Category Archives: Projects

Oxnard Factory Outlet

OXNARD FACTORY OUTLET

Oxnard, CA

Client:

Carl M. Buck Building Company

Lot Area:

25.78 Acres

Building Area:

Phase I: 150,000 sf
Phase II: 135,000 sf

Total Building Area:

285,000 sf

Density:

24 FAR

1995 PCBC Gold Nugget Award of Merit
Best Commercial Project Retail

This 284,500 sf outlet was inspired by Oxnard’s agrarian history interpreted through the use of vibrant colors, roof material and shapes, structural farm building framing, and fruit-crate label signage. Enlarged reproductions of fruit labels appear on tilt-up concrete walls; sheet metal ventilators cap roofs of the corrugated metal; a windmill and a water tank form the skyline. Building materials were selected with economy and scheduling among the main considerations.

The landscape concept was to treat the entry drive as a shaded allee’ and the parking lots as traditional orchards.

Broadway Villas

Broadway Villas

Los Angeles, CA

Client:

AMCAL Multihousing, Inc.

Lot Area:

1.1 Acres

Residential Area:

42,000 sf

Commercial Area:

79,000 sf

Total Area:

121,000 sf

Residential Common Area:

7,000 sf

Units:

49 Affordable Senior Apts.

Density:

46 du/ac

This infill development utilizes a vacant site in South Los Angeles by contributing a fresh affordable senior living complex and new grocery market into the context of the neighborhood. Craftsman-inspired design will blend the project with homes to the east and supply accessibility to a MTA Rapid bus route on Broadway, the Sutton Recreation Center, a Mark Twain Library branch and multiple pharmacies and health clinics.

A unit mix of forty 1-bedroom apartments and nine 2-bedroom apartments, including a Manager’s Unit, are devised in three levels of Type V wood over Type I concrete subterranean parking. The underground parking allows for 49 cars, doubling the number of stalls required for the site and allowing for 108 on-grade stalls to service the commercial market on the balance of the lot.

100% affordable, the project is financed with allocation of 4% Low-income Housing Tax Credits, conventional debt and public funds from the Prop. 1C Infill Infrastructure Grant fund, federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program and Los Angeles CRA.

The project achieved LEED Gold certification.

630 “I” Street

630 “I” Street

Sacramento, CA

Client:

Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency

Gross Commercial Area:

22,000 sf

Gross Residential Area:

74,000 sf

Units:

108 Affordable Units

Status:

Completed & Occupied 2012

Owned and operated by the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, 626/630 ‘I’ Street was an existing mixed-use building comprised of office and residential uses. The ‘Tenant Improvement’ of this structure updated the 12-story reinforced-concrete building constructed from 1972-1974 with deferred maintenance, repair and waterproofing of the overall existing building shell and roof, and the maintenance and repair of the building MEP systems, the replacement in kind of all exterior glazing and glazing systems and new exterior ‘skin’ cladding improvements for the existing building pursuant to an updated and freshened project identity.

There was no change of use for the project and the ground level, designated ‘630 I Street,’ continues to be devoted to building entry, public and common uses with City Agency offices occupying a portion of the area, as well as the second and third stories.

Designated ‘626 I Street’, the HUD-funded residential living units on floors four through twelve required deferred maintenance (‘repair’), rehabilitation and interior decoration.

Stoneridge Creek

STONERIDGE CREEK SENIOR COMMUNITY

Pleasanton, CA

Client:

Continuing Life Communities

Site Area:

50 Acres – 1.2 Million sf

Units:

515 Independent Living Apts.
86 Independent Living Villas
34 Garden Terrace Apts.
48 Assisted Living Units
73-Bed Skilled Nursing Facility
18-Bed Dementia Facility

Commons:

70,000 sf.

Offering residents multiple choices in living arrangements and the comfort associated with Continuing Care, the community provides over 70,000sf of recreational and common space including varied dining facilities, card rooms, activity areas, exercise rooms, and spaces for gathering and socializing. Centrally situated, these Commons Facilities are sited around outdoor amenities such as a pool, spa, a lake, koi ponds, outdoor dining, fountains, and bocci ball. Golf and tennis facilities are also located nearby.

Arcades connect the buildings and form courtyards of varying size and character.

A 110,000sf Health Care Center includes a 48-unit assisted living facility, a dementia wing, and an 73-bed skilled nursing facility. It is located along the street so that it can serve the public as well as the residents of the retirement community.

The site has been carefully planned as it is located directly adjacent to a freeway and an auto mall. Large landscape buffers, a 20-foot high berm and sound walls are located to appropriately integrate into the site and protect the community from the adverse context. A park and golf course are included in the project and surround the entry drive.

Sky Lofts – 801 Grand

Sky Lofts

Los Angeles, CA

Client:

CIM Group/Lee Homes

Offices:

230,000 sf

Residential:

232,000 sf

Total:

462,000 sf

Units:

132 Luxury Condominiums

Parking:

600 Office Stalls
264 Residential Stalls

2007 PCBC Gold Nugget Award of Merit
Best Adaptive Reuse Project

The first live-work condominium and commercial hybrid high-rise development in downtown Los Angeles, this renovation/adaptive reuse project converted the upper stories of a 22-story 1980s red granite and glass downtown office tower.

The upper eleven stories contain twelve live-work units per floor, to total 132 units. Unit sizes range from 1,000 to 1,900 square feet.

New operable windows mark the changed use on the upper stories, adding visual interest to the tower exterior.

A landscaped motor court, paved in colored concrete and sheltered with pyramid skylights, leads to an elegant interior lobby. A new entry sequence is created to serve the residential project. The rear west side of the ground floor is separated for the lobby/entrance of the new residential use. Other ground floor amenities include a health club, lounge and media center.

Elevator provision is modified to serve the office and residential floors separately.

Parking is provided in an attached structure as well as beneath the tower.

Criterion

Criterion

Santa Monica, CA

Client:

Criterion Santa Monica, LLC

Area:

22,514 sf – 0.52 Acres

Residential:

14,050 sf

Commercial:

48,288 sf

Units:

32 Rent-controlled Apartments

Density:

3.0 FAR

Status:

Completed & Occupied, 2015

2017 Gold Nugget Award of Merit
Best Mixed-Use Project

2017 Gold Nugget Award of Merit
Best Rehabilitation Project

An existing 3-story building housing retail, apartments and a movie theater has been re-imagined as a commercial property with thirty-two refurbished rent-controlled apartments on the corner of Arizona Avenue and the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.

Joining the retail portion of the ground floor to the former theater portion at the rear creates two retail spaces fronting the promenade with loading and ancillary spaces along the rear alley. The existing sub-grade theaters will be demolished and expanded providing basement storage for the retail tenant above.

An open air second floor terrace adjoining Arizona Avenue and atriums centered mid-floor at the second and third level offices will furnish light and vision for the new office tenants.

Avalon Huntington Beach

Avalon Huntington Beach

Huntington Beach, CA

Client:

AvalonBay

Area:

3.8 Acres

Residential:

322,100 sf

Commercial:

10,000 sf

Units:

378 Luxury Residential Apartments

Density:

99.5 du/ac

Status:

Completed & Occupied, 2016

Sustainability:

LEED Gold Certified

Avalon Huntington Beach is a vibrant and sustainable Mixed-Use community in Huntington Beach, a premier seaside city, in Southern California. This Transit Oriented Development is located adjacent to a regional transit center, premier shopping, a college campus, and is at the heart of the Town Center Neighborhood redevelopment area. At near 100 DU/AC, the proposal for this catalytic project was a first in the City.

A pedestrian-oriented community, Avalon Huntington Beach is a compact, infill development surrounded by sustainably landscaped outdoor living areas. At the street level, pedestrian connections, retail spaces, and live/work lofts are designed to continue the urban fabric of the adjacent neighborhood.

A landscaped Pedestrian Passage lined with art-glass connects the two five-story-and-mezzanine buildings on this 3.8 acres site. Each building has four stories of housing over a retail/leasing/parking podium. Secured parking for the residents is provided in the subterranean garage below. In addition to the 378 residential units, Avalon Huntington Beach also includes 10,000 sf. of specialty retail space.

In keeping with the Southern California lifestyle, this community features a series of outdoor living spaces to accommodate a variety of activities. Amenities offered include a resort-style pool and spa surrounded by outdoor lounge and dining areas with fireplaces and BBQs. A two-story Clubhouse houses the state-of-the-art Fitness Center and the Community Lounge. Two roof terraces and the Sky-Lounge complete the community’s outdoor living experience.

Avalon Huntington Beach is a LEED for Homes Gold certified sustainable community.

Augustine Bowers

AUGUSTINE BOWERS

Santa Clara, CA

Four, High-Rise Office & Retail Buildings

Lot Area:

31 Acres

Office Space:

1,029,600 sf

Retail:

35,000 sf

Total Building Area:

2, 004,600 sf

Density:

1.5 FAR

Sited in the heart of the Silicon Valley of Northern California, Augustine Bowers is designed as an office campus comprised of 4 high-rise office and retail buildings amidst a network of open park and public gathering areas. Designed as the Gateway to Santa Clara, Augustine Bowers includes 35,000 square feet of retail servicing the surrounding neighborhood as well as the commercial occupants.

Andalucia Heights

ANDALUCIA HEIGHTS – AMCAL

Los Angeles, CA

Client:

AMCAL Multi-Housing & W.O.R.K.S.

Lot Area:

0.9 Acres

Density:

85 du/ac

Units:

580 sf to 1,250 sf

Parking:

75 Subterranean Stalls

Revitalizing a low-income neighborhood in the Westlake District of Los Angeles, Andalucia Heights will provide fresh, quality affordable apartments for families in 1, 2, 3 & 4-bedroom configurations. Type V construction, the contemporary design includes front stoops along 4th Street to integrate the project into the surrounding neighborhood and provides a community feeling with amenities such as courtyards, a garden along Lucas Street, a children’s play area and a community clubhouse. Tenants will have access to a variety of complimentary services, including educational classes courtesy of LifeSTEPS, a non-profit provider of social services for residents of affordable housing in California.

Alexan Savoy

Alexan Savoy

Downtown Los Angeles, CA

Client:

Trammel Crow Residential

Lot Area:

3.2 Acres – 140,000 sf

Units:

303 Apartments

Density:

95 du/ac

Parking:

500 stalls

2007 Gold Nugget Award of Merit
Best In-Fill, Redevelopment or Rehab Site Plan

The urban infill project is located on an entire city block between the burgeoning Little Tokyo and Artist districts in downtown Los Angeles. Five stories in height, the unit mix includes one, two, and three bedroom flat units as well as two-story lofts. The units are configured to form three courtyards containing areas for lounging, swimming, and other recreational activities.

Guests enter via a motor court with optional parking provided in two subterranean levels. Interior amenities include a movie theater, full sports lounge, exercise room, library, and a business center and conference room available for tenant use. A roof terrace is included that affords magnificent views of the downtown skyline and is set up for group entertaining as well as enjoyment by the individual tenant.

The architectural character is inspired by an urban context of commercial, public, multifamily and institutional buildings combining multinational influences that gave the neighborhood its roots. Material selections and building rhythm and massing are direct products of extensive studies of the neighborhood.

Rockingham

Rockingham

Brentwood, CA

Client:

Cusenza Family

This luminous new residence was designed as an homage to the traditional Spanish/Mediterranean hacienda-style home. The project entailed the demolition of the existing structure on the site and thoughtful consideration was exercised in positioning the house to take advantage of the site’s views while integrating the home harmoniously into the existing landscape. The result is an exquisite balance of California heritage blending with the most current and innovative living conditions available today. Particular attention was paid to designing the outdoor patios and spaces as a natural extension of the elegance of the interiors.

San Diego Design Center

SAN DIEGO DESIGN CENTER – QUALCOMM OFFICE BUILDING

San Diego, CA

Client:

McKellar Development of La Jolla

Area:

11 Acres

Total Area:

350,000 sf

Parking:

690 Stalls

Construction Cost:

$60 Million – Phase I

This project originated as the San Diego Design Center. The building was later purchased by QualComm and renamed. Situated upon an 11-acre suburban site, the building encompasses 350,000 square feet of office space. Extending some 800 feet in length, the interior systems of streets, walkways, plazas and atriums cleverly accommodate a complex circulation pattern. The central hall, with its tower, plaza and walkways, serves to solidly anchor the building and the visitor’s experience of the building.

Long Beach Senior Housing

Long Beach Senior Housing:

Long Beach, CA

Client:

Menorah Housing Foundation

Lot Area:

0.76 Acre

Building Area:

65,760 sf

Units:

66 Senior Affordable Apartments

Density:

87 du/ac

2010 PCBC Gold Nugget Award of Merit
Best Senior Housing

Long Beach Senior Housing is a short walk to a Metro Blue Line station, shops and neighborhood services. This infill project provides independent-living apartments for very low income seniors with HUD and redevelopment agency funding assistance.

The sloping, corner site facilitates access to a partially submerged garage under half the building. The C-shape plan provides a wide south-facing courtyard adjacent to a quiet side street. A story-and-a-half lobby/lounge, entered from the courtyard, engages ground and first floors, accessing social spaces including a multi-purpose room facing both streets, a library, computer room, kitchen, laundry, as well as offices and a manager’s apartment. The landscaped courtyard and patio decks on each level encourage outdoor living and social interaction.

All units are 540 sf, one-bedrooms with balconies and are disabled accessible and adaptable, with ten percent fully adapted to UFAS standards. Corridor colors aid way-finding.

The Plaza at Santa Monica

THE PLAZA AT SANTA MONICA

Santa Monica, CA
Mixed-use residential, Hotel & Commercial

Design Team:

OMA / Rem Koolhaas – OLIN Landscape Architects – VTBS Architects

Client:

City of Santa Monica

Area:

2.5 Acres

Hotel:

120,000 sf

Office/Residential:

245,000 sf

Cultural Area:

12,000 sf

Retail:

43,000 sf

Total Area:

420,000 sf

Parking:

1,200 Stalls

Estimated Budget:

$300 Million

Status:

Design Development

The City of Santa Monica has selected the development team of Metropolitan Pacific Capital, Clarett West Development and DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners to transform a 2.5-acre downtown site into an iconic Mixed-Use development at the intersection of 4th and Arizona in the heart of Santa Monica, one block from the Third Street Promenade. VTBS Architects has partnered with internationally renowned firm Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) to bring this exemplary project to fruition.

The proposed project, called the Plaza at Santa Monica, will include 3 acres of open space thanks to an innovative design which creates tiered rooftop plazas across multiple building levels. The upper levels and rooftop deck will contain approximately an acre and a half of open space. These open spaces complement over an acre of public plaza and smaller pocket parks on the ground and second levels of the project.

The development’s uses include ground-floor retail, a public ground-floor cultural space, creative office space, market rate and affordable housing, and a 225-room boutique hotel. The site will include 1,220 parking spaces.

Burbank Child Care Center

Burbank Child Care Center

Burbank, CA

Client:

M. David Paul & Associates, Burbank Redevlopment Agency

Lot Area:

1.3 Acres

Childcare Center:

8,500 sf

Playground:

7,000 sf

Units:

20 Detached Townhomes

Density:

15 du/ac

With the support and endorsement of the Golden State Citizen Advisory Committee and the City’s Childcare Committee, this project was approved by the Redevelopment Agency and the Council of the City of Burbank. A childcare facility and attendant playground has been designed to accommodate 92 children and to complement the adjacent residential development of 20 single-family detached homes, reminiscent of a Cape Cod community.

Important goals achieved for the revitalization of this deteriorating multi-family neighborhood included removing substandard apartment buildings and non-conforming business uses, and replacing them with affordable and market-rate, single-family homes. The project also offered the City/Agency an opportunity to help alleviate the major shortage of quality childcare in the City without using General Fund money.

“This childcare center is part of a redevelopment project provided for a community need.”
– David Paul, Developer

5600 Wilshire

5600 Wilshire

Los Angeles, CA

Client:

BRE Properties

Area:

2.63 Acres – 310,796 sf

Units:

284 Apartments

Retail:

12,500 sf

LEED Certified Silver Rating; the first multi-family building in California to receive both LEED Silver certification and City of Los Angeles Green Building Program certification.

5600 Wilshire Apartments is located in the Miracle Mile area just east of L.A.C.M.A. This building is LEED certified and enjoys the benefits of many green features, e.g.: energy star appliances, low V.O.C. carpeting and paints, dual-flush toilets, low “E” dual glazed windows, designated recycle trash chutes, and preferential parking for low emitting vehicles.

1738 Berkeley Street

1738 BERKELEY STREET

Santa Monica, CA

Client:

VTBS Architects

Area:

0.54 Acres

Commercial Area:

27,974 sf

2009 PCBC Gold Nugget GRAND AWARD
Outstanding Adaptive Reuse Project

The innovative new design studio for VTBS Architects is the result of the adaptive re-use of this 2-story warehouse with rooftop parking. The design takes advantage of the existing 1960, brick-and-concrete warehouse characteristics by exposing the structure to reflect mid-century design elements. The results include a dramatic 32’-high atrium and multiple work areas that provide open ‘creative office’ space that is at heart practical, as well as warm and comfortable. The 17′ ceiling height on the ground floor allowed for the construction of a mezzanine level for an increase in usable area. Committed to sustainable design, VTBS has incorporated ‘green building principles’ into the renovated building.

Dublin Ranch Villages

DUBLIN RANCH VILLAGES

Dublin, CA

THE VILLAS:

Luxury Condominium Townhomes & Flats

8.7 ACRES
289 UNITS
34 du/ac

THE GROVES AT FAIRWAY RANCH:

20.1 ACRES
930 UNITS
46.5 du/ac
304 Family Units – For Sale
304 Family Units – For Rent
322 Senior Units

AMALFI:

Luxury Condominium Townhomes & Flats

4.6 ACRES
96 UNITS
24 du/ac

TIVOLI:

Luxury Condominium Townhomes & Flats

10.8 ACRES
260 UNITS

SUB-AREA 3:

20.0 ACRES
336 UNITS
16.8 du/ac
125 Court Townhomes
90 Villa Townhomes and Flats
121 Row Townhomes

Latitude 33 – Beach Townhomes

Latitude 33 – Beach Townhomes

Marina Del Rey, CA

Client:

Standard Pacific Homes

Lot Area:

2.1 Acres – 92,000 sf

Units:

50 Luxury Condos

Unit Sizes:

1,835 – 1901 sf

Density:

23.9 du/ac

2012 Gold Nugget Grand Award
Best Multi-Family Housing Project

Inspired by Southern California’s coveted “strand home,” generous front patios of 22 of the three-story row townhouses line a walk path along the historic and now-restored Venice Canal. The canal path connects to a perpendicular walk, accessing interior units and offering access to the canal, and water views to those too.

Each unit is entered via its front patio to a flexible ground level room which may be used as a family room, office or bedroom. There is an accessible foot path, and a two-car garage accessed from a rear driveway. The middle levels have open, spacious living-dining-kitchen arrangements, with reading nooks and tall windows inviting ocean breezes and cross-ventilation. Third levels are configured with two or three bedrooms and two baths, including generous master suites and laundry rooms.

The contemporary expression is at home in its beach-urban setting. Projecting bays differentiate individual units. There are large window openings set against small, vertical against horizontal in abstract compositions; white plaster contrasting with warm tones, silver aluminum, and glass garage doors.

Criterion

Criterion

Santa Monica, CA

Client:

Criterion Santa Monica, LLC

Area:

22,514 sf – 0.52 Acres

Residential:

14,050 sf

Commercial:

48,288 sf

Units:

32 Rent-controlled Apartments

Density:

3.0 FAR

Status:

Completed & Occupied, 2015

2017 Gold Nugget Award of Merit
Best Mixed-Use Project

2017 Gold Nugget Award of Merit
Best Rehabilitation Project

An existing 3-story building housing retail, apartments and a movie theater has been re-imagined as a commercial property with thirty-two refurbished rent-controlled apartments on the corner of Arizona Avenue and the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.

Joining the retail portion of the ground floor to the former theater portion at the rear creates two retail spaces fronting the promenade with loading and ancillary spaces along the rear alley. The existing sub-grade theaters will be demolished and expanded providing basement storage for the retail tenant above.

An open air second floor terrace adjoining Arizona Avenue and atriums centered mid-floor at the second and third level offices will furnish light and vision for the new office tenants.