LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

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http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-property-report-20131003,0,162281.story

High-rise apartment enclave planned for downtown L.A.



by Roger Vincent

Six real estate parcels, now mostly parking lots in the shadow of AT&T Center, have been purchased in what may be the largest downtown land acquisition since the recession. And a $750-million residential complex there is on the drawing boards.

Sleek high-rise apartment towers, shops and restaurants are to rise along a path of real estate development spreading east from Staples that is transforming a former asphalt-covered dead zone in South Park into a more pedestrian-friendly neighborhood.

"We are delivering what Gen Y wants — comfortable homes well laid out with all the bells and whistles," said President Matthew Burton of developer Mack Urban. "We believe we can do it at an affordable price point with top-of-the-line amenities and views."

The units would be smaller than most downtown, Burton said. Rents, however, would start at about $2,200 a month, below what is common for other new buildings there, he said.

The project is the first for Mack Urban, which was formed in August to build multifamily housing in Southern California and the Pacific Northwest....

Plans are in early stages and must wend their way through the city's approval process. The company's goal is to build about 1,500 apartments in a yet-to-be-named community dotted with small parks and linked by public walkways and alleys. The complex might also eventually include a hotel.

Unlike most new high-rise residential developments that are characterized by their owners as "luxury," Mack Urban plans to go after a wider swath of renters, including young people priced out of other new buildings.

Part of the challenge of making the units attractive lies in tying the properties together and transforming the area's big, unwelcoming blocks into a neighborhood with its own character, said architect David Martin of AC Martin Partners.

"Towns with smaller blocks are more charming and more interesting," Martin said. "So how do we make streets more pedestrian-scale?"

His proposed solution is to surround the development's apartment towers, stores and restaurants with public spaces worth strolling. There would be narrow alleys lined by townhouses, walkways meandering through the blocks and what Martin calls vest-pocket parks....

If Mack Urban's design gets the go-ahead from city officials, construction on that project would begin in late 2014 and continue in phases over the following decade.