Est4te Four reveals plans for Arts District warehouse conversion

The Arts District is getting a La Vita Dolce makeover.

Italian developer Est4te Four Capital has filed redevelopment plans for an Arts District warehouse property it purchased four months ago. The firm is preparing to build an additional 65,000 square feet of office and retail space atop the two-story structure at 2nd and Vignes streets.

Est4te acquired the 1920s-built, 44,547-square-foot structure for $21.6 million. It has filed with the City Planning Department to add about three new floors, which would turn into offices, a gym and a swimming pool as part of a private club. Lower levels and the ground floor will be reserved for retail venues including a food market and cafe.

Across the country, the Milan- and London-based firm is working on a bigger project: a 1.1 million-square-foot office complex on the Red Hook waterfront in Brooklyn, New York, projected to cost about $400 million.

Its latest L.A. undertaking reflects the growing appeal of the once industrial Arts District.

Victor Coleman, CEO of West L.A.-based real estate investment trust Hudson Pacific Properties, previously told The Real Deal that he anticipates rent prices in the Arts District to rival that of Beverly Hills.

“You’ve got a lot of embedded growth in place,” he said. “It’s already got the loft housing, the galleries…Soho House, the nightlife and the restaurants.”

Last month, Hauser Wirth & Schmmel opened an art gallery in its 116,000-square-foot facility just south of the Est4te Four project. And next door, Lowe Enterprises is nearly done with its a $100 million mixed-use development — the Garey Building.

Construction at the warehouse site is expected to begin this year. Founded in 2010, Est4te Four Capital is also in the works of developing megaprojects in London and Milan. [Urbanize] — Cathaleen Chen