LOS ANGELES-Two trends that have steadily been gaining momentum in Southern California, the building boom in Downtown L.A. and the growing migration of developers toward green building standards, will come together in a $60 million mixed-use project that the First United Methodist Church has proposed. The development, at Olympic Boulevard and Flower Street, is expected to total 200,000 sf, according to Burbank-based BTG Advisors, which the church has retained as a consultant on the Downtown project.

The church, which is also planning the project as the next home for its congregation, will develop the space in a joint venture with a development partner on church-owned land. Plans have yet to be completed, but BTG says the development may include affordable and market rate housing, office space and a sky chapel and sanctuary that could be used by other local groups and congregations.

The facilities will be developed according to building guidelines established under the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards. The church leadership sees the project as "a catalyst to enliven the neighborhood," says Rev. Sandie Richards, pastor and executive director of the Los Angeles United Methodist Urban Foundation.

BTG Advisors will advise and represent the church through its RFQ and RFP process, and in the selection of a joint venture development partner, says BTG's CEO, Richard Gentilucci. BTG Advisors will also provide strategic and financial planning through the completion of the project.

BTG Advisors provides a broad range of consulting services to real estate owners, including nonprofit organizations. Gentilucci, who founded the firm in 2005, was formerly a managing director of Shamrock Capital Advisors, an affiliate of Burbank-based Shamrock Holdings of California, the investment arm of the Roy E. Disney family.