Hines has beat back an appeal trying to block a 13-story office project in Downtown Los Angeles, but the developer may have a harder time beating a market where a third of offices sit empty.
The Houston-based company got the nod from the city Planning Commission to build the 435,000-square-foot structure at 2045 East Violet Street, in the Arts District, Urbanize Los Angeles reported. It would demolish two commercial buildings.
The approval denied the appeal by Creed LA, a coalition of building trades unions, which argued the project flaunted zoning rules and would hurt the environment. A staff report had recommended ditching the appeal.
The project comes as office vacancy in Downtown L.A. has climbed to 32.8 percent, with nearly 1.2 million square feet of negative net absorption, according to CBRE.
The market doldrums has led developers such as Tishman Speyer and Onni Group to cancel plans to build offices nearby.
Hines’ plan calls for a 217-foot tower next to the historic Ford Factory complex near the Los Angeles River.
The offices would soar above 15,500 square feet of ground-floor shops and restaurants, and a seven-level parking garage. The 6-acre site could accommodate 211,000 square feet of future offices and shops.
The project, designed by locally based Rios, features a sloping gray facade clad in glass, steel, and brick, with 74,000 square feet of terrace decks and open space.
Pending approval by the City Council, the building would take three years to build. A cost and timeline for construction were not disclosed.
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The proposed Ford Factory expansion is the latest and largest block of new offices for the Arts District, which already has projects by Jade Enterprises and Skanska.
Last year, Hines completed a 217,000-square-foot, 600-unit West Edge office, retail and housing complex in West Los Angeles and has teamed up with Costa Mesa-based C.J. Segerstrom & Sons to build a 17-acre retail village with 1,600 homes in Santa Ana.
— Dana Bartholomew