08 Aug Culver City Blends Past and Present in Commercial Construction
AMPAM’s focus is multifamily, senior and student housing, hospitality and mixed-use projects. But when Bisnow invited us to the “Future of Culver City” event last week we couldn’t resist getting close and center with IDS Real Estate Group’s progressive new commercial project for creative professionals: C3, the Culver City Creative.
C3 features a modern open design built for tenant interaction and growth, offering over 300,000 sf with features including outside porches, sky bridges to multiple parking levels and glass walls from floor to ceiling.
It’s a creative testament to Los Angeles, California and the bustling commercial and residential activity currently underway to appease housing and office shortages in the city and its surrounding communities. Culver City has growth down to a science, blending modern construction with progressive amenities and a touch of nostalgia.
Gorgeous garage-style windows at C3.
Credited as the birthplace of studios and motion pictures a hundred years ago, founder and real estate mogul Harry Culver crafted an eerily accurate campaign for the newly planned Los Angeles community, claiming “All Roads lead to Culver City.”
Indeed Culver City is redefining living and working spaces by capitalizing on its past and present growth assets: central location, access to multiple thoroughfares and public transit, and a surplus of young professionals seeking a work-life balance that minimizes distance between the two.
Culver City’s innovative approach to work and life in an historical location goes beyond its transformational land use to diligent marketing. The City has re-marketed itself with nostalgia as a home for studios like Sony Pictures, and innovation as one of the newer silicon cities and home for tech startups like AudienceX.
Shaun Guertin of Bernards with Cera Norton of W.E. O’Neil Construction and AMPAM’s Mahsa Ghalehshahi at Bisnow’s event at C3.
Yet it hasn’t been easy. Like so many cities throughout California and the U.S., Culver City suffered setbacks from the great recession. Despite challenges that faced all communities, it continued to plug away at growth, and is an area to watch in the world of construction and redevelopment.
Culver City Mayor Jeff Cooper attended the Bisnow event, and reiterated how critical the historical footprint was in gaining buy-in to move the city forward. With a series of new offices, retail, boutique and mixed-use spaces underway, its appeal continues to push beyond movies and tech into retail and hospitality. For AMPAM, this could translate into thousands of BIM designs, some serious pipe fabrication and modernized-retro toilets!
We appreciate a great bathroom like this one at C3, even if we didn’t design it. Maybe AMPAM should focus on commercial construction too.