A 13-story tower proposal soon to surface around the Grove. No rendering yet, and will likely get downsized, but good to see that developers are starting to think high rise again...
From the
Los Angeles Times:
Casden Properties proposes condo project near the Grove
The 300-unit development at 3rd Street and Ogden Drive is similar to one rejected by the community in 2006, but the builder hopes to win support by reserving more homes for senior citizens.
By Esmeralda Bermudez
January 21, 2010
Nearly four years after the community beat back a proposal to build a 300-unit condo project near the Grove shopping center, complaining it was too dense and would generate too much traffic, the developer has come up with a new plan: Another 300-unit condo project, this one with taller buildings and about three times as many units set aside for senior citizens.
The redesigned project by Casden Properties will be presented to community leaders next week, and developer Alan Casden hopes the enhanced senior citizen component will win him support this time around.
But the proposal is coming under scrutiny from neighbors over familiar issues -- traffic, density and whether Casden has met an original condition to turn the site into an assisted living center.
The Beverly Hills developer known for building the luxurious Palazzo Westwood Village wants to
demolish an existing Ross Dress for Less building at the southeast corner of 3rd Street and Ogden Drive and construct four buildings, the tallest at 13 stories. The site is known for being hit by a methane gas explosion in March 1985.
The development would include 75 rental units for low-income seniors, and another 75 would be reserved for seniors and sold at the market rate. The remaining units would be sold at market rate. A parking structure with 662 spaces would also be built.
"This is what we have to do to make the project work and we think it's a quality project," said Howard Katz, vice president of community development for Casden.
If approved, the homes could be completed by 2014.
Read the rest of the article
here.