WILSHIRE LA BREA

Los Angeles, California

High-density architecture that responds to each adjacent urban edge.

  • CLIENT Essex Properties
  • COMPLETION DATE 2014
  • UNITS 478
  • DENSITY 141 DU/AC
  • SQUARE FOOTAGE 439,798 SQ FT RESIDENTIAL + 44,005 SQ FT RETAIL

Bounded by busy streets, Wilshire La Brea is the corner to bus stops in both directions and it will be adjacent to a future subway stop. It is bordered by smaller scale residential properties on two sides and book-ended by historic Los Angeles structures. To respond to the rich context of the site and the opportunity to create a truly urban transit-oriented community, the sidewalk will be widened along Wilshire Boulevard providing space for exterior dining and ample pedestrian passing. The southern tower has six levels of residences and the northern tower has thirteen. Both towers are arranged in a “wing” configuration, which creates building “fingers” that surround open-ended courtyards. The courtyards open to the east taking advantage of city skyline views and providing a more articulated building face to the adjacent residential neighborhood. The fingers also “step” down toward the east, dropping several stories from the high point to present a more modestly scaled façade facing the adjacent residential neighborhood. Wilshire La Brea is a LEED Silver-certified project.

AWARDS

2011 PCBC Gold Nugget Grand AwardBest On-The-Boards Mixed-Use Project