West LA mixed-use complex with Whole Foods clears big hurdle

A developer’s plan for a mixed-use complex in West Los Angeles that would include a Whole Foods market cleared a key hurdle.

United El Segundo will build the 180-unit apartment building with a striking design at the corner of West Santa Monica Boulevard and South Barrington Avenue. A city report found the complex wouldn’t have a significant environmental impact, according to Urbanize.

The five-story building would include the ground-floor Whole Foods, along with a 594-vehicle underground garage. About 20 of the apartments would be set aside as affordable, for very-low income households. The development would be about 320,000 square feet, almost 65,000 of which would be devoted to the Whole Foods and a restaurant, according to the report.

United El Segundo paid $37.5 million for the 2.6-acre site, which used to house a Vons but is now vacant.

The project could break ground as soon as next year and take up to two years to complete.

West L.A. architecture firm Landry Design Group designed the project, along with and downtown-based MVE + Partners, according to Urbanize.

Several similar projects are underway in the neighborhood, including another mixed-use complex from CIM Group a few blocks west. Santa Monica real estate investment firm Pacific Star Capital received a $40 million construction loan in early December to build a Whole Foods-anchored shopping center in Sherman Oaks. [Urbanize] — Caroline Anderson