Century City Center received Los Angeles City Council’s stamp of approval Tuesday, approving developer JMB Realty’s project to build a 37-story office building in the heart of Century City at the intersection of Constellation and Avenue of the Stars.
The project’s 700,000 square foot office building will include approximately 10,338 square feet of low-rise, one- and two-story office space, a 2,389-square foot Mobility Hub (to encourage Century City employees to utilize public and alternative transit options), a 39,037-square foot Transit Plaza, approximately 17,102 square feet of retail, and a partially subterranean parking structure with 1,530 stalls on the project site.
Century City Center will include a 2.14-acre landscaped green roof deck on the parking structure which would be open to members of the public between 6 am and 8 pm, seven days per week, as an additional public amenity.
Sarah Shaw, Vice President of Development and Operations for Century City Center, told Westside Today that JMB Realty is thrilled with the approval.
“Century City Center is an important project for Los Angeles, generating thousands of jobs within the community and demonstrating this city’s commitment to green,” Shaw said. “We are grateful to the Los Angeles City Council for approving the very first new-build LEED Platinum high-rise in Los Angeles.”
Shaw said JMB Realty is grateful to each of its supporters who took the time to make their voices heard.
“Approval of Century City Center would not have been possible without the hard work of the Council and city staff and the support and dedication of the Century City and west side community,” Shaw said.
Before the City Council’s 12-0 vote in support of the project (three absentees) on Tuesday, Los Angeles councilman Paul Koretz, who represents Century City (Council District 5), addressed the council, urging them to approve the project’s land use entitlements, deny the appeals, certify the Environmental Impact Report, and adopt the development agreement amendment ordinance.
“This project will represent a landmark achievement for the city and for my district,” Koretz told the council. “It will include the first new built LEED platinum high-rise in Los Angeles. A beautifully designed building that will represent the city’s commitment to green and sustainable development.”
Koretz touted a few of Century City Center’s benefits.
“This project will include more than two acres of green public space, it will provide numerous benefits to the community including a portal for the Metro Purple Line Century City station, extensive and creative traffic mitigation efforts, a peak hour shuttle service from Century City to the future Expo line, and substantial funding for regional transportation planning and improvements in the South Robertson and the Beverlywood areas,” Koretz said.
Koretz said the Los Angeles Planning Commission had unanimously supported the project, adding that the body confirmed the project will not generate more traffic than the specific plan allows.
“The JMB Century City Realty and the City followed all the appropriate procedures and the Century City North Specific Plan that have been there for 30 years,” Koretz said. “This project is also a great investment in our labor force that will create thousands of jobs for City residents. The development has established a project labor agreement, guaranteeing that it will be built with 100 percent union labor and putting hard working trades men and women to work in the city of Los Angeles in Century City.”
Koretz said project represents a $350 million investment in the local economy.
“I also want to note that the proactive approach by JMB Century City Realty to address concerns of more than 12 neighborhood groups and homeowners associations surrounding Century City has been exactly the type of engagement and outreach that ideally all developers should undertake,” he said.
Chicago-based JMB Realty has owned the mostly empty property since the mid-1980s.
A “Constellation Park” project was unveiled for the property in 2003 to build 483 condos in two 47-story towers and a 12-story loft building on the property totaling 1.4 million square feet, but the project never got off the ground despite city approval in 2006.
The Century City Center commercial project is 40 percent smaller than the previously approved residential project.
JMB Realty, through local affiliate Century City Realty, unveiled plans for the single 37-story office building in early 2011 — it has been working through the development process ever since.
Century City Center will generate $4.3 million to the City every year and generate $400 million in annual economic activity throughout the county, according to the project’s website.
