Developer Plans 318 Condos for Chinatown
Market-Rate Complex Would Rise Near 'Cornfield' Park
By Anna Scott
The Los Angeles City Council has approved plans for a 318-unit condominium project in a largely industrial area southeast of Los Angeles State Historic Park. The proposed development could have a major impact on Chinatown, placing hundreds of homeowners on a block a short walk from the community's Gold Line station.
The developer, formally titled L.A. Lofts Chinatown LLC, is led by Thomas A. Patty, the founder and CEO of Torrance-based T.A. Patty Development Inc. The company specializes in converting underutilized properties into high-end, market-rate residential projects, such as The Brownstones condominium town homes in Burbank.
Patty declined to comment on the Chinatown project. However, a representative said he worked closely with First District City Councilman Ed Reyes' office and city planners on the new project's design.
"This is the first project where the Planning Department worked with an applicant to come up with an ideal situation that would work with what we're envisioning in that area," said city planner Tom Rothmann, who worked on the proposal.
"We really worked together to make this a very pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use development that would complement the area."
The project would be the first new development to move forward in the gritty district northeast of Chinatown - scattered with warehouses, industrial businesses and truck lots - since the city last year began work on plans to spur mixed-use development in the area.
City planners encouraged Patty to include eco-friendly elements in his designs, and to provide maximum landscaping and space for ground-floor retail.
In the works for three years,
the project was approved by the City Council on Friday, Feb. 8. No groundbreaking date or funding information has been released, though
the developer hopes to finish the project in approximately three years, said a spokesman.
"I think it's one of those signature landmark projects that speaks to our ability to incorporate green building standards while at the same time creating a stronger community base," said Reyes. "Especially when you have a facility like a 32-acre park right down the street.
It's a project that can set an example for many other projects that may come down the pipeline."
Land of Opportunity
Patty plans to build a six-story, 75-foot structure at 1101 N. Main St., about half a mile north of Union Station.
The development, totaling 392,522 square feet, would house 318 condominiums including 18 commercial-residential "flex" units, 618 parking spaces and ground-floor retail. The design includes green space along the east and west sides of the street.
The development site, currently zoned for industrial use, holds three structures that T.A. Patty Development leases to a food service business. Surrounded by a wholesale food distributor, a machine parts company and a truck lot, the property sits on a heavily industrial part of Main Street. It is several blocks from the Los Angeles River.
It is also within a mile of several new and proposed residential, commercial and mixed-use developments, including the existing Mozaic Apartments at Alameda Street and Cesar Chavez Avenue, the new Homeboy Industries facility on Bruno Street, and the planned Blossom Plaza mixed-use complex on Broadway.
In 2003, the Metro Gold Line opened with two nearby stops, and in 2007 the Cornfield - just a block away - was dedicated as a State Historic Park.
Last year, the city began work on a plan to guide development in the mostly untouched area north of Chinatown, along with the rest of a 400-acre spread in and around the Cornfield, the L.A. River and the Arroyo Seco Wash. Expected to be complete in approximately a year,
the Cornfield/Arroyo Seco Specific Plan would change the area's mostly industrial zoning to encourage other kinds of development and create investment incentives for developers, such as height and density allowances in exchange for community benefits like parks or affordable housing.
Patty's is the first development proposed for the Specific Plan area since the project was conceived, said Claire Bowin of the Planning Department.
It could be an initial step toward revitalizing key land, she said.
"Here, because of the location - with the river, the transit stations, the parks - there's a lot of opportunities to
mend the holes in the urban fabric," said Bowin. "Right now, it's kind of a hole. [The Specific Plan] would allow Lincoln Heights, Glassell Park and other areas to connect to Downtown and other parts of the city."
Patty's proposal also coincides with two other city projects aimed at encouraging new development.
The Planning Department and Community Redevelopment Agency's recently unveiled Industrial Land Use Policy identifies the development site as part of a Transition District, where the agencies have directed their staffs to foster housing and commercial uses.
The development also fits with the planned makeover of the L.A. River, a project estimated to take decades and top $2 billion. The effort, unveiled last year, partly focuses on increasing green space and high-density, multi-family housing near L.A. State Historic Park.
"This is the first project we saw coming through that's compliant with the intent of the River Master Plan," said city planner Rothmann, "so we really looked at it closely. It's very symbolic."
Industrial to Residential
While city officials have been enthusiastic about Patty's proposed development, others have expressed concern.
Neighboring business California Drop Forge, which produces metal parts for aircraft and defense uses, successfully lobbied for conditions to be folded into the project's approval, requiring that the developer notify future residents of the potential impacts of living next to an industrial business.
"We're concerned about different uses in different zones," said attorney Robert Pontelle, who represents CDF.
Also included in the approval is a stipulation, at Reyes' request, that the developer submit a marketing plan to the Housing Department before securing building permits. The plan would detail an outreach program to ensure that local residents are notified at least 30 days before units are released.
"I was trying to encourage the developer to work with our office and the local neighborhood organizations," said Reyes. Although the project is not slated to include any affordable units, Reyes said he expects Patty to offer a wide range of condominium sizes at varying prices that could appeal to a diverse sector of Downtown Los Angeles.
"If you look at the local fire department, or the police academy up the street, it would be great to get some of that workforce," said Reyes. "We were trying to make sure the local community is aware of this opportunity."
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Source:
Los Angeles Downtown News
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