UPDATED, December 3, 10:45 a.m.: Los Angeles, better known for its low-density, low-rise development, has been transforming in recent years with bigger and taller real estate projects.
Megaprojects now in the works include the multibillion-dollar sports stadium in Inglewood; the the massive mixed-use Angels Landing in Downtown; the nearby expansion of the L.A. convention center; and the One Beverly and the Waldorf Astoria Residences, both plagued with delays and now both owned by developer Beny Alagem.
The following 10 projects are among the largest in the works in L.A. County.
Angels Landing
This $1.2 billion project is a joint venture by the Peebles Corporation, MacFarlane Partners and Claridge Partners that would bring 570 residential units, two hotels, 50,000 square feet of commercial space and a charter school to what is now Pershing Square in the heart of Downtown L.A.
The city chose the development team over two others to redevelop Pershing Square last December. The group filed the official development plan for the project in June, but hit a snag in October when the city decided it needed a full environmental review to move forward. That typically takes a year, but for a project this large it could stretch on for longer.
L.A. Convention Center expansion
The first major work at the L.A. Convention Center in two decades includes the addition of 350,000 square feet to the main convention center building, the construction of an 850-room hotel, and a redesigned Gilbert Lindsay Plaza. The cost? Around $1.2 billion, some of which developer Anschutz Entertainment Group hopes will be paid by L.A. taxpayers.
The plan has the tentative approval of city officials, including Mayor Eric Garcetti. AEG plans to pay for the expansion and the hotel addition, but will likely seek those tax breaks and other financing help from the city like it has done with previous expansions at the convention center.
Fig + Pico
Just across the street from the Convention Center, Lightstone Group is set to build the 1,153-room Fig + Pico hotel complex. The complex includes 42- and 25-story residential towers, along with 16,750 square feet of digital signage. There will be three hotels as part of the complex.
Lightstone received City Council approval for the project in May. That includes a hefty tax break the city estimates to be worth around $103 million. Lightstone promises to have rooms available in time for the 2028 Olympics.
Oceanwide Plaza
Oceanwide Real Estate Group’s $1 billion mixed-use South Park project is the closest to completion on this list. The project topped out in April and is slated for completion sometime next year, according to reports. The complex includes a pair of 40-story towers with 340 condos and a 49-story tower with a 184-key hotel and 164 condos.
Oceanwide Plaza is directly across Figueroa Street from the Staples Center and L.A. Live. There’s also an open-air mall with 150,000 square feet of retail space. Like the Fig + Pico construction, and the recently completed two-tower residential Circa project nearby, Oceanwide Plaza will have a large LED ribbon screen along Figueroa Street to get the attention of passersby.
L.A. Stadium and Entertainment District
The stadium is anchoring the 300-acre project at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, and will serve as the future home of the N.F.L.’s Los Angeles Ram and Los Angeles Chargers. The latest is that the 70,000-seat stadium is over 50 percent complete as of late October, slated to open in 2020. The current price tag on the stadium itself is around $3 billion. The first phase of the larger project, which includes a 6,000-seat entertainment venue and 200,000 square feet of office space for NFL Media, is estimated to cost just around $5 billion.
One Beverly Hills, Waldorf Astoria Residences
These neighboring projects in Beverly Hills, huge in their own right, were for the last few years a major point of conflict for their respective developers, Beny Alagem and Dalian Wanda Group. For a decade, Alagem has struggled to advance the 110-unit-plus Waldorf Astoria Residences condominium project, as he has tried to reconfigure the already controversial project.
One Beverly Hills, meanwhile, was first conceived by China’s Wanda Group in 2014, when it paid $420 million for the eight-acre project next to Alagem’s Waldorf Astoria and his existing Beverly Hilton hotel.
A year ago, Wanda put the One Beverly project on the market, which includes entitlement for 193 condos and 134 hotel rooms. After flirting with a sale to Canada-based Triple Five Group, news broke in November that Alagen was buying the project.
Now his Alagem Capital Group and partner Cain International want to create a 17-acre master plan for the two projects, and the existing Beverly Hilton. There are existing designs for both Waldorf Astoria and One Beverly projects, but both could see changes, and the developers have started soliciting proposals from architects for the master plan.
Metropolis
In August, Greenland USA secured $310 million in funding for the last portion of the massive Metropolis project in DTLA. That will finance a 56-story, 1 million-square-foot, 685-unit condo tower under construction. It joins the 350-room Hotel Indigo and two other residential towers with 822 condos between them. Greenland opened the two residential towers in August. The 685-unit condo tower project is financed through Natixis. Greenland USA has been shopping the tower since February and a representative said the firm will complete it, but could not comment on any potential sale.
Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza
Capri Capital Partners secured approvals to move ahead with its $750 million overhaul of the 43-acre site at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza shopping mall.
That will include adding 961 condos and apartments, a 400-key hotel, a 10-story office building, and 300,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. The project has been controversial, with some in the community fearing it would accelerate gentrification. But supporters have said it will boost economic activity by renewing interest in the area. The city mandated that at least 30 percent of the workforce hired to build the project is local.
520 Mateo
Carmel Partners is finding itself at City Hall quite a bit lately over its Arts District project, after reconfiguring its height and makeup. The San Francisco-based firm wants to build a 25-story tower with 475 live/work units and 125,000 square feet of retail, restaurant, and office space.
The project also includes a six-story office building. That makes it easily the largest in the mostly low-slung Arts District. It received unanimous approval from the Planning Commission, but is now in front of the City Council’s Planning and Land Use Committee. Once it clears the committee it will go to a full Council vote. An approval will allow Carmel Partners to seek permits for the development.
City Market
After six years in the works, developer City Market of L.A.’s eponymous project in DTLA won approvals from the city to move forward. The project would cover three blocks in the Fashion District and includes 948 residential units, a hotel with 210 rooms, 225,000 square feet of commercial space and a 300,000-square-foot school.
The complex is a mix of high- and low-rise buildings connected by internal walkways. The biggest building is 38 stories. Because that was more than allowed by local zoning, the developer agreed to pay $10 million to fund services to boost affordable housing, along with helping the homeless and the city’s public transit system. Some estimates are that construction could take another two decades.