CIM Group has proposed plans to convert an 11-story office building at 8436 W. 3rd St. into a residential complex with restaurant and retail space.

CIM Group has proposed converting this 11-story office building on West 3rd Street into a residential complex with restaurant and retail space on the ground floor. (photo by Edwin Folven)

The building is the tallest structure on the stretch of 3rd Street between Fairfax Avenue and La Cienega Boulevard. CIM Group plans to convert the existing office space into 36 residential units on the sixth through ninth floors.

Floors two through five will be used for parking. The upper two floors house building equipment and a helipad, and would remain unchanged, according to Karen Diehl, a spokeswoman for CIM Group.

The proposal came before the Mid-City West Community Council’s (MCWCC) Planning and Land Use Committee in July, and will be re-examined by the council on Oct. 21.

Plans submitted to the neighborhood council list the building as being vacant, but Diehl said a few of the offices are still occupied. The building formerly housed a field office for Congressman Henry Waxman, who moved to 5055 Wilshire Blvd. in 2013.

Diehl declined to comment further on the proposed project, citing CIM Group policy about yet to be approved projects. The building would largely remain as it is, except the interior will be changed from office space to housing, and a restaurant or retail store would move into the ground floor space. The existing 107 parking spaces would be maintained, which exceeds the required 60 spaces required by the city for 36 units, according to applications submitted to the city.

Cary Brazeman, chair of the MCWCC’s Planning and Land Use Committee, said he is keeping an open mind prior to the meeting.

“While I cannot predict the outcome of the neighborhood council’s deliberations, there is interest in the adaptive reuse ordinance, which has been used with success in other parts of our community,” Brazeman said. “The Hotel Wilshire on Wilshire Boulevard is an adaptive reuse project. The building was formerly used for medical offices before being converted into a hotel.”

The building, which was built in 1983, is in Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz’s 5th District. Paul Michael Neuman, a spokesman for Koretz, said the councilman has not taken a position on the proposal. Neuman added that he has not heard any opposition to the plan, but it is still in the early stages.

“We are aware the application [to the city planning department] has been made. So far, it doesn’t seem to be controversial,” Neuman said. “We’re monitoring it, and listening to the community.”

Brazeman said the public is invited to the meeting on Oct. 21, which will be held at 6 p.m. at the National Council of Jewish Women, Los Angeles’ council house, 543 N. Fairfax Ave. For information, visit www.midcitywest.org.