Ioana Ginsac 
Mitsui Fudosan America has begun site clearance for its high-rise in downtown Los Angeles. Replacing a parking lot at the northeast corner of Eighth and Figueroa streets, the 42-story, mixed-use, residential tower is slated for completion within three years. Lendlease Construction is the project’s general contractor.
The project—which got the green light last summer—calls for 438 apartments, including one-, two- and three-bedroom units; above-grade parking; and roughly 7,500 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. Mitsui Fudosan’s new project rises across the street from FIGat7th—an open-air shopping center nestled between the Ernst & Young Plaza and the 777 Tower, two of the most imposing office properties in downtown Los Angeles.
Architecture firm Johnson Fain designed the project. Details include a glass façade integrated with LED lights and crowned with an illuminated cornice. The 530-foot tower will rise above a podium structure containing three floors of above-ground parking with 505 spaces, as well as an amenity deck and ground-floor retail.
Furthermore, as a requirement of approval by the Los Angeles City Planning Commission, the podium will also be encased in a glass façade that matches the residential tower. Complementing the city’s recently completed MyFig improvements, Eighth and Figueroa’s pedestrian promenade—lined with sidewalk cafes and shade trees—will also facilitate pedestrian access to the mall.
Stuart Morkun, vice president of the Los Angeles office of Mitsui Fudosan America, said the company is “pleased to commence the next phase of this project and make our contribution to the renewed vitality and dynamism of Figueroa Street and the Financial District. The beginning of construction marks Mitsui Fudosan’s continued commitment to the revitalization of downtown and the next phase of our investment that began more than 30 years ago.”
The company has owned this lot since the 1980s and had previously considered improving it through office or hotel development. According to Urbanize Los Angeles, Mitsui Fudosan America also owns a parking structure at the intersection of Eighth and Hope streets, which the company is redeveloping into a mixed-use high-rise. Documents filed with the city detail the project as a 45-story building that includes 547 residential dwelling units (with an option to increase that total to 580); roughly 7,500 square feet of commercial space; and seven levels of parking, three of which would be below ground.
Lendlease Operations Director, Caleigh Raymer, added that her company “is honored to have been selected as the general contractor for the Eighth and Figueroa project for Mitsui Fudosan America. The Eighth and Figueroa residential tower will be a notable architectural gem added to the Los Angeles skyline, right in the heart of bustling Figueroa Street. Lendlease has been working with Mitsui Fudosan and their consultant team over the past three years and we are very excited to see this project break ground. We are committed to delivering a successful project, safely and sustainably.”
Property renderings courtesy of Mitsui Fudosan America.
