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If you're wondering what's happening on the space across from The Staples Center, wonder no more. Chinese developers Oceanwide Real Estate Group have release a batch of (very) detailed renderings of the huge project they're building on the giant lot. As you can see, these "renderings" are of an epic scope—they look like something you'd get if Thomas Kinkade had grown up to become a city planner.
The actual project itself is certainly ambitious. The development, titled Oceanwide Plaza, is comprised of three towers that will take up the whole block that's bordered by Figueroa Street, 11th Street, 12th Street, and Flower Street. The mixed-used building will include 504 condominiums, 184 hotel rooms and more than 150,000 square feet of commercial space, according to Urbanized LA. Speaking of those hotel rooms, the forthcoming Park Hyatt will be housed here. If you're not already struck with awe, just know that the space will also have a communal space that serves as a kind of faux-park; it's set to include a basketball court and a jogging track.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, David Tarr, senior vice president with Oceanwide, echoed a sentiment that has been oft-cited among developers. "A decade ago downtown L.A. probably wouldn't have fit the bill" for a new Park Hyatt, said Tarr. "Today it absolutely does." This was the same comment made by the people behind the proposed development at the Southern California Flower Market.
Obviously, Chinese real estate firms have taken a keen interest in the L.A. area. As noted by the L.A. Times, Chinese developer Greenland Group is developing a $1 billion condo-and-hotel project not far away from the space where Oceanwide Plaza is going up.
Oceanwide Plaza, as well as the Park Hyatt, is expected to be up and running in early 2019. The project is estimated to cost about $1 billion. Earlier this year, Oceanwide released a video that included a fly-through of the plaza. It's not quite as realistic-looking as the new renderings, but they do offer an idea of the scope of the project.
