LOS ANGELES — Ground has broken for the construction of University Gateway, a student housing and retail project situated near the University of Southern California (USC) campus in Los Angeles. Located on the northwest corner of Figueroa and Jefferson Boulevard, the eight-story development will feature 600,000 square feet of floor space offering 421 undergraduate and graduate apartments above more than 78,000 square feet of retail space, and a nine-story parking structure.
“With this groundbreaking and Clark Construction at the helm as the design/builder, the project is firmly on track for summer 2010 opening,” says Matthew Burton, principal/CFO of Urban Partners LLC. “It has been a long road but that makes it all the more gratifying to finally get to this day.”
Developed by Urban Partners and designed by Clark Construction, the project features laundry facilities and lounge/study rooms on each floor, 14 one-bedroom units averaging 668 square feet, 407 two-bedroom/two-bath units averaging 910 square feet, which will accommodate four students.
A portion of University’s Gateway second floor will feature three internal courtyards with landscaped gardens complete with trees, low-flowering shrubbery and seating areas. The project’s aesthetics will complement the Italian Romanesque red brick architectural style of the existing campus facilities.
Clark Construction is providing architectural serves and serving as general contractor for the project, which is slated for completion in July 2010.
In June 2005, University Gateway Development LLC, through Urban Ventures, an affiliate of Urban Partners, formed Apartment Holdings LLC with BRE/UG Investor LLC, an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Advisors LP, to option via ground lease an approximately 4-acre land parcel at the corner of Figueroa and Jefferson, which is adjacent to USC. Concurrently with the ground-lease option, BRE/UG also executed a retail lease with USC for 70,000 square feet (to be amended to 30,150 square feet) for an initial 20-year term.