The Los Angeles City Council has cleared the way for the construction of a mixed-use development near the intersection of Vermont Avenue and Adams Boulevard.

Orion Capital, the developer behind the proposed project at 1421-1439 W. Adams Boulevard, is seeking to replace a collection of small commercial buildings with a new five-story building featuring 46 studio, two-, and three-bedroom apartments - including five affordable units - above 3,600 square feet of ground-floor retail and a two-level, 70-car subterranean parking garage.

Next Architecture is designing the proposed development, which would be clad in a combination of plaster, cement, and brick veneer.  Upper-level setbacks and insets would be used to create common and private balconies for residents.

The City Council, in a vote taken on July 29, granted the proposed apartment complex an exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act.  Additionally, the Council voted to reject an appeal from James R. Childs of the North University Park Community Association who sought to block construction of the project based on complaints that the design does not conform to the preservation plans for the surrounding Adams-Normandie community.

The project's developer, Orion Capital, is also connecting to two other developments near the USC campus - a Marriott hotel at the former site of the Bethune Library and a smaller apartment building on Exposition Boulevard.