LOS ANGELES—G.H. Palmer's DaVinci apartment development in Downtown Los Angeles caughtfire early yesterday morning. The fire engulfed two-thirds of theconstruction site, destroying majority of the project. Da VinciApartments is a seven-story, 1-million-square-footmultifamily development that took up a city blockon Temple Street and Figueroa Street. The cause of the fire isstill unknown, however, the fire department is investigatingpotential criminal causes.

The Los Angeles Fire Department respondedquickly to the fire, managing to contain the majority of the flameswithin the first 90 minutes However, firefighters continued tobattle hot spots until late last night. While the flames engulfedtwo-thirds of the project, heat from the fire melted freeway signsalong the 110 Freeway and damaged nearby buildings. Theheadquarters of the Los Angeles Department of Water andPower, which is adjacent to the development, suffered fromdamage to 160 10-foot windows, and the Department of Parksand Recreation suffered from fire damage and water damagefrom the firefighters' hoses.

The project was in the framing stage of development and was setto come online in early 2015. It is unclear exactly now how or whenthe development will proceed or the financial set back this willcause. Some sources unrelated to the project have estimated theloss of $10 million. We are currently trying to reach thedeveloper, who is also known for building the nearbyOrsini and Medici complexes, foradditional information, and will update this story as soon as moreinformation becomes available.