With a number of historic industrial buildings in the Arts District already undergoing conversions to office space, developers have now headed into mostly uncharted territory: ground-up construction.

Earlier this week, plans were filed with the City of Los Angeles for the construction of a mid-rise office building along the railroad tracks on the eastern fringe of the neighborhood.  The proposed development, slated for a .54-acre site at 2144 E. Violet Street, would consist of a nine-story, 108-foot tall building featuring nearly 91,000 square feet of office space, 6,100 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and a 274-car garage.

The project is being developed by Violet Street Investor, a limited liability company which is linked to the Los Angeles-based real estate firm Lowe Enterprises.  This would be Lowe's second venture in the Arts District, following the approximately $100-million Garey Building.

Although a timeline for the development is unclear, its construction would require a vesting zone and height district change by the city.  The property is currently occupied by a small warehouse and a 20-foot tall pile of metal debris.

Directly across Violet Street, work is already underway on a smaller by-right development, which will create a two-story office building.  The project is repurposing a portion of an existing manufacturing facility.

The two developments are located in what has become an epicenter for the surging Arts District, which has proven itself to be a bright spot in the long stagnant Downtown office market.  Two blocks south, the technology startup Hyperloop One is headquartered in a nondescript warehouse complex on Sacramento Street.  One block west, the San Francisco-based Shorenstein Company is in the midst of transforming a century-old Ford manufacturing center into creative offices.