Late last year, the long-stalled Grand Avenue Project received a $290-million life line from the Chinese real estate firm CORE, who is now partnering with Related Companies on the $1-billion mixed-use complex across the street from the Walt Disney Concert Hall.  The Frank Gehry-designed project has taken a smaller, but important step forward this summer, by filing for building permits with the City of Los Angeles.

The latest iteration of the Grand Avenue Project, which has been proposed for well over a decade, calls for the construction of two high-rise buildings at 100 S. Grand Avenue, replacing an infamous "tinker-toy" parking structure.

A 39-story residential tower would rise at the corner of 2nd and Olive Streets, featuring 128 condominiums, 214 market rate apartments and 86 units of subsidized affordable housing.

The second tower, slated for the 1st Street side of the property, would be a 20-story building featuring 305 guest rooms.  Equinox, a luxury fitness company owned by Related, has been announced as the hotel's operator.

Both towers would sit atop a 200,000-square-foot retail podium, set back from Grand Avenue behind a large public plaza.  Plans also call for 1,500 parking spaces in a below-grade garage.

Gehry's design for the project features two modern buildings, with tiered roof levels used to create open terrace levels.  The towers are situated to create an open paseo through the center of the property, maintaining views of Disney Hall from the east.

Related has set a 2018 groundbreaking date for the project, with completion targeted in 2022.

The Gehry buildings, originally phase one of the Grand Avenue Project, will instead follow the already-completed Broad Museum and Emerson apartment tower.  Plans for the final phase of the development, slated for a parking lot across Olive Street, have not been set.