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.

Caroline Severance Manor is a mixed-use affordable housing development of 85 units with a ground level childcare center. Over 50% of the units are dedicated to families with special needs. The site is ideally located along the commercial corridor along 8th Street in Koreatown and is within close proximity to parks, mass transit and retail. The design of the building is contemporary, with inspiration from the adjacent First Unitarian Church. Elements of renaissance, classic and mission revival were integrated into the building elevations, massing and materials. This Type III over Type I podium building is six stories, with two levels of underground parking. This project takes advantage of incentives in the City of Los Angeles’ affordable housing incentives ordinance.

With over 2,100 apartment homes at Casa Mira View, several Mediterranean-based architectural styles were chosen to provide visual differentiation within the community. Five-story residential buildings are set amid 41 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds featuring impressive large-scale art installations. Resort-style amenities include outdoor living rooms, cabanas, multiple swimming pools and courtyards, sports courts, numerous retail outlets provided for the residents’ convenience, and a centralized recreation center with bowling alley, rooftop retreat and state-of-the-art fitness center.

Conceived as a creative base camp to a wide spectrum of creators and artist, AVA Arts District is a seven-story development in the southern half of the Arts District located in downtown Los Angeles. The site was once home to a cold storage facility and will be transfered into a new vibrant live/work mixed-use development.

The project provides 475 live/work units with ground floor retail and multiple indoor and outdoor spaces dedicated to arts, production and personal wellness on site. 20% of the live/work units allow for light industrial uses and all live/work units include a minimum of 150 SF of uninhibited working space within the unit. AC Martin is the architect of record and OFFICEUNTITLED is the design architect.

Designed in a friendly and welcoming contemporary architectural style, Aria consists of a one five-story building containing a total of 57 residential units with dual elevator access to all floor levels including a roof deck. 

On-site property manager and case managers will share a secure office space adjacent to the building’s main entrance and have good visual access to the resident ground level amenities including a computer room. A spacious outdoor courtyard is situated off the rear of a 1,000 SF community room. Shade trees will provide a comfortable setting to relax outside and a small garden will be featured for residents to cultivate herbs and vegetables for themselves. Additional outdoor amenity space will be provided on a beautifully landscaped rooftop terrace, providing residents with outdoor lounge areas amid raised landscaped planters.

This $29.3-million project, located near the Expo/La Brea Station, is a joint venture between the Cesar Chavez Foundation and New Directions for Veterans. The architectural design incorporates many Spanish Colonial Revival aspects, similar to other neighboring 1920’s multi-family buildings.  The 3- and 4-story wood framed structure provides 63 total units with 32 apartments for homeless veterans, 4 units for homeless senior veterans, and 27 units for seniors. On-site amenities include a community garden, computer room, fitness center, and social services for residents.  There is also a 53-car parking garage on site.

This new freshman housing complex is a significant addition to San Diego State’s student life program. Located on a long and narrow site on the west side of the campus, Huāxyacac Hall joins with an existing 600-bed dorm to create a new freshman village, tailor-made for first year students.

Huāxyacac Hall was designed to address the unique needs of first year students, including amenities such as a community kitchen, community center, market and coffee shop to encourage socialization and interaction with peers. The project was also designed to address a burgeoning demand for affordable housing. This involved tripling the double rooms and turning triples into quads to give maximum flexibility in accommodating students and handle the constant ebb and flow of students matriculating at SDSU. The building provides a focused, age appropriate freshman experience, a “place to call home” for students that will aid in recruitment and support the University’s goals for student success by bolstering SDSU’s retention and graduation rates.

Other features of the project include apartments for staff, multi-purpose rooms, mail room, courtyards, indoor bike storage, small study lounges scattered throughout, and a plaza that can accommodate food trucks and farmer’s market vendors.

Centrally located along Ocean Avenue in Downtown Long Beach, Oceanaire captures views of Long Beach Harbor and the Pacific beyond. The urban site offers short walking distances to all major retail, entertainment and recreational amenities in the downtown district. The contemporary design for this 216-unit apartment development, targeted to mainly young singles and couples, drew praise from government officials for its bold design. Most notably, the large north-south “portal” is considered to be the project's defining element. It maximizes public views from Ocean Blvd while providing an important public pedestrian connection. Upscale top-of-the-market amenities include a third floor pool terrace with ocean views, resort seating, sun deck, outdoor clubhouse, fitness/yoga studio and a dog spa/daycare facility.

AVEN is located in South Park, one of Downtown Los Angeles’ most desirable residential neighborhoods, surrounded by landmarks such as the Staples Center and LA Live. This new, 903,000-sf transit-oriented development features 536 residential units and 14,000 sf of commercial/retail space. The residential units comprise 38 floors above ground with views of the Hollywood sign and Downtown Los Angeles skyline, and include a mix of studios, and one- and two-bedroom units, as well as three penthouse units.

AVEN occupies the entire south end of a city block, leaving space for an urban park and enabling pedestrian access across the block via a public paseo. In a similar fashion, the lobby bisects the entire development, connecting to the park and allowing for visual and physical connections to a future development on the alley side.

A unique feature of this project is its expansive amenity deck located on the seventh floor—the California Deck—where views stretch over the tree-lined streets and beyond, but still give a sense of the urban activity below. This space offers a true indoor-outdoor experience, with retractable glass walls, double-sided fireplaces, and dramatic view corridors offering exciting city vistas. It features: a grand lounge, business center, indoor-outdoor fitness center and yoga studio, private barbecue areas, communal/event kitchen, self-serve coffee and concessions, dog run and wash station, activity lawn, basketball half court, full beach volleyball court, and pool and spa. The flexibility and diversity of these spaces embodies California living at its best, day or night. It’s a small “city” on the roof—a hub of various activities promoting social collisions. Another amenity deck located on the 32nd floor—the Ojai Deck—offers a more intimate setting, with an outdoor lounge and fireside gathering space to take in the sweeping city views.

AVEN is nestled within a vibrant section of the flourishing urban community of downtown LA, providing a unique opportunity for residents to take advantage of local art and culture. It includes a six-story parking garage for 800 cars, as well as bicycle parking, and is within steps of a Metro station and a proposed downtown streetcar stop.