Prominent Projects Sail Through ARB

By Olin Ericksen
Staff Writer

April 21 -- Several prominent projects sailed through the Architectural Review Board Monday night, as board members praised planning staff for guiding the buildings to a speedy design approval.

In a nearly empty chamber, the board greenlighted a two-story house perched above the beach, a six-story mixed-use building in the heart of Downtown, a new school campus for the creative arts and a controversial homeless shelter in the city’s industrial corridor.

Homeless shelter on Cloverfield near Olympic

At a time when the City Council is entertaining a proposal to eliminate public review for many proposed developments in an effort to speed up an often lengthy and costly process, the four projects were approved in little more than two hours with no suggested changes.

"The review process went quite well because the owner and applicant were very interested in working with us," the City's new urban designer Stephanie Reich said after the meeting.

Many on the Board gave Reich and her staff high marks for the designs' smooth passage.

"I don't like to toot my own horn," said Reich, "but (the board) did say they were quite pleased with the staff's work in general and the overall designs presented."

During her five-month tenure, Reich said she has strived to hasten the time projects take to be approved by "actively working" with applicants before they come before the board.

Board members said they have noticed the difference.

"Last night the quality of the projects were quite exemplary." ARB member Howard Laks, who is completing his second four-year term, said after the meeting. "I just feel like she has consciously worked in screening projects before they come to the board."

Laks said it is "too soon to tell" if Reich's efforts are "effectively streamlining the development process as a whole."

Laks added that he remains opposed to a controversial proposal the council will revisit next month that would transfer public input directly to staff, bypassing the ARB and, potentially, the Planning Commission on appeal.

"Stephanie's position helps the process," said Laks, "but it can't replace valuable public input, no matter how much shorter it may make the process."

The ease with which each project was approved was particularly surprising, given each building's location and size, and the contentious history behind one of the projects.

The proposed homeless shelter -- which originally sparked protests by nearby Pico Neighborhood residents -- would replace a vacant office space on the site near Olympic and Cloverfield boulevards.

The design attempts to “strike a balance between privacy and security for residents," with a ten-foot high concrete wall, according to the staff report.

To make sure the wall is "pedestrian-friendly," it will be broken up with "landscape screens and planters placed at regular intervals along the wall," the report stated.

The design features suggest that the architectural firm -- Killifer Flamang -- seems to have incorporated some of the concerns opponents voiced during heated meetings last year.

Both the a 35,000-square-foot, two-story shelter at 1751 Cloverfield and the 15,000-square foot, mixed-use building at 1442 Fifth Street, also designed by Killefer Flamang, may have been helped along in the process by an architect familiar with the City’s design process, Reich said.

Mixed use project on Fifth Street between Broadway and Santa Monica Boulevard

The proposed 50-unit mixed used project, to be built by Craig Jones, Downtown’s largest residential developer, also received accolades from the board.

The ARB on Monday also approved a minimal Modernist single-family house perched on the bluffs just south of the pier, making it visible from much of South Beach.

“The project proposes sustainable building features including a ‘green roof,’ photovoltaic solar panels, pervious surfaces, and natural lighting,” according to the staff report. “A reflecting pool is incorporated in the front yard design.”

In addition, the board approved the design for the Herb Alpert Educational Village, also known as the New Roads Educational Village, which consists of three, three-story structures totaling approximately 115,000 square feet over a subterranean garage.

“The project consists of a preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school classrooms, school library, gymnasium and locker rooms, a 350-seat performing arts theater, a leadership center/faculty room, and administrative offices for the schools and associated non-profit institutions,” according to the staff report.

“The project has a formal architectural organization of village typology,” staff wrote. “Strong inside-outside connections allow activities to spill into view and add to the flexibility of use. It is envisaged that these facilities will be available to the school and to the community at large.”