The Los Angeles City Council has approved revised plans for two Arts District towers at 2143 E. Violet Street, with 474 apartments near the Los Angeles River. Reports dated Oct. 29 and 30, 2026 describe the vote, and developer Onni Group dropped the large office block from its earlier design.
What the Arts District towers include
The plan calls for a 30-story tower at 344 feet and a 20-story tower at 226 feet. Together they hold 474 one-, two- and three-bedroom homes, according to Urbanize LA. Solomon Cordwell Buenz designed the project.
The ground floor adds just over 2,000 square feet of commercial space, and parking sits underground. Common walkways run through the site, so residents and neighbors can cross it on foot. Existing commercial buildings on the north side of the property stay in place.
77 affordable homes under Measure JJJ
Onni must set aside 77 of the apartments for very low- and extremely low-income households. The requirement comes from Measure JJJ, because the site needed a zone change. In other words, the affordable units are a condition of the approval, not an optional extra.
That share is about 16 percent of the homes. The city sets income limits each year, so the rent for those units depends on the household size and the current limits.
Why the office space went away
The project started as a different idea. A 2017 concept described a 13-story building with 509 homes and 288,000 square feet of commercial space, as earlier coverage shows. Later versions grew taller and added housing.
The final design swaps most office space for apartments. Onni pointed to changing market conditions in the Arts District, and several other owners have also pulled back from new office buildings since the pandemic. The City Planning Commission approved the residential version earlier this year, and its June 11, 2026 agenda listed 474 live/work units, including the 77 affordable ones, as the city staff report shows. Planners recommended that the council approve a zone change for the site.
What happens next
None of the reports gives a start date for construction. Still, the council vote clears a major step, and the project now moves toward permits. Dates could shift, so watch the city planning case file CPC-2025-2329 for updates.
For renters and buyers, the towers will not open soon. However, they show where downtown developers now put their money. For rent levels in nearby areas, see our guide to average rent in Los Angeles by neighborhood. More business and property coverage sits in the money and business hub.
Sources
- la.urbanize.city/post/la-city-council-approves-arts-district-towers-2143-e-violet-st
- therealdeal.com/la/2026/10/30/onni-group-gets-city-approval-for-arts-district-apartments
- planning.lacity.gov/plndoc/Staff_Reports/2026/06-11-2026/CPC_2025_2329.pdf
- urbanize.la/post/onni-group-proposes-36-story-arts-district-tower