Plans have been submitted by Venice Community Housing Corporation (VCHC) to convert a vacant 15,000-SF lot along Crenshaw Blvd into a 5-story, mixed-use building.
Located across the street from the Leimert Park Metrorail station, the single parcel development site that once housed the Total Experience nightclub was acquired by Century Housing Corporation, in partnership with VCHC for $3,350,000 in 2022.
According to the site plans, VCHC hopes to build a 46,927-SF mixed-use building, featuring 56 units and 1,961-SF of ground floor commercial space for a restaurant. The units will include a mix of singles, one-, and two-bedroom apartments with 55 units designated for affordable housing.
Designing Justice + Designing Spaces, a community focused design firm based in Oakland, has been named as the lead architect. According to the firm’s website, the building’s design was inspired by the site’s musical roots, with “mirrored angles that ripple from the building’s epicenter” on the front façade and a “visual representation of vibrations and frequency in the waves of the roof line.”
The developer is requesting that the approval process be streamlined under the ED1 – an Executive Directive enacted as part of Mayor Karen Bass’ emergency declaration to address the housing crisis by expediting the approval process for affordable housing developments.
