Plans for Redwood-Inspired Tower in DTLA Cut Down by City

Plans by Australian developers to build a 40-story housing tower inspired by giant redwood trees in Downtown Los Angeles have toppled with a resounding thud.

The proposal by the Australia-based Crown Group, Magnus Property Pte and ASRI to build the leafy highrise at 1111 South Hill Street was booted by the Los Angeles Planning Department because of a lack of activity and communication, Urbanize Los Angeles reported.

Plans for redwood-inspired building in DTLA cut down by LA planners — Rendering of 1111 South Hill Street (Doug and Wolf)

The Sky Trees Project, drawn by Sydney-based Koichi Takada Architects, had won global attention for its redwoods-inspired design.

Once slated to soar 70 stories in two twin towers, the project was whittled down in February 2022 to a single 40-story building with 319 apartments or condominiums, plus 160 short-term rental units and 3,400 square feet of ground-floor restaurants.

The tower was to include a series of sloping open-air decks rising to its upper levels packed with trees — a verdant spire in a skyline of steel and glass.

In addition to its leafy exterior topped by a gothic arch, the building was to have a swooping canopy over the sidewalk inspired by Marilyn Monroe’s windswept skirt in “The Seven Year Itch.”

The project cancellation comes as high-rise construction across Los Angeles County has slowed during a tide of rising interest rates.

While dozens of towers once rose simultaneously over Downtown alone, just three high-rise developments are now under construction in the central city, according to Urbanize.

Although the redwood-inspired tower may not see the light of day, other proposed projects along the 11th Street corridor are active.

They include two pending entitlement applications from Mack Real Estate Group and an approved project from Crescent Heights which would bring a trio of high-rise buildings to the intersection of 11th and Olive streets.

— Dana Bartholomew