Giant dirt triangle in West Hollywood to transform into 282-home development in glistening new plans

One of Southern California’s most notorious stalled development sites, a massive block-spanning excavation pit dubbed “Lake WeHo” by frustrated locals, could finally be headed toward a dramatic transformation after five years.Drastically altered plans have been unveiled for the vacant Melrose Triangle site in West Hollywood, with developers swapping out hundreds of square feet of office space for housing, marking the latest attempt to revive the lot.

Under the new plan, which was presented at a May 27 Melrose Triangle community meeting, the project would feature three interconnected seven-story buildings with 282 apartments, including 66 affordable housing units for seniors, along with nearly 100,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.The development would also include 528 parking spaces spread across three subterranean levels.Renderings drafted by Corbel Architects and landscape architects SWA Group show the project designed as a pedestrian oriented destination, centered around a massive, open-air central courtyard.Pedestrians would be able to come into the property from main entry points along Santa Monica Boulevard and the bustling intersection of Melrose Avenue and Almont Drive.Earlier versions of the project heavily emphasized work space, and included as much as 225,000 square feet of offices and only 76 apartments.

“The open space at Melrose Triangle is envisioned as a curated outdoor gallery-where landscape, materials, art, and social life are intentionally designed as a sequence of outdoor ‘rooms,'” the presentation states.“Rather than a single plaza, the experience unfolds as a walkable sequence of distinct zones-arrival, social gathering, flexible exhibition, and garden retreat — each with its own character and level of activity,” the team noted in their official presentation materials, hoping to attract seasonal pop-ups and activations as well.The new proposal comes after years of setbacks that left the project at the 2.7-acre...