The City of Los Angeles has given the green light to plans for a mixed-use complex above a major subway station near downtown L.A.
The approved plans come from Walter J. Company and L.A. Metro to build residences, retail and offices around the Westlake/MacArthur Park Metro station, Urbanize Los Angeles reported. The Walter J. Company, led by physician and real estate investor Walter Jayasinghe, owns properties on adjoining sites.
The project, dubbed Centro Westlake, would consist of a nearly 150,000-square-foot site bounded by Wilshire Boulevard, Alvarado Street, Westlake Avenue and Seventh Street containing a mix of residential and commercial uses.
For its housing component, the two-tower complex would include 668 studio, one- and two-bedroom units, including 234 set aside for moderate-, low-, very low- and extremely low-income households. The buildings would rise 55 and 39 stories, ranging between 450 and 600 feet in height.
A 300-room hotel, 105,000 square feet of general-use offices, 10,000 square feet of medical offices, 56,708 square feet of retail space and parking for 968 vehicles are also planned for the site. Twenty percent of the retail space would be reserved for Westlake-based businesses as part of Walter J. Company’s plans. A mobility hub and space for local vendors and events are slated for construction, too.
The Centro Westlake project dates back to 2020 when Metro launched a joint venture with the Walter J. Company, based in Westlake a block east of the MacArthur Park Metro station. That year, Metro rejected a plan from Jayasinghe that called for a 907-unit development there, claiming it didn’t include enough affordable housing and would speed up gentrification.
The Centro Westlake project isn’t the first time the Walter J. Company has tried to build tall in the MacArthur Park neighborhood. In 2017, the firm received approvals for a high-rise building one block east of the Centro site on Wilshire Boulevard, Urbanize Los Angeles reported. That development has not yet been built.
A similar transit-oriented development effort is in the works above another Metro B Line station. Little Tokyo Service Center is building the Santa Monica & Vermont Apartments, bringing 187 affordable units and ground-floor retail space at the Vermont/Santa Monica Metro station in East Hollywood. That project broke ground in 2024.
— Chris Malone Méndez
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