Onni Group Swaps Hotel Plan for Glendale Apartment Towers

Vancouver-based Onni Group has changed its mind about building what would have become one of the largest hotels in the Los Angeles area in downtown Glendale.

Instead, the firm now plans to build two apartment towers encompassing 858 units on a site at 601 North Brand Boulevard, replacing a parking lot, according to a report in Urbanize Los Angeles.

Onni envisions two 36-story apartment buildings that would rise about 5,600 SF of ground floor shops and restaurants with parking facilities providing space for 942 vehicles.

The glass-sheathed towers, which would become the tallest buildings in Glendale, will include co-working office space, a fitness center, lounges and rooftop decks, according to the report.

The apartment buildings will rise just south of the 134 Freeway, adjacent to a 14-story office building. In addition to the apartment towers, the project at 601 Brand will include a new public plaza at the intersection of Brand and Sanchez.

The switch to residential from hotel will make the property subject to Glendale’s inclusionary housing requirement, requiring that 129 of the new apartments be reserved for very low-income affordable housing.

This designation makes the project eligible for density bonus incentives that permit waivers from zoning standards relating to floor plates, height and building separation, the Urbanize LA report said.

At the end of August, Onni secured an extension of a $384M loan on its 1M SF Wilshire Courtyard office campus in L.A.’s Miracle Mile on Wilshire Boulevard.

Natixis extended the CMBS loan-which was sent to special servicing ahead of its original maturity date in July-until July 2026. The loan became distressed as Wilshire Courtyard, two six-story brown marble pyramid-shaped buildings that make up one of the largest office campuses in the city, struggled with half-empty occupancy rates.

Anchor tenant WeWork, which leased almost a third of the campus, vacated the space in 2021. Two other tenants, Mediabrands Worldwide and Skydance Media, are vacating 165K SF later this year. Sony Pictures has signed a lease for 225K SF in a relocation from Culver Studios that will take place in April.

In October 2022, Onni unveiled plans to build a 45-story residential tower on Wilshire Boulevard. The development at 5350-5376 Wilshire Blvd. will preserve century-old Art Deco-style storefronts in the neighborhood, including an Art Deco building that houses a US Post Office.