Dive Brief:
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Developers of a major luxury residential project in Los Angeles’ South Park entertainment district have released new details about the scheme, which is set to include a pair of 35-story towers housing a total of 648 luxury rental properties, according to Curbed Los Angeles.
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The $500 million Circa — formerly 1200 Fig — complex is slated to open early next year. The towers will feature a seven-story podium covered in roughly 17,000 square feet of digital signage in a bid to replicate Times Square, in New York.
- The tower will contain a mix of one- and two-bedroom units, as well as penthouses, ranging from 700 to 3,800 square feet and with rents from $3,000 to $20,000 per month. They will also include 48,000 square feet of retail space.
Dive Insight:
Developers have already broken ground on the project, which is located near the Staples Center and the L.A. Live entertainment complex. It’s not the only project set to rise in that part of the city, either.
Late last year, a subsidiary of Chinese developer Sheng-Long Group, City Century, put forth plans for three residential towers containing more than 1,300 units as well as retail, while developer Lightstone Group earlier this year proposed a one-acre site featuring hotel towers, retail and parking nearby.
Some observers say developers are looking to get plans for high-density projects in the city approved ahead of a March ballot measure that would put a two-year hold on the scale of zoning changes required for many massive, mixed-use developments.
While Los Angeles is enjoying a boom in the upper tiers of its residential market, experts say the city, like many other large US metros, is not delivering enough low- and middle-income housing as pent-up demand puts already tight stock under additional pressure, widening the city’s affordability gap.
City Controller Ron Galperin recently noted in a report that the city’s density bonus program, which allows developers to build larger than code in exchange for providing more affordable housing, is failing to deliver enough affordable units to meet current demand.
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