Australian residential developer Crown Group has taken the next steps in its first move into the U.S. market, where it plans to develop a mixed-use, high-rise condominium and hotel tower in downtown Los Angeles. Designed by Koichi Takada Architects, the 43-story tower is expected to be completed in 2024.
Crown Group is progressing entitlements with Los Angeles City Hall for the proposed tower, which is earmarked for the southeast corner of South Hill and 11th streets at the convergence of Downtown’s financial, fashion, and South Park districts. Crown Group has formed a joint venture with a Singapore-based company called Magnus Property Pte Ltd and one of Indonesia’s biggest property developers, ASRI, the premium lifestyle brands division of Agung Sedayu Group. ASRI’s developments include The Langham Jakarta (the first in Southeast Asia), The Langham Residences (the first Langham-branded residence in the world), as well as premium estates such as Fatmawati City Center and District 8 in Jakarta’s Central Business District. The joint venture group settled on the Downtown site in November 2019.
The high-rise sections of the building will comprise 319 condominiums. Crown Group’s Los Angeles office is in discussions with several luxury hotel brands to incorporate a 160-key hotel in the low rise of the building. The property will also include an exclusive residents’ retreat over the top two floors and a façade design that references California’s gigantic ancient redwood trees. A street canopy will ground the tower and incorporate a “breathing green wall”, designed to improve the city’s air quality and introduce a landscaping feature to the Downtown streetscape.
Architect Koichi Takada said that the new development would incorporate a sense of greenery and “human scale.” Takada explained, “It is our desire, through a nature-inspired approach to architecture, to transform an old warehouse district into a living, breathing neighborhood in LA. We want to humanize tall buildings, to celebrate the pedestrian activities, and consider how people experience it. We want our tall building designs to be more engaging for the public, and to contribute to the community by activating and creating a connection with the neighborhood.”
Crown Group CEO Iwan Sunito said the Downtown district of Los Angeles has experienced a transformation over the past decade, as evidenced by LA Live’s expansion; Warner Music and Spotify establishing offices; headline retailers such as Apple, Vans, and Paul Smith launching flagship stores; a bevy of restaurants opening venues; and numerous residential, hotel, and commercial developments underway.
“It’s rare to find the central district of a large cosmopolitan city on the verge of such significant change,” Sunito said. “Downtown is experiencing a once-in-a-generation revival led by the heightened convergence of tech, media, and entertainment in Los Angeles. There’s a great deal of investment and it’s exciting to think of what Downtown will be like in another few years’ time. It will be a highly sought-after place to live.”
Crown Group Head of U.S. Development Patrick Caruso said the development would offer an appealing point of difference for buyers in Downtown LA and bring a new version of condominium living to the district.
“It’s a fast-evolving part of the city yet there is limited choice when it comes to well-designed homes,” Caruso said. “We anticipate that this new mixed-used development, which will offer attainable luxury living with never-before-seen facilities including an exclusive rooftop residents’ retreat, collocated with a quality branded hotel will be very well received by those looking for a new condominium.”
Crown Group has a $5 billion pipeline spanning five cities and two continents.
