Monday, February 2, 2015

Low-Rise Apartments Begin Work in Westlake


In the latest example of investment dollars spilling outside the Central City freeway ring, construction has started on another mixed-use development in Westlake.

Last month, Los Angeles-based Canfield Development broke ground on a low-rise apartment building on a vacant half-acre lot at 1329-1419 West Seventh Street.  The residential-retail complex, first reported in 2013, will consist of a seven-story structure featuring 87 studio, one-and-two-bedroom apartments above nearly 1,000 square feet of ground-level retail space.  Plans filed with the city call for multiple communal amenities, including a 135-car garage, an on-site fitness center, and a third-level recreation deck .  The project is also the beneficiary of a 25% density bonus due to its inclusion of five very-low income housing units.

Like many recent developments west of the Harbor Freeway, the Seventh Street Apartments will employ wood-frame construction and a painted plaster finish.  Designs from Nadel Architects also incorporate substantial glass and metal paneling to obscure two above-grade parking levels.

A precise completion date for the project is currently unclear.  The Seventh Street Apartments are the third market-rate apartment complex to break ground in Westlake since the beginning of 2014, following two larger developments located on Wilshire Boulevard and Sixth Street.

1402 W. 7th Street (All images: Canfield Development and Nadel Architects)






4 comments:

  1. MacArthur Park and a Metro red/purple line station. It's amazing that Westlake wasn't gentrified sooner.

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    1. Mostly new construction in the current wave, although that does portend gentrification. Already started in some parts of the neighborhood.

      Westlake has a high crime rate and an abundance of tenement style housing. Compare that to Downtown, where most of the buildings were already empty prior to the ARO, and thus relatively few people were forced out.

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    2. The housing stock in the area is not very hipster friendly so I think that's why gentrification is lagging a bit. But it will happen... the location is too good to not see more redevelopment.

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    3. Westlake has a few bland stucco blocks, but also a lot of handsome prewar apartment buildings. Property with views of Echo Park are now in demand, and I suspect the same will be true for MacArthur Park some point down the line.

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