Trammell Crow Company (TCC), its subsidiary High Street Residential, the Cesar Chavez Foundation and Principal Real Estate Investors, in a public-private partnership with LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes Museum and the County of Los Angeles, are pleased to announce the grand opening of LA Plaza Village. The new destination, which is inspired by a modern interpretation of a Mexican hillside town, features 355 apartments, 20 percent of which are affordable housing units, 43,000 square feet of retail space and several public open spaces. The grand opening celebration will take place on Thursday, September 12th, while resident move-ins began earlier this year.
LA Plaza Village spans a total of 425,000 square feet across two full city blocks and includes four buildings that range from five to eight stories. In addition to nearly an acre of public open space, a pedestrian paseo lined with landscaping and retail shops passes through the development, linking LA Plaza Village to the Fort Moore Memorial, Olvera Street and Union Station. At the mouth of the paseo is a symbol of the unifying theme of the project, a specimen Sycamore tree, inspired by the historic El Aliso tree that stood in the Los Angeles basin for centuries.
“LA Plaza Village is as much about connectivity and open space for the public as it is about a needed supply of market rate and affordable residential apartments. The project, with its 43,000 square feet of retail space and pedestrian paseo, was designed to bring people together and honor the history of this neighborhood and the vitality of the Mexican-American traditions that LA Plaza Village is a part of,” said Brad Cox of Trammell Crow Company. “A tremendous amount of thought and research went into this project from a cultural perspective and it’s our hope that LA Plaza Village becomes another symbol of the vibrant blend of culture and history that makes up this area of Downtown LA.”
In addition to retail, the project includes more than 70 units of affordable housing.
“We’re proud to work with High Street Residential to bring much-needed affordable housing to moderate and low-income residents in Los Angeles,” said Alfredo Izmajtovich, Executive Vice President of the Cesar Chavez Foundation. “This community, 20 percent of which is affordable, brings comfortable, aesthetically appealing homes with high-quality amenities to residents that need them most, enabling underserved communities to succeed on all fronts. It is the first of many similar projects that our foundation is undertaking as a long-term effort to build wealth and lasting change in our communities.”
The Cesar Chavez Foundation is moving its 4,000-square-foot headquarters to LA Plaza Village early next year.
Johnson Fain, whose headquarters is blocks from the project, served as architect.
“As designers, we were inspired by both the profound modern tradition of Mexican Modernism and the present-day vitality of the Mexican American communities in our midst,” said Scott Johnson, a design partner at Johnson Fain. “Vibrant colors, lush plantings, tiled paving, and spirited graphics come together to celebrate LA Plaza in the heart of Los Angeles.”
In addition to new residents, restaurateurs and retailers, LA Plaza Village is also home to LA Plaza Cocina, a 2,700-square-foot museum, retail space and teaching kitchen that is a project of LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, an institution dedicated to the culture of the Mexican-American experience in Los Angeles.
“LA Plaza Village marks the fulfillment of another major milestone for our organization that began in 2011 with the opening of our museum and will continue with the opening of our Historic Paseo Walkway in 2019 and Cocina in 2020. These projects have helped spark a new cultural and economic revival in the historic heart of downtown,” said Lupe de la Cruz III, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes Board Chair. “We especially thank our founder and former LA County Supervisor Gloria Molina for her vision and leadership and our partners, Trammell Crow Company and the Cesar Chavez Foundation, for making that dream a reality.”
LA Plaza Village also features one-of-a-kind murals curated by four local artists – Judithe Hernandez, Miguel Angel Reyes, Jose Lozano and Barbara Carrasco – each with their own voice and designs that celebrate the Mexican-American experience. The developer collaborated with public art agency Now Art LA with hopes to ignite a new mural corridor along Broadway Street.
“We were honored to be a part of this project showcasing Los Angeles based Mexican American artists who have made an important cultural impact and contribution to our City,” said Carmen Zella of Now Art. “The artists who were selected thought carefully about their designs to create a visual story along the corridor of Broadway, transforming this passage into a cultural landmark.”
Over the course of LA Plaza Village’s four-year construction period, the project has employed more than 3,400 employees, including nearly 1,000 local area workers, and 671 apprentices, including 218 local apprentices. The general contractor is Morley Builders.
The High Street Residential and Trammell Crow Company team involved in this project included Brad Cox, Greg Ames, Christina Lee, Doreen Liou, Clyde Wright, Carlos Diaz, Abbey Ehman and Alex Valente.
A CBRE team lead by Derrick Moore is leasing the development’s retail space, which includes a number of shops, restaurants and a neighborhood serving drugstore.
