevard are the chain's second attempt to move into the Downtown market. In 2018, Erewhon announced its intention to open a store on the ground floor of a former May Co. parking garage one block to the north at 9th and Hill Streets, only to abandon that plan by 2020.

The surrounding area has been redeveloped over the past decade with thousands of apartments and hotel rooms. Residential towers built by Onni Group sit to the north and south of the property along Hill Street.

The property at 940 S. Hill Street was previously slated for the construction of a 20-story apartment tower in 2015. However, chances of that project ever seeing fruition were dashed when the project's developer Dae Yong Lee was accused of bribing disgraced former City Councilman Jose Huizar to ensure approval of the tower. The developer has since been sentenced to prison.

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