A project with a hotel and 668 residential units in Westlake has been submitted to the city. The project, dubbed Centro Westlake, will sit at 660 S. Alvarado St. above the Westlake/MacArthur Park Metro Station.
In addition to a hotel and residential units, the project will also have a food court, shops and restaurants. It will also upgrade the Metro Plaza with new landscape and seating and add more open-space amenities and parking spaces.
If approved, the project will have a 44-story tower at 2010 Wilshire Blvd. with a hotel and housing; a three-level pavilion at the center of the site with a food court and a dog park; a 34-story tower at 2001 W. 7th St. with a hotel, housing, retail and parking; and three buildings along Alvarado Street with shops and restaurants.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Walter J. Co., based in Westlake, are working on the project. The two entered into an exclusive negotiation agreement three years ago. Walter J. Co. is led by investor and doctor Walter Jayasinghe.
The project is being designed by SOM, based in Chicago. Landscaping will be done by Studio MLA, which is based in Boyle Heights.
Jayasinghe had previously announced plans for a 907-unit development at the site, but the project was rejected over fears that it did not feature enough affordable housing units, according to The Real Deal. The new plans call for 234 affordable housing units.
Developers intend to break ground next year, assuming the plans are approved by the city.
Jayasinghe, a physician and real estate investor, opened his first clinic in 1975 in Westlake. It eventually grew into 15 clinics. In 1989, he purchased a 10-story medical high-rise building. He later purchased a 12-story building and is now involved in the real estate industry in California, Texas and Arizona.
