Thanks to a cash infusion of $290 million from Chinese Communications Construction Group (CCCG), the Frank Gehry-designed Grand Avenue Project may finally have a start date in sight.
The project, which has been more than a decade in the making, will be built on a parking lot just east of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Curbed Los Angeles reports. Included in the Grand Avenue Project will be a 305-room four-star Equinox hotel, 215,000 sf of retail space, and a 39-story residential tower with 429 units. Underneath the development will be six levels of parking with room for 1,500 cars.
The retail space will comprise restaurants, shopping, and a movie theater complex spread across a series of landscaped open terraces. The 429 residential units will consist of 128 condominiums and 301 apartments. 86 of these apartments will be deemed affordable for qualified low-income residents. According to Curbed LA, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors says people earning between $24,320 and $43,400 per year will qualify for the affordable units.
The Grand Avenue Project, after the $290 million from CCCG, has now raised $400 million of the estimated $1 billion price tag for the development. Considering real estate developers typically borrow 70% or more of the funds they need to start building, the $400 million already raised bodes well for the project, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The project, which is being developed by Related Companies, is set to finally begin construction in 2018. When completed, it is estimated the development will employ about 3,300 people.
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