Hines gets key approval on Arts District office project in DTLA

Hines has beat back a second appeal trying to block a 13-story office building, winning a final go-ahead in Downtown Los Angeles.

The Houston-based developer was approved by the City Council, which denied a labor-backed appeal against the 435,000-square-foot tower at 2045 East Violet Street, in the Arts District, Urbanize Los Angeles reported. It will replace two commercial buildings.

The approval scotched the appeal by Creed LA, a coalition of building trades unions, which argued the project flaunted zoning rules and would hurt the environment. The Planning Commission initially denied the appeal last fall.

Plans call for a 217-foot tower next to the historic Ford Factory complex near the Los Angeles River.

The offices would soar above 15,500 square feet of ground-floor shops and restaurants, and a seven-level parking garage. The 6-acre site can also accommodate 211,000 square feet of future offices and shops.

The project, designed by locally based Rios, features a sloping gray facade clad in glass, steel, and brick, with 74,000 square feet of terrace decks and open space.

The building will take three years to build, according to Hines. A cost and timeline for construction were not disclosed.

In Downtown Los Angeles, office vacancy topped 31 percent in the first quarter, while federal leasing activity — once a key pillar for local landlords — faces scrutiny due to government cost-cutting, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

The proposed Ford Factory expansion is the latest and largest block of new offices in the works for the Arts District, joining similar projects from Jade Enterprises and Skanska, according to Urbanize.

But as market conditions have soured for offices, other developers such as Tishman Speyer and Onni Group have recently stepped away from plans to build nearby offices.

— Dana Bartholomew