L.A. Planning Commission Greenlights Crescent Heights’ Apartment Tower

Developer Crescent Heights can stay true to previously approved plans for a 34-story apartment tower along Los Angeles’ Wilshire Boulevard.

In a July letter of determination, the L.A. City Planning Commission denied a February appeal to the Koreatown project, giving Crescent Heights the go-ahead to continue development, Urbanize reported. The Miami-based developer will construct a 393-foot-tall apartment tower with 297 units and a car garage.

Crescent Heights submitted the multifamily project for planning review in June 2023 and received approval from the Planning Commision in January. Just a month later, however, the building trade union network known as Creed L.A. issued an appeal against the project.

In the appeal, Creed L.A. protested the project’s exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act, because the building allows for more density than the city typically permits, per Urbanize. Under the guidelines of the city’s Transit Oriented Communities program, however, the Planning Commission allowed the project, so long as the developer turns 33 of those proposed apartments into affordable housing, as the development would rise along the Metro’s Purple Line and near several bus stops. 

The commission cited its failure to make a timely decision in its denial of Creed L.A.’s appeal. The commission’s January approval is final, according to the letter.

“The Los Angeles City Planning Commission and the applicant failed to mutually agree to extend the time for the appellate body to act beyond the specified 75 days,” the letter read. 

The project will maintain select aspects of the existing building. The developer also plans to repurpose the ground floor into 7,100 square feet of retail and restaurant space, among other changes, Urbanize reported. Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture is designing the building. 

Though based in Miami, Crescent Heights has no shortage of projects completed and underway in Los Angeles. Currently, the developer has plans for the Palladium Residences and has proposed a 70-story, ODA-designed apartment building in Downtown L.A. 

The time frame for the project at 3100 Wilshire Boulevard is unclear. Spokespeople for Crescent Heights and Creed L.A. did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Anna Staropoli can be reached at astaropoli@commercialobserver.com.