City Approves Six-Story Faircrest Heights Project

The Los Angeles planning department has approved a 70-percent increase in density for a six-story apartment project proposed by developer The Ketter Group, according to a determination letter filed by the city last Tuesday. Located at 1550 S. Fairfax Ave. at the outskirts of the Faircrest Heights neighborhood, the project site is within 1,500 feet of Metro Rapid Bus Lines 780 and 217, and project plans themselves call for three of 30 total units to be reserved for extremely low incomes.

The South Fairfax Avenue development plan entails the demolition of two existing single-family homes on the project site to make way for the new 33,870-square-foot, approximately 62-foot-tall building. It will contain eight one-bedrooms, eight two-bedrooms, and 14 three-bedroom units ranging from 700 square feet for the smallest one-bedrooms to about 1,200 square feet for the largest three-bedrooms. Though 15 parking spaces are required of a 30-unit Tier-3 Transit-Oriented Communities Incentive Program project, the development will have 51 parking spaces between subterranean and ground-level stalls.

The project applicant is listed as 1550 South Fairfax LLC, an entity registered to a Studio City address occupied by The Ketter Group. Also shown in application filings is Heather Lee of The Ketter Group as the project representative, while John Friedman, a senior project architect for The Ketter Group, is shown as the architect. Paul Lewis + Associates is the project landscape architect, according to project plans filed with the city.

Other design features include about 3,500 square feet of open space that includes yards, balconies and a roof patio; 30 long-term bicycle spaces; and a 744-square-foot lobby.