Jenga! JMF’s striking tower planned in DTLA gets green light, LA’s food hall scene may be overcooked: Daily digest

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JMF’s planned Downtown L.A. tower, at far right (Credit: L.A. Department of City Planning)

JMF’s Jenga-like DTLA tower project gets green light. The City Planning Commission unanimously approved JMF Enterprises’ 54-story tower that would rise across the street from Pershing Square. Its most distinctive features are cantilevered swimming pools jutting out from the top floors. JMF wants to include 31 condominiums and a 190-key hotel. It’s now headed to the City Council. [Curbed]

LA’s food hall scene might be overcooked. Los Angeles and cities nationwide have seen an explosion in food halls over the last several years. A new study by Cushman & Wakefield found that the number of food halls across the U.S. will quadruple from 120 in 2016 to 450 next year. There have been 10 “notable failures” of food halls and Cushman expects more. [LAT]

The latest propetch for the neighborhood watch. Some neighborhoods in L.A. are renting out sophisticated motion-activated security camera systems from a startup called Flock, which can read license plates and identify cars by make, model and color. The pitch is that in the event of a crime like a burglary, residents can use the footage to identify suspects. Flock has $20 million in funding, including money from Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. [LAT]

West Adams sees a sign of gentrification. A real estate agent-run bicycle tour of coffee shops, art galleries and homes for sale is the latest development to have some residents concerned. That coupled with large real estate projects from developers like CIM Group and more home-flipping are telltale signs of gentrification in the historically black neighborhood outside red-hot Culver City. [Curbed]

Fairfield Residential gets initial approval for 370-unit complex in Glassell Park. The developer wants to replace a warehouse near the L.A. River with the complex, which would have studio, one-, and two-bedroom units. About 10 percent will be set aside for “very low-income” renters. [Urbanize]

WeWork CEO Adam Neumann (Credit: Getty Images)

WeWork forges ahead with its IPO after making significant governance changes. In a revised S-1 filing, CEO Adam Neumann reduced his high-stock vote from 20 to 10 votes and agreed to relinquish his profit on any real estate deals he enters into with the company. The updated prospectus also assures investors that any subsequent CEO will be chosen by the board; previously, Adam Neumann’s wife Rebekah Neumann played a key role in the decision. The We Company plans to go public the week of Sept. 23. [WSJ, Bloomberg]

Natixis’ head of real estate finance Greg Murphy is leaving the bank. Murphy oversaw an increase in originations from $3.5 billion in 2016 to about $7.5 billion in 2017 and 2018, but will return to his native Texas to retire. As to who will replace him: Murphy said the “deep bench” of senior people includes Jerry Tang, Michael Magner, Andy Taylor and Arvind Pai. [CO]

FROM THE CITY’S RECORDS:

A 40-unit building is being planned at 408 S. Oxford Avenue in Koreatown. The developer, 408 Oxford LLC, said in a city filing that the units are planned as condominiums, but has requested a density bonus through the city’s Transit Oriented Communities program, which is only applicable for rental projects. [LADCP]

A 16-unit TOC project is in the works at 1301 N. Alexandria Avenue. The developer wants a reduction in side yards and a height increase from 45 feet to 52 feet. [LADCP]