Gensler-designed student housing tower planned near UCLA

Two surgeons are developers on the 64-unit Agora, which will include planned open spaces

Doctors Ted Khalili and Eraj Basseri and 900 Hilgard Avenue
Doctors Ted Khalili and Eraj Basseri and 900 Hilgard Avenue

A 16-story student housing tower is being planned near the University of California Los Angeles, with Gensler as the design architect.

Two doctors, Ted Khalili and Eraj Basseri, are the developers on the 64-unit project, according to Urbanize. Called The Agora — which in Ancient Greece was a public gathering space — it would replace a low-rise office building at 900 Hilgard Avenue. The project still needs city approval.

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Each unit would have more bedrooms than in other residential developments around the city, in the style of a college dormitory. Units would be mostly three-, four-, and five-bedrooms with a handful of one- and two-bedroom units. The units will be offered at below-market-rate pricing, according to a spokesperson for the project.

Amenity decks with study rooms, terrace gardens, and a gym are planned throughout the building. The roof will have a pool, a barbecue pit, and usable open space. Every other floor will have a double-height living room to encourage resident interaction.

The doctors together own K and B Surgical Center and Khalili Center medical practice in Beverly Hills. [Urbanize]Dennis Lynch