South of the Downtown freeway ring, blighted properties flanking the light rail Blue Line are beginning to catch overflow from South Park's recent development binge.  Renderings were unveiled last year for the Grand Metropolitan, a proposed residential-retail complex near LATTC.  Now, a document from the Los Angeles City Council indicates that development may also be coming for a cluster of parcels adjacent to the Reef Building, a 12-story structure located at 1933 S. Broadway.  The owners of the Reef Building, which is alternatively known as the LA Mart, have requested a general plan amendment that would allow them to both retain the mid-rise tower and construct a mixed-use development on the surrounding 7.5 acre parking lots.  According to the Los Angeles Times, the parking lots and the mid-century tower are both the property of PRH LA, a Glendale-based limited liability corporation which paid roughly $55 million for the land in 2012.  Their exact plans for the parcels are currently unclear, although most recent developments in the neighborhood have been multi-family residential buildings.  A half-mile west, developer G.H. Palmer Associates is nearing completion on the Lorenzo, a 910-unit apartment complex located next to the Expo Line's 23rd Street Station.



Completely random: the Reef/LA Mart's parking lot features a massive wooden chair.  Why is it located here?  Because why the hell not?