ParkviewLiving-LosAngelesCA_HEROLocation: Los Angeles
Developer: Foursquare Foundation
Builder: Alpha Construction
Architect: KTGY Group
Opened:May 2012
Number of units: 75
Unit mix: One- and two-bedrooms
Rents: $1,100 to $1,550

Through innovative, cost-effective designs, architect KTGY turned a dense, urban infill site—formerly home to five duplexes—into 75 senior units that complement one of the oldest neighborhoods in Los Angeles.

“It was very underutilized,” says Laurel ­Gillette, studio director at KTGY, of the site in Echo Park that is now home to Parkview Living.

Among its cost-saving touches, Parkview features double-loaded corridors built over a parking structure. KTGY also recessed the building’s large entryway and positioned its terraces and roof elements to break up the structure’s massing. The effect creates the illusion of separate buildings, to remain in keeping with the historic neighborhood’s residential scale. The entry is surrounded by outdoor areas that serve as communal spaces.

Angled balconies adorn each unit to maximize residents’ city and park views, which include a large public lake.

The team also worked tirelessly with neighborhood groups to make sure the design and layout of the property matched that of the surrounding community.

“Working with neighborhoods in L.A. is always difficult,” Gillette says. “But the idea is making sure you’re producing for the owner. You need to present the parts and pieces that they’re really talking about.”

Mainly, that entails making sure the product looks good on the street, she adds. And KTGY certainly did that: The views of the park are great, but the views from the park to the building are just as easy on the eyes.