Onni’s Office-Less Plans in Arts District Get City Approval

Onni Group has gotten the green light from Los Angeles city planners for a mixed-use project in the Arts District.

The Los Angeles City Planning Commission approved a proposal from the developer for twin residential towers at 2143 East Violet Street, Urbanize Los Angeles reported. The buildings would include 474 units across roughly 569,000-square feet.

In addition to the residences, the buildings will include more than 2,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space as well as subterranean parking. The developer would provide 77 units of affordable housing at the very low-income and extremely low-income levels, or individuals making between roughly $35,000 and $58,300 annually. The affordable housing inclusion is part of Measure JJJ, a law passed by voters in 2016 that requires residential development projects that seek general plan amendments or zone changes to include a certain percentage of affordable housing.

The buildings would rise 30 and 20 stories at heights of 344 and 226 feet, respectively. Existing commercial buildings on the northern portion of the property would be maintained.

Onni’s original proposal called for an office component, though the Canadian developer, like other property owners, has backed away from the office plans in favor of housing.

Last month, Onni filed new plans with the City of Los Angeles for two 67-story residential towers at 5700 Wilshire Boulevard. The firm acquired that property from Tishman Speyer in 2019 for $630 million, The Real Deal reported. At the time, Onni planned to build more offices at the site, but the pandemic forcing a wider shift to remote and hybrid work — and diminishing demand for office space as a result — led the developer to pivot. If approved by the city, Onni would erect nearly 2,600 apartments and roughly 56,000 square feet of commercial space designed for a grocery store and restaurants.

Meanwhile, in Hollywood, Onni is also looking to swap out planned offices for housing at 7000 West Romaine Street.

— Chris Malone Méndez