A major site in the heart of Hollywood, currently occupied by three small office and two apartment buildings, is slated for 248 units of multi-family housing and 12, 758 SF of retail fronting Highland Avenue.
The 2.7-acre property – bounded by Highland, Selma, Hawthorn and McCadden – will include two buildings with 134 and 114 units, announced developer Robert Champion.
The design uses one element – a warm, wood-sided four-story horizontal bar – to connect the two buildings across a block and a half from Highland past McCadden, related KFA design principal Wade Killefer.
This hollow wooden bar threads a series of material elements – neutral light-colored masses with punched windows – along its length, unifying 640 feet along Selma Avenue. At its western terminus it opens up as a gesture to the mural on the Hollywood High School Performing Arts Center across the street.
Patterned concrete walk surfaces, street tree and shrub planning and concrete benches distinguish the streetscapes of Selma, Highland, Hawthorn and McCadden as a special unified precinct.
The rhythm of the streetscape, reinforced by vertical columns, awnings, extensive landscaping and consistent signage placement will establish a clear identity for the neighborhood, integrating the project into the fabric of the larger community.
Luxe @ Braodway, the first of twin projects in downtown Santa Monica, has been completed on the landmark World War II Quonset Hut site.
A 97-unit building comprised of 350-550 square-foot single-story apartments, the project follows in the wake of the highly successful Olympic Studios, a mini-loft project, in Santa Monica also developed by NMS Properties. Luxe, at 829 Broadway, was conceived as mixed-use affordable workforce housing, reported Jim Andersen, NMS president. “There is no question that there is a demand for modestly sized apartments,” he added.
The property has a mix of moderate and low-income units. Under current regulations, rents are controlled by the city, with re-evaluates them each year for inflation, he explained.
The building stands over three levels of subterranean parking and 7,000 square feet of retail space, including a new café slated to open in the restored Quonset Hut.
Features of the contemporary structure include deep corrugated-metal awnings, large windows, vine-covered walls, and a striped siding design in various shades of green.
Villas at Gower to Serve Homeless Adults and Families
Conceived as a “campus of hope” for the homeless, the Villas at Gower has opened in Hollywood, serving both families and individual adults with special needs. Jointly developed by A Community of Friends (ACOF) and PATH Ventures, the project offers permanent supportive housing and will be closely monitored by both the City and County because of its trend-setting nature, noted Dora Leong Gllo, ACOF CEO.
The $30 million residence, at 1726 N. Gower Street, will provide on-site services overseen by PATH Ventures and will include case management, employment and training services, parenting classes, independent living skills, after-school tutoring and nutrition and cooking workshops.
Off-site medical and mental health services will also be provided to residents, said John Molloy, PATH Executive Director.
Comprised of 15 studios, 20 two-bedroom and 35 one-bedroom units, the four-level building also includes a community room and art gallery for tenants to display their work. Organized around a large central courtyard, the building also features a trellised roof deck and covered terrace, providing a variety of outdoor spaces for residents to enjoy, noted Wade Killefer, KFA principal.
Clad in metal panels, plaster and composite wood siding, the carefully articulated building elevations include floor-to-ceiling windows and perforated corrugated metal sunshades. Rooftop panels for a solar hot water system will contribute to the project’s achieving a LEED Platinum rating.
Besides its unusual campus setting and attractive design, ACOF’s Gallo added, The project will create permanent housing rather than the usual interim housing provided to homeless people. The villas will also offer services to help residents learn to live independently.
The 308-unit Ferrara Apartments, started in 2008, is back under construction with a new owner and a fresh outlook. KFA is working with owner Alliance Residential Company on a significant makeover of the project.
Just blocks from the Metro Line terminus and downtown North Hollywood, Ferrara will offer a luxurious lifestyle for tenants seeking an urban experience but with ample space and amenities.
The large 1, 2, and 3-bedroom apartments feature spacious bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchens, and walk-in closets. Two large courtyards include amenities such as outdoor dining and bar areas, pools, sunning cabanas, and an outdoor movie venue. KFA worked with landscape architect Design Studio Ma to develop a theme for the building that sought to define a spa-like retreat in the heart of the Valley.
“After a lot of exploration, we developed a theme and imagery that merged with the marketing concept, based on coolness and shade, and we let these images guide all design decisions,” said KFA Project Manager John Arnold. Frosted guardrails, a fresh green and pale yellow color scheme and intricately patterned sunshades were included in the building’s palette inside and out.
Alliances approach to leasing revolves around giving tenants a total immersion experience into a living environment, starting from their first step inside the project. KFA worked with alliance from the beginning of their branding process to seamlessly integrate the architectural design in to the overall marketing concept.
The Ford Hotel was built in 1925, but it looks much different today after a complete renovation transformed what had been known by the LAPD as a crime magnet and one of the worst buildings on Skid Row into new housing for formerly homeless low-income residents suffering from mental illness.
Developed by SRO Housing Corporation, the $28 million renovation created 151 light-housekeeping units with kitchenettes and full bathrooms from what had been 295 vermin and rat infested units with common bathrooms and showers. New common areas include community and mail rooms on the ground floor and laundry and lounge areas on the upper floors.
A major design decision was to remove the roof over the former dingy indoor lobby to make an open air courtyard, now surrounded by units and common areas with landscaping and a bubbling water fountain, a safe outdoor gathering space for residents.
A LEED-equivalent project, the existing board-formed concrete building required the reinforcing of all of its interior columns along with new shear walls and steel stud interior framing.
The ground floor façade was faced in black marble tile and a rebuilt Ford blade sign over the main entry announces a safe, clean and friendly place to live.
After sitting vacant for more than 20 years, the historic Linda Vista Hospital in the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles will be redeveloped into 97 affordable housing units for seniors plus a medical clinic and other community-serving amenities.
“Our plan is designed to mesh with the original fabric of the Spanish Mission-style hospital campus, which was built in the 1920s and 30s,” related Wade Killefer, KFA design principal.
The historic lobbies and common areas will remain, but patient rooms, the nurses’ dormitory and offices will be converted to housing.
Developed by AMCAL Multi-Housing, the new three-story building, located on a 3.5-acre landscaped site, will be built in two phases, with both planned for completion in 2013.
The original structure – stepped asymmetrical massing, traditional windows, red tile roofs and ornate ironwork – readily lends itself to this transformation, added John Arnold, KFA project architect. Phase I calls for conversion of the dormitory into four studio and 18 one-bedroom units.
In 2006, the hospital was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Almost 100 years ago 512 Rose was the Venice, CA home of The Pioneer Bakery, makers of the popular sourdough bread sold throughout southern California. Soon to open on the site is The Frank, a 70-unit mixed-use multi-family project, developed by Gerding Edlen.
Occupying a full block between 5th and Rennie Avenues, just 1/2 mile from the beach, this three-story project includes an inviting retail element on the ground floor, anchored by two restaurants on the corners. The building is generously set back from Rose, and the large landscaped entry courtyard and cozy outdoor dining areas will enliven the streetscape for residents, retail patrons and passers-by.
“Our goal,” noted KFA principal Barbara Flammang, “was to design a project that fits the engaging Venice context and to provide a variety of unit types and sizes for potential renters to choose from.” Five two-story townhouses, ranging from 1900 SF to 2,300 SF are oriented towards lively Rose Avenue. Spacious one- and two-bedroom units, ranging from 800 SF to 1,400 SF, face the quieter side streets or two large courtyards, which are generously landscaped with bamboo, grasses, protea and lavender.
Other highlights include large operable windows and balcony doors which welcome fresh sea breezes, steel trellises and glass balcony railings.
Unit interiors feature dark stained wood cabinets, quartz countertops, six-foot tubs and oversized showers.
Mosaic Apartments Open in Historic Pico Union District
Mosaic Apartments, developed by AMCAL Multi-Housing, Inc. and designed by Killefer Flammang Architects, had its Grand Opening on December 8th.
Mosaic Apartments is a 56-unit affordable housing development in the historic Pico Union neighborhood of Los Angeles. The genesis of the design came from the community itself: through a series of meetings, future residents expressed the desire to have seniors and families living together in one project, but also wanted a degree of separation. This led to a long two-building scheme - seniors on one side, families on the other - with a landscaped paseo running between them from the front to the back of the building, connecting between two streets. The paseo is the central circulation court and gathering space for the project - a place for seniors to walk, children to play, and for everyone to interact. Both the developer and the residents also wanted the building to fit into the historic Craftsman residential architecture of the neighborhood, leading to a vocabulary of pitched roofs, traditional fenestration, and wood details.
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