Will The KB Homes Condo Project On Erwin Ever Be Finished?

I drive by the KB Homes Ascent condominium construction project at 21301 Erwin Street every day on my way to work, and while it seems that there usually is some sort of work going on (at least a few days a week), no real progress ever gets made.

I actually watched the place catch on fire from the chair at my dentist’s office (Dr. Rosen DDS on Ventura Blvd) back on Monday March 24, 2008.  There’s a great blog entry about this fire on the LAFD’s official blog. (See some more pictures of the fire here).

An interesting, if bitter, article was posted on a blog called Union Organizer about 6 weeks after the fire:

Work has resumed on the problem plagued Ascent at Warner Center project at 21301 West Erwin Street. This is the location of a construction fire that caused major damage to two floors. Representatives from White Residential and KB Homes refused comment on Friday when asked if corners were cut in an effort to speed up construction. Industry experts have speculated that the structure might be condemned due to shoddy workmanship. When asked about the status of the project, management referred all comments to their legal staff. A sign remains on the gate that reads “Limited Entry; Off limits to unauthorized personnel by order of the Dept of Building and Safety, City of Los Angeles. Warning: this structure or site has been damaged and may be dangerous to occupy. Further damage may occur at any time. Enter at your own risk. This facility was inspected under emergency conditions on 03-24-08, 10:30am”. No Helix Electric employees were seen on Friday. Two men believed to be from Withee Malcolm Architects were on site briefly. A banner on the building directs the public to the KB Homes/Ascent Sales Gallery at 21101 Oxnard Street just far enough away to mask the smell of burnt lumber.

Curbed LA wrote almost a year ago (see their fire images and blog entry here):

Here’s a different type of ghost building: It was last March that Ascent at Warner Center, developer KB Homes’ 191-unit condominium project went up in flames, the blaze sparked by a welding tool. A reader recently wondered about the status of the five-story project, and it turns out the development has been sitting there unfinished since March. Since at least last July the sales office has been closed, according to the Union Organizers blog. Here’s the statement KB Homes gave us: “While KB Home has temporarily suspended construction at Accent at Warner Center we remain optimistic about the future of the community. KB Home has been in business for over 50 years and will remain focused on building quality homes and providing superior customer service to all of our home owners in the Los Angeles area.” According to the Daily News, which also recently did a story on the project, KB Homes reported a net loss of $307.3 million in their most recent quarter.

I’m just wondering when this project will be finished.  Looking at some of those pictures, you can really see how that particular area is so densely packed with housing.  Pretty frightening in an emergency, to say the least.

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• See Also: LAFD Blog, Union Organizer Blog Entry
• Article Link: Feb 2009 LA.Curbed.com Article