Mixed-Use

Currently under construction and located directly adjacent to the forthcoming Metro Station at Wilshire Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, Wilshire La Brea seeks to blend the boundary between residential and hospitality by combining the lifestyle of a 125-key boutique hotel and an attitude-enriched 121 branded residential enclave. 

It is designed as an eight-story podium-style building with five-levels of Type III over three-levels of Type I construction with subterranean parking levels. While the retails on pedestrian-friendly street level are easily accessibly for public users and residents alike, spacious areas of the upper floors provide outdoor amenities including rooftop pool, bar, cabanas and lounge areas that take in the views in all direction from the site. 

Designed in collaboration with design architect, Morris Adjmi Architects, the building is intended to pay homage to the cherished Art Deco architecture found in the surrounding area in a contemporary fashion.

One Metro West is a mixed-use community that brings multifamily residences, creative office space, retail, a park, and an event plaza to Costa Mesa. Located on 15 acres in the northwest corner of the city, adjacent to the 405 Freeway, this development will become the new northern gateway to Costa Mesa.

1,057 residential units distributed across three buildings with distinctive architecture feature an “Equinox”-style 24/7 fitness center, yoga and aerobic studio and wellness room with oxygen stations and cryotherapy, multiple rooftop amenity terraces and open spaces for recreating and lounging. Three resort-style, saltwater swimming pools, including a rooftop junior Olympic-sized pool, all with spas and cabana areas are positioned throughout the master plan. The project also features a 1.7-acre park and event plaza designed to hold intimate musical performances, outdoor theatrical productions, community-sponsored meetings and celebrations. A 25,000 SF “jewel box” creative office with a roof garden and event space within the park is complimented by 6,000 SF of specialty retail.

The architectural character of One Metro West is designed to be timeless. As the project endures, the natural weathering, evolving landscape growth and resident adaptations will rusticate and naturally reveal the true nature of the building – improving the project and community over time. Key components of this elegant but contextual-based design are its clean lines, natural materials and complementary color palettes. The interplay between indoor and outdoor living is witnessed in its variety of social gathering places and roof top terraces. The architecture, location and programming of the spaces invites both the employee or resident to explore the surrounding area, while still creating an intimate place to work or call home.

The amenity-rich development of Elements consists of 1,600 apartment homes and 17,000 SF of retail space on a 23-acre in-fill site. The architectural concept was to take “elements’ found in nature and develop a series of design vocabularies related to building massing, use of color, materials and textures. Inspired by the elements: wood, metal, earth, water and fire, the resulting architectural styles complement each other for design continuity yet contrast nicely to help break down the scale of the overall community. Featured in the current images is Phase I of a five-phase development.

Located one block from the historic and iconic Capitol Records building, the Yucca Hollywood is a new 30-story mixed-used project that will bring 269 residential units and 7,760 SF of commercial/restaurant space to Hollywood. A five-story podium base, clad primarily in solid panels and glass, establishes the project’s clean contemporary design while containing retail space, resident lobby and parking structure. A series of landscaped outdoor amenity areas, including a spacious pool terrace, sits atop the podium at the fifth level where residents will overlook the surrounding city views. A multi-colored glass tower steps back from the podium on all four sides and features an array of varied balcony cutouts and projections to create patterns that ripple across the facades and provides a sense of vibrancy. 

Designed for Caruso Affiliated, Excelsior is the mixed-use condominium component of the Americana at Brand Shopping Center in Glendale. To create this six-story building with ground-floor retail, recreational amenities on the second level, and 100 luxury condominium units above, our design team worked with the City of Glendale on an alternative means and methods approach to the building code to enable the use of more cost-effective Type III construction. The result is a unique living situation within an exciting retail environment.

Situated in the heart of Los Angeles’ rapidly evolving Arts District, this 12-story mixed-use development dynamically blends three key components – a 129-unit Live/Work condominium tower clad from top to bottom in artwork created by a group of local muralists, a highly creative 113-room boutique “art” hotel, and over 70,000 square feet of community-serving retail space including a diverse array of shops and restaurants. Arts District Center draws inspiration from the local LA Arts District, using art as a unifying theme. Nearly a decade in development, the resulting project has intentionally differentiated itself from others by infusing artistic flourishes throughout. Additional examples of this guiding vision include dedicating a pedestrian-friendly Art Plaza on the corner of Fifth and Seaton Streets, over 10,000 square feet of Art Gallery/Event space and over 3,000 square feet of artist-collaborative space known as “CoLab” for aspiring designers and artists.

Located in the heart of Hollywood just blocks from the historic intersection of Hollywood and Vine, Modera Hollywood features 248 luxury apartment units and 12,800 sf of commercial space in two buildings. This mixed-use project in this very walkable neighborhood offers a clean, sophisticated design palette with tall transparent retail spaces at the ground level and a series of contemporary floating wood masses that create visual movement to break up the building façade above. Expansive roof decks overlooking the Hollywood cityscape are provided on both buildings while top floor units capture the surrounding views with large storefront windows under a projecting canopy.

Situated on a pair of narrow mid-block lots, this 29-story mixed-use development in LA’s Financial District spans two city streets with pedestrian-friendly commercial spaces and residential lobby entrance at the ground level. Views to the above-grade parking structure are shielded on both street frontages by façade designs comprised of residential units, resident amenity spaces and translucent channel glass. Inspired by the indoor-outdoor lifestyle of Southern California, 205 residential units feature large open-air living spaces. Whether entertaining guests or enjoying a relaxing afternoon at home, residents can open a full-width sliding glass wall system to transform their unit. The result is a seamless blending of indoor and outdoor space. Residents choose from an array of landscaped terraces including a rooftop terrace on the tower’s 29th level, a spacious terrace on the 8th level including passive seating areas, a sculptural water feature and dog run, and a pool and spa deck with private cabanas on the 12th level.

AXIS Apartments is comprised of two separate but nearby urban infill sites in the South Park district of Downtown Los Angeles. Both projects relate to the neighboring historic Herald Examiner building, built in 1914 and designed by Hearst Castle architect Julia Morgan. "AXIS on Twelfth" has achieved LEED Silver Certification and features a unique street corner canopy detail reflecting the predominant geometric pattern found on the historic structure. A new landscaped paseo will be shared with the soon to be renovated Herald Building and "AXIS on Eleventh". Owned and developed by Forest City, the two sites total 391 apartments, averaging 740 sf in area, and total 16,000 sf of street-level retail space. The firm of Harley Ellis Devereaux was the design architect on the project.

Located on a 2-acre site in the heart of Los Angeles’ Chinatown, Blossom Plaza is a mixed-use, transit oriented, gateway development. The project serves as the main pathway from Chinatown’s Historic District to the elevated MTA Gold Line station through Blossom Plaza’s Cultural Plaza and commercial arcade. In addition to over 33,000 SF of public plazas and courtyards, Blossom Plaza features 20,000 SF of retail space and 237 apartments including 53 affordable units. AC Martin collaborated closely with Forest City and Johnson Fain, the client and design architects on the project respectively.