Frank Gehry's Grand Avenue towers are finally set to begin construction, over a decade after the project was initially proposed. Conceived as a public-private partnership, the towers are sited across from Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. The project was designed from a central retail core into the two terracing towers with a mix of retail, entertainment and residences. The $1 billion complex aims to turn Grand Avenue into a full entertainment district.
Created with developer Related Companies, the Grand Avenue project filed for construction permits in August 2017. As Urbanize LA reports, the complex will include a 39-tower residential tower with 113 condos and 323 apartments (20 percent of which will be available to low-income tenants), and a 20-story tower housing a 314-room Equinox hotel. At the base, shops and restaurants will intermix with entertainment pieces including a movie theater. As Gehry told the LA Times, “You close that piece of Grand Avenue, put some chairs out there and you’ve got something special. We’re not just building buildings, we’re building places.”
Rick Vogel, Senior Vice President of Related Urban, the mixed-use division of Related, said that, "Today is an exciting day not just for Related and our partners, including CORE, Deutsche Bank, and the Grand Avenue Authority, but for all of Downtown Los Angeles and the region. With the close of financing, the momentum on The Grand continues, and Related, the County, City and CRA/LA’s longstanding vision for Grand Avenue will soon become a reality.”
Site preparation will begin this month, while the Grand Avenue development is scheduled to open in 2021.
