Mack Urban, AECOM Submit DT Site Plans

LOS ANGELES-Mack Urban and AECOM Capital have submitted development plans to the city for the six acres of land the joint venture purchased late last year for $80 million. The proposed development plans include multifamily units and a hotel.

"The project design features iconic architecture centered around tall slender buildings, providing for the continued evolution of the surrounding neighborhood and investment into Downtown Los Angeles," says Paul Keller, Mack Urban CEO. The plan follows the Downtown Design Guidelines that allow for taller buildings, and includes ample green space, sidewalks and outdoor cafes, shops and restaurants. The development will be an ultimate pedestrian-friendly neighborhood.

The property is located on two adjacent sites at Grand Avenue, 12^th Street and South Olive Street. The multifamily tower with ground-floor retail space and a hotel will sit on the first site, while two residential buildings with ground-floor retail space and office space will sit on the second. It is undetermined whether the residential units in this second project will be for-rent or for-sale condominiums. "We think of this potential, not as a series of buildings, but as a combination of environments that are interconnected in such a way as to create a greater and exciting neighborhood within South Park," explains David C. Martin, design principal for AC Martin Partners, the architectural firm behind the project. "By carefully choreographing the tenants' journey through ground-level open space, outdoor cafes, arcades, paseos, and secret gardens, the urban experience is elevated to one of delight and engagement."

Mack Urban and AECOM Capital purchased the site together in October of last year in the largest land deal since the recession. Construction is scheduled to begin in late 2014.