According to the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, three of the six highest-value permits on record in recent years* were issued in the month of June this year, including the number one most expensive project on file – valued at $525 million. In this post, we explore these three massive projects, all well over $200 million in valuation, to understand how these newcomers will impact LA’s changing cityscape.
Introduction
By consulting the number of cranes (2nd highest after Seattle in the US) and new construction projects popping up around the city of Los Angeles, one can observe that it is undergoing an urban renaissance. With large-scale private, public, and infrastructure projects on the horizon, such as the LACMA remodel, the new Purple Line, and the Banc of California Stadium to name a few, LA’s cityscape is changing at a rapid pace.
Among the multitude of new projects, three standout as having three of the six highest permit valuations on file, and were all issued to begin construction in late June (the three other top-6 buildings were permitted in 2014 and 2016). The most expensive permits on file, for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, was issued with a whopping $525 million valuation. The other two permits – one for The Cumulus near Culver City and the other for The Ferrante by embattled developer Geoff Palmer – are both residential builds and come in around $250 million each. Below we explored the permit details of the three projects:
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
The Lucas Museum, by Starwars creator George Lucas, is adding a museum to Exposition Park near the USC campus. The museum will feature art that focuses “on the power of a single image to tell a story, inspire emotion, or encapsulate universal truths.” The building itself, designed by MAD architects, looks like a starship lifted straight out of a Star Wars freeze frame featuring sleek, futuristic metallic panels and sweeping, aerodynamic curves.
Permit Details:
Address: 3800 S Vermont Avenue (Exposition Park)
Permit Valuation: $525,000,000
Permits Issued: June 25 and June 26
Description of permitted work: “INSTALLATION OF GARAGE AND TRANSFORMER ROOM VENTILATION FOR 5 STORY MU[sic]”; “INSTALLATION OF UNDERGROUND UTILITIES FOR NEW 5 STORY BUILDING OVER 2”
The Ferrante
Despite possible litigation over the fire that consumed his Da Vinci “faux-talian” apartment complex while under development, embattled developer Geoff Palmer is moving forward with plans for a new 1,500 unit residential projects just across Highway 110. Like his previous projects, the new Ferrante project will be designed to be a huge, quasi-Italianate-inspired complex featuring seven stories of apartment buildings. With permits issued on June 27, it is reported that downtown LA will gain 1,500 new units in Italian-Renaissance-fortress style designed by architecture firm Nelson/Boivin-Architects.
Permit Details:
Address: 1000 W Temple Street
Permit Valuation: $255,000,000
Permits Issued: June 27
Description of work: “NEW SEVEN STORY MIXED USE BUILDING WITH TWO LEVELS OF SUBTERANEAN GARAGE”
The Cumulus
Located on a 11-acre site next door to the Expo Line’s La Cienega and Jefferson station, permits were issued to begin construction on the TCA Architecture-designed podium-style core and shell of the 910-unit building. Another structure, a 30 floor high rise containing 300 units, is also planned for the property. According to SF-based developers Carmel Partners, the complex will also feature 100,000 sqft of retail and a 1-acre public park.
Permit Details:
Address: 3323 S La Cienega Boulevard
Permit Valuation: $242,200,327
Permits Issued: June 28
Description of work: “NEW 910-UNIT MIXED-USE BUILDING (CORE AND SHELL ONLY RETAIL/APARTMENT)”
* The dataset from the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety begins in January 2013.
If you’d like to learn more about these projects, send us an email to [email protected].
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