The Los Angeles City Council has voted to uphold the approval of a controversial mixed-use development planned in Highland Park, rejecting an appeal which sought to block its construction.

The project from property owner and architect Michael Naim, approved last year by the City Planning Commission, would rise from a corner lot located at 3836 N. Figueroa Street. Plans call for the construction of a seven-story structures featuring 100 studio, one-, two-, three-, four-, and five-bedroom apartments atop more than 1,4,700 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and a 114-car garage.

Water feature in pavilion at Belvedere at 3832-3836 N. Figueroa St.SQLA

Project approvals include Transit Oriented Communities incentives permit greater height, density, and floor area than allowed by zoning rules. In exchange, Naim would be required to set aside 10 of the new apartments as extremely low-income affordable housing.

Originally known as Nela Plaza, but since rebranded as "Belvedere," the building is portrayed in a rendering with a stucco exterior and Mediterranean-style architecture. It would front the intersection of North Figueroa and Pasadena Avenue with a new pedestrian plaza, while also providing resident amenities in the form of a courtyard, a pool deck, and roof terraces.

Site plan for Belvedere at 3832-3836 N. Figueroa St.Naim & Associates

At past hearings, the project was the subject of opposition from residents of the surrounding neighborhood who objected to the building's scale, and argued that it would accelerate gentrification in Highland Park. While city officials have already acknowledged that state law limits the ability of jurisdictions to deny a project of this type, Belvedere's City Planning Commission did result in some concessions on the part of the developer, including an agreement to offer lower rent for some ground floor tenant spaces, alter the building design, and offer a right-of-return to existing tenants who meet income eligibility requirements.

Those types of concerns were absent in the appeal to the City Council lodged by SAFER, an affiliate of Laborers International Union of North America Local 270, which argued that the project should have been subject to further study under the California Environmental Quality Act. The City Council, as with its Planning Committee, rejected that assertion on the recommendation of city staff.

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