The long industrial stretch along the western edge of Los Angeles State Historic Park continues to shift toward residential use, and a new proposal at 201 Sotello Street illustrates how quickly that transformation is taking shape. The Riboli Family is the project owner. Praxis Development Group is the developer. TCA Architects is responsible for the design. PLACE Landscape & Architecture is the landscape architect.
The 3-acre site, once used for bus storage and surrounded by surface lots, is now the subject of a plan that would introduce 464 apartments in a seven-story building directly across from the park. The shift from industrial operations to housing reflects the broader evolution of the Cornfield district, where multiple former warehouse parcels have begun turning toward neighborhood scale living.
201 Sotello Street View 2 via TCA Architects
The revised plan calls for a full range of floor plans from studios through three-bedrooms, framed around two landscaped courtyards and several rooftop terraces positioned to capture park views. Parking for 256 vehicles is included. The new layout supports a higher unit count while keeping circulation and massing manageable on a site framed by three existing streets.
The exterior design shown in current renderings presents a series of stepped volumes arranged to break down the building’s length along Sotello Street. Deep balconies, recesses, and framed projections add rhythm to the façade, and the street level is lined with glazing and landscaped setbacks intended to soften the transition from the sidewalk. Warm cladding panels and light toned trim are used to emphasize the upper floors, while the base is treated more simply to keep attention on the residential levels facing the park.
201 Sotello Street via TCA Architects
A key element shaping the proposal is the policy framework for this part of Chinatown. The site falls under the Cornfield Arroyo Seco Specific Plan, which replaced older industrial rules with zoning that allows housing. Updating the property’s outdated subdivision conditions also triggers basic street improvements, including finishing the missing block of Naud Street so the area functions as a connected neighborhood rather than a leftover industrial pocket.
If approved, the project at 201 Sotello Street would join a growing group of residential buildings forming a new park facing edge for Chinatown. Recent openings and ongoing construction nearby suggest that this corridor is rapidly becoming a residential extension of the neighborhood, and the conversion of another industrial yard into housing marks another step in that shift. The proposal remains subject to administrative review as the planning process continues.
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