New 5-Story Building Planned for South Lake Avenue

On Tuesday the Design Commission will hear preliminary discussion of a new five-story, 127,161 square-foot building on South Lake Avenue just south of Green Street planned to replace the current two-story building which houses, among other tenants, the long-time, award-winning Celestino Ristorante.

The new project will consist of 2,794 square feet of ground-level and second-floor commercial space for a restaurant and offices, 70 residential offices and 205 parking spaces, according to documents submitted to the Department of Planning and Community Development.

The 22,224 square-foot project site is within the South Lake Shopping area precinct of the Central District Specific Plan. Surrounding properties include commercial, institutional and multi-family residential buildings that are between one and seven stories high. t.

The proposed building and subterranean parking structure would occupy much of the site, according to the proposal. Vehicular access would be at the southeast corner off South Hudson Avenue. The property slopes downward to the lowest point at the southeast corner and some of the residential unit entries along South Hudson Avenue would be sunken below grade.

The building will have a four-story residential volume at the western end facing South Hudson Avenue, and will be book-ended by a five-story residential and commercial volume at the east facing South Lake Avenue.

The proposed building will be designed in a contemporary Modern style intended to respond to other Modern buildings found in the South Lake Avenue context. The building will feature flat roofs and multiple building volumes framing a central landscaped courtyard. The front and rear facades will feature framed massing elements emphasizing large areas of glazing.

At South Lake Avenue, the ground floor restaurant will be set back 14 feet from the property line in order to provide for covered outdoor dining, with a floating mass to contain office cantilevered above and extending to the property line.

The rear facing South Hudson Avenue will be set back 10 feet to provide for landscaping, consistent with other multi-family residential development in the vicinity, according to the submitted proposal.