Legendary Developments to build 11-story office building cantilevered over A+D Museum

Pasadena-based Legendary Developments, LLC will build an 11-story office campus that will hover over the low-rise building leased by the Architecture + Design Museum.

Designs of the building at Fourth and Hewitt were unveiled Nov. 16 when they were presented to the Art District’s urban design and land use committee. The office building designed by San Francisco architect Gensler will bring 255,000 sq. ft. of office space, nearly 15,000 sq ft. of ground-floor retail, and more than 11,500 sq. ft. of open space. The project also includes a parking area for 538 cars.

Outside, the office building will feature a courtyard extending to the front of the museum on Colyton. According to Legendary Developments, the space will function as a public plaza and a venue for events of the new building’s tenants.

Tenants were announced in early 2015 when the museum moved to the Downtown neighborhood. The new building will be occupied by the Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA/LA) and the non-profit design commons Center for Architecture and Urban Design Los Angeles (CALA).

The A+D Museum secured a two-year lease on the brick building owned by Legendary Developments. Nicci Solomons, executive director at both AIA/LA and CALA, told Curbed in April 2015 that the short-term lease is a part of the three organizations’ plan to move together into a permanent facility.

To raise funds for the project, the organizations started a joint campaign in 2015. At that time, they were looking for a downtown lot with 20,000 sq. ft..