Award-winning Mansfield readies for its move-in date
AWARD-WINNING team and presenters, left to right: architect Mike Iman, AIA, of Plus Architects; The Mansfield developers Daniel Korda and Aaron Korda; Sycamore Square president Conrad Starr; The Mansfield developer Robert Korda; Councilman David Ryu; The Mansfield developer Erika Korda; and Plus Architects director Shahab Ghods
Pre-leasing is underway at The Mansfield at Miracle Mile, a mixed-use development with 138 apartments above ground-floor retail at 5100 Wilshire Blvd.
Prices range from $2,450 for studios to $12,500 for three-bedroom lofts; units will be available by mid-December. “There are more than 70 different floor plans and square footages,” said Adrienne Kaady, The Mansfield community manager.
The six-story complex on the site of a former movie theater from Hollywood’s golden age received the Sycamore Square Exceptional Architecture Award last month.
“This award shows the neighborhood’s appreciation for new architecture that is compatible with our neighborhood… The Mansfield is proof that when developers and the community come together around a project, the result can be quite stunning,” said Sycamore Square Neighborhood Association (SSNA) president Conrad Starr. The event took place at the SSNA’s annual meeting Nov. 18, held at The Mansfield.
SSNA presentation
CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES take place off to the side of the third-floor patio while parents and other residents speak with Councilman Ryu.
The Association meeting was on the sunny third-floor patio (one of four outdoor lounging and recreational spaces for the project’s tenants) at The Mansfield. The new patio’s outdoor grills were not in use, but the SSNA provided tables laden with beverages and desserts. Theeast end of the patio was set up with activities to occupy children while their parents were nearby. Councilman Ryu was there for most of the afternoon (“before heading over to The Grove’s holiday lighting event,” he said).
Neighbor association leaders, Tammy Rosato (La Brea — Hancock) and Kari Garcia (Miracle Mile) spoke about security and neighborhood watch issues.
For SSNA’s board election, Conrad Starr and Joshua Kirchmer were re-elected and will fill 2018-2020 two-year terms. David Zadick was elected for his first two-year term. Steven Senigram and Daniel Brook were elected to the board last year and continue to serve in 2017-2019 two-year terms.
The highlight of the meeting was the presentation by Starr, on behalf of the Association, to Shahab Ghods and Mike Iman, AIA, on behalf of project designer, Plus Architects, and to Robert and Aaron Korda on behalf of developer and landlord, Korda Group and RPK Development.
Robert Korda founded the company in 1980. His son, Aaron, is the development manager, and he oversaw creation of The Mansfield. With Aaron were his wife, Brooke, and infant daughter, Rosie.
Other members of the Korda team at the event were Aaron’s brother, Daniel Korda, the company’s commercial property supervisor, and Robert’s sister Erika Korda, who is manager and supervisor for many of the family’s undertakings.
It’s a happy ending for what could have gone horribly wrong after an earlier “Miamiesque” theme development was originally unveiled to the community, said neighbors.
Project Design
LOFT of three-bedroom penthouse apartment shows views to the north. It is among the 70-plus different floor plans offered.
That original design for the project was nixed following efforts of the SSNA and the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council.
KITCHEN of a penthouse loft unit in The Mansfield, which has 138 apartments for rent.
The property, on the south side of Wilshire Boulevard between Mansfield Avenue and Orange Drive, once was home to the Four Star Theatre, opened in 1932. The theater provided much of the new design’s inspiration.
“Collaborating with SSNA and our architect, we were able to design an Art Deco building that keeps alive the style of the area,” said Aaron Korda.
Amenities at the complex include private balconies, a pool and Jacuzzi, saunas, a pool table, barbecues, fire pits, a gym, clubhouse, outdoor movie theater and spacious decks with views of downtown and the Hollywood Hills.
Units have washers and dryers, stainless steel appliances, rolling kitchen islands and central air. Select units feature lofts with 18-foot ceilings and concrete or vinyl plank flooring. Some lofts feature raw concrete walls and exposed piping.
FOUR STAR THEATRE provided design inspiration for the new apartment building.
The project has three levels of parking, with a total of 309 spaces, some equipped with electric vehicle charging stations. Ground-level parking for retail is off Orange Drive; resident parking is underground with an entrance off Mansfield. The ground floor retail area has 13,000 square feet and will include an office of the Automobile Club of Southern California, with the remainder available for a restaurant or coffee shop, Korda said.
The original movie theater is memorialized in the breezeway by murals based on historic photos, including one of a 1939 movie premiere attended by the Keystone Cops, Mr. and Mrs. Darryl Zanuck and Joan Crawford.
Other notable events at the theater included staging the press preview of “Gone with the Wind” in 1939.
The new building’s homage to the area’s past also includes a theater marquee entryway on Wilshire Blvd. and geometric parapets.
By Suzan Filipek and John Welborne
Category: Real Estate
