Onni Scraps Offices for Multifamily Towers in Miracle Mile

Onni Group is scrapping its pre-pandemic office expansion plans at Wilshire Courtyard in favor of a hefty housing play that would bring more than 2,500 apartments to Miracle Mile.

The Vancouver-based developer filed plans with the City of Los Angeles for two 67-story residential towers at 5700 Wilshire Boulevard, Urbanize Los Angeles reported.

Onni is looking to replace portions of the existing Wilshire Courtyard office complex with nearly 2,600 apartments and roughly 56,000 square feet of retail space geared toward a grocery store and restaurants. The units would come in studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans.

The project would preserve roughly 445,000 square feet of the existing office campus while demolishing about 557,000 square feet, resulting in a redeveloped property totaling 2.4 million square feet. The towers, designed by SCB, would rise 797 and 796 feet, making them the fourth- and fifth-tallest buildings in Los Angeles if completed today. New podium garages with 2,129 parking spaces would be wrapped by apartments, while amenities would include pool decks, landscaped courtyards and a private roadway through the site

Onni is leaning on density bonus incentives to supersize the project. The plans include 197 apartments reserved for very low-income households, typically capped at an annual income of $53,000 for one person or $75,750 for a household of four. By including some affordable units, the developer can seek waivers on height and floor-area restrictions.

The proposal comes as office landlords across Los Angeles continue to recalibrate around weak leasing demand and transit-oriented housing incentives. Onni’s earlier vision for Wilshire Courtyard consisted entirely of offices, with the firm previously proposing adding 1.8 million square feet of office space to the site.

That concept emerged before remote work reshaped demand for large office campuses. Onni acquired Wilshire Courtyard from Tishman Speyer in 2019 for $630 million, The Real Deal reported — before the pandemic popularized remote and hybrid work. The firm narrowly avoided distress after facing foreclosure in 2023 before securing an extension on its $384 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan from Natixis.

Onni remains active in Southern California despite some market turbulence, with residential projects underway or proposed in Glendale and Long Beach, as well as approved projects in Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles, according to Urbanize.

— Chris Malone Méndez