

The five-building, LA Live-adjacent, mixed-use Metropolis megaproject was imagined back in the '80s as a "city within a city," but it never quite got off the ground. After lots of false starts over the years, news surfaced earlier this year that a huge stake in the project—on a site bounded by the 110, Francisco Street, Eighth Street, and James M. Wood Boulevard/Ninth Street—had been sold to Shanghai-based Greenland Group, and the influx of cash indicated that the long-languishing project might finally be lifting off (led by owners IDS). Now Exhibit A: These apparently-new renderings on structural engineer Saiful Bouquet's site, sent our way by a tipster, that reveal sleek facades reaching as high as 38 stories, along with new details on at least the first stage of the development. A posting two weeks ago on the firm's LinkedIn page says Metropolis is now "extremely fast tracked," echoing statements made this past summer by an IDS VP that they're focused on "going vertical immediately." The Metropolis Master Plan at present includes "two hotel sites, two parcels dual-entitled for hotel/residential towers, all with ground floor amenity retail space."

According to Saiful's site, "The project's master plan provides for two hotel sites, two parcels dual-entitled for hotel/residential towers, all with ground floor amenity retail space. The proposed residential tower is a 38-story, 300 room concrete tower over 2 levels of below grade parking. A mechanical unit will be located on the main roof of the tower and a heli-stop is planned above the penthouse roof. The gross building area is approximately 335,000 SF. The proposed hotel tower consists of a 22-story, high-rise and low-rise portion with 2 levels underground parking. The 22-story high-rise hotel has approximately 350 rooms and the low-rise portion will service public functions, a pool deck, and landscape terrace deck."

We should have more information after everyone's offices reopen in the new year.

· Metropolis [Saiful Bouquet]

· Metropolis Archives [Curbed LA]