Two years after breaking ground in the Baldwin Hills neighborhood, the steel frame of Samitaur's Wrapper development now towers above Metro's La Cienega/Jefferson Station.

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The project, located at the southeast corner of Jefferson and National Boulevards, will consist of a 17-story building featuring 180,000 square feet of office space above retail space opening onto an adjoining bike trail, as well as a subterranean parking garage.

Designed by architect Eric Owen Moss, building will be supported by a series of curving steel ribbons wrapping exterior, which will permit for an open-layout interior free of columns.  The tower will rise more than 200 feet in height, culminating in a rooftop deck facing overlooking the Los Angeles basin.

Construction is currently on pace for completion in late 2021, according to a leasing brochure.

A project website describes Wrapper as the "pinnacle" of the Conjunctive Points - a series of avant garde office buildings developed by Samitaur and designed by Moss.  But despite its scale, the steel high-rise could soon be eclipsed by an even larger project less than one block south, where the same project team is pursuing a larger 22-story, 345,000-square-foot office tower.

Other developers - including Urban Offerings and Lincoln Property Company - are also seeking to build new offices on neighboring industrial sites in the Baldwin Hills neighborhood.

Other large projects now in development in the surrounding neighborhood include Cumulus - the immense 1,210-unit housing and retail complex from Carmel Partners that is now taking shape at the northwest corner of La Cienega and Jefferson Boulevards.