Back in August, the Downtown LA Examiner reported that the parking lot at the southwestern corner of 8th and Olive Streets was in escrow.  It appears that the sale has now closed, as plans were filed earlier this month for a 27-story mixed-use tower at 801 S Olive Street.  The building would contain 363 apartments above 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail space.  Quite a change of pace for a corner that has served as a parking lot for over 60 years.

While the dated Google Earth image seen above would indicate otherwise, this parcel is actually located in the heart of South Park's recent development boom.  Just across the street, San Francisco based Carmel Partners is building a 700-unit apartment complex at 8th and Grand, with Whole Foods signed on as a ground level tenant.  Two blocks west, the Ratkovich Company plans to start construction on a $160 million remodel of the dated Macy's Plaza in early 2014.

801 Olive would also join a couple of tall neighbors currently under construction: the Onni Group's 33-story mixed-use building at 888 Olive Street, and Wood Partners' 22-story 8th and Hope Tower.  CIM Group has also submitted plans to the Department of Building and Safety for a residential tower at the corner of 9th and Hope, although the details of that proposal remain unclear at this point in time.  It seems like new high-rises are popping up all over Downtown these days.  Perhaps the recent fuss over the neighborhood's low-rise building spree was much ado about nothing.