Houk JV Unveils $1B Downtown Condo Plan

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LOS ANGELES-Locally based Houk Development Co. and two partners plan a $1-billion high-rise condominium development and hotel called Park Fifth that would overlook Pershing Square in Downtown L.A. and would rank as the tallest residential building west of Chicago. Los Angeles-based Houk’s capital partners in the venture are Israel-based Africa Israel and Brentwood-based Namco Capital Group.

Groundbreaking is slated for the first quarter of 2008 on the project, which will rise on a site at the corner of Fifth and Olive streets. It will include 732 residential units, among them some live-work units, and “a five-star hotel, to be operated by one of the leading names in luxury hospitality,” according to the developers.

Designed by the architectural firm of Kohn Pedersen Fox, the Park Fifth condominium tower will be “a New York-style luxury residential tower,” according to Rich Marr, the project manager for the development. The design calls for two towers of 76 and 43 stories, connected by a 15-story residential bridge, plus two 14-story structures surrounding a plaza.

The hotel will occupy the lower floors through the bridge area, with the units in the 43-story tower to be hotel-branded condominiums. The developers plan to open a sales center at 555 W. 5th St. in the Gas Co. Tower this summer to market the units, which will be priced at $400,000 to $3 million and will include some two-story condos of up to 3,000 sf.

Among the amenities at the development will be a sculpture garden, water features, a restaurant and a café. The towers will feature two rooftop pools and whirlpools with food and bar service and an observation deck atop the East Tower.

Africa Israel is a publicly traded international development company with a strong US presence and its US headquarters in New York. Namco Capital Group owns and manages more than 10 million sf of residential and commercial projects in Southern California and across the US.

In addition to architect Eugene Kohn of Kohn Pedersen Fox, whose projects include the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the project team includes the Los Angeles office of the Leo A. Daly architectural firm, which will assist KPF to complete working drawings and provide construction supervision. Interior design will be in the hands of Hirsch Bedner Associates.