LOS ANGELES-Sares-Regis Group has begun construction on a premium, 240-unit mixed-use apartment development on 1.74 acres in the community of Little Tokyo here. While the firm declined to disclose anticipated construction costs for the project, it did tell GlobeSt.com that its value upon completion will be $108 million.

The project will include more than 16,000 square feet of retail space and a public parking garage. Located at South San Pedro and E. 2^nd sts., it will be three blocks from Los Angeles City Hall and four blocks from the Downtown Bunker Hill financial district.

The development will include townhomes, retail space and three levels of underground parking with more than 100 spaces set aside for public parking. The apartment segment will offer 51 studio, 112 one- and 77 two-bedroom apartments up to 1,220 square feet. First occupancies are expected to occur in August 2015, with rents projected to average $2,400 per month, according to Bill Montgomery, president of SRG's multifamily acquisitions and investments division.

“With the growth and expansion of residential living, Downtown L.A. continues its progress toward becoming a true 24-hour city,” says Montgomery. “We expect most residents of our development will be young professionals who work downtown and want to walk to their jobs.”

Amenities at the new community will include a pool and spa, a two-level fitness facility, club, rooftop deck and game and café lounges. The structure will be a seven-story, type III podium design that provides for greater contemporary styling in the exterior's architectural design while incorporating styling elements respecting the heritage of the community, according to Montgomery.

The site had been planned for a high-rise tower community, but that became financially infeasible during the downturn, Montgomery said. “We reworked the concept plan and entitlements and obtained our building permits to move forward with construction.” Pritzker Realty Group is SRG's financial partner in the development.

TCA Architects master-planned the six-acre site and designed the apartment community. “Sares-Regis Group's development is the last piece in a plan designed to bring life to the street level and knit the rich, ethnically diverse community together,” says Thomas Cox, CEO of TCA. “Because of its architecture and key location, it is anticipated to be a highly successful project.”

As GlobeSt.com reported earlier this month, SRG and TCA have teamed up for a project in Huntington Beach called Boardwalk. SRG has begun construction on the mixed-use residential and retail community, designed by TCA Architects and located on a 12-acre site adjacent to Golden West College and Bella Terra Shopping Center. Sares-Regis declined to reveal anticipated construction costs for the project, but did tell GlobeSt.com that the value of the development at completion will be $180 million. The project will include 487 market-rate and affordable apartments as well as 14,500 square feet of commercial retail space.