Nadel Architects Designs Mixed-Use Community on Former Mann Theater Site

By Jeffrey Steele, Contributing Writer

Los Angeles—Construction work is underway on Lindbrook-Gayley, a four-story, 80,000-square-foot, $11 million mixed-use community on the one-time site of Mann Theatre in the heart of the Westwood Village enclave of Los Angeles. The building, featuring 34 apartments, 5,250 square feet of retail and two below-ground parking levels, is designed by Los Angeles-based Nadel Architects.

Apartments will range in size from 660 to 1,480 square feet, and will offer loft environments with 11-foot ceilings, open kitchens and large sliding doors that open up secondary bedrooms to living rooms to provide flexible space. Seven units will be penthouses featuring expansive terraces.

The development will be part of a community that is unlike much of the rest of Los Angeles. “Westwood is one of those spots that has a village center feel to it and is walkable and has some charm,” Dale Yonkin, AIA, project director with Nadel Architects, tells MHN. “Westwood has fallen on hard times over the past 20 years as other centers of town became more popular, but it’s coming back. Factors in that resurgence are an upsurge in multifamily residential built in the village, and extension of the Metro’s Purple Line to Westwood . . . Our project is a step in the continuing change in Westwood Village.”

Resident amenities at Lindbrook-Gayley will include a social room on the second floor, which will open up to a private courtyard and a large rooftop gathering area with spa. This rooftop will stand higher than nearby buildings, affording residents an inspiring view of the rest of the Westwood Village community.

The building had originally been envisioned as a very modern design. But Westwood’s commercial establishment wanted it to look more traditional, thereby better blending with the rest of the community. “[In L.A.], local community groups have quite a bit of clout when it comes to buildings that don’t adhere strictly to the rules of the zoning code for that specific area,” Yonkin explains.

Nadel’s design accommodates city-planning requirements, but at the same time maintains cost effectiveness.

Articulated massing visually breaks the development into small sections that create the appearance of separate buildings, but avoid the costs of multiple structures. The design also incorporates upper-level step-backs that serve to decrease the impact of the building’s height and strong vertical orientation.

In addition to being in the hub of Westwood, the development will also be close to public transportation. One of the Westwood stops on the Purple Line is just three blocks from the site, the other five blocks away, Yonkin says.

Lindbrook-Gayley stands to have a significant impact on Westwood‘s resurgence, Yonkin believes.

“Number one, for a relatively small project of 34 units, it’s going to be of a high quality, and will appeal to upscale renters who want to be right in the action and don’t need large units,” he says. “Our goal will be to appeal to young professionals in general. The success of this project and others like it coming along in Westwood will encourage others to do more of the same.”