City West, the mostly undiscovered Downtown Los Angeles neighborhood immediately west of the 110 freeway, is booming with new construction. Last week we reported on the progress of Vista Hermosa Park at 1st and Toluca, but there are several noteworthy projects in the works here that haven’t been covered in a while. Proposed projects have not been included. Let’s take a look:

Belmont Station Apartments

The massive five-story mixed-income housing complex located at Second Street and Glendale Boulevard is topped out. The site (a former train yard) contains the portal to the historic Belmont Tunnel which connected Bunker Hill to the Westlake district back in the day of the Pacific Electric Railway. The subway tunnel and yard have been closed since the mid-1950s and has sat abandoned ever since. The $70 million development brings life to the long vacant lot with approximately 277 apartments, 20% of which will be affordable.

Additional Belmont Station Apartments construction photos here.

Canvas L.A.

Another five-story apartment building is nearing completion on a former parking lot at Beaudry and First across from the Vista Hermosa school campus. The contemporary luxury building will contain residential units ranging from 500 to 1,500 square feet with rents from $1,800 to $5,000 a month and approximately 6,000 square feet of retail. Completion is expected by the end of the year.

Additional Canvas L.A. construction photos here.

Bixel Court

A third five-story apartment development on Bixel and Fifth has topped out after breaking ground last year. The $24 million project will contain 80 units (including five townhouses) and is expected to wrap construction mid-2008.

Additional Bixel Court construction photos here.

1010 Wilshire

This $50 million adaptive reuse of a 16-story office building is making substantial progress and is expected to debut early next year. The renovated tower is slated to contain 227 condominium units, several ground level retail spaces and a rooftop pool. However, rumors from real estate professionals close to the project say the building may hit the market as rental apartments. With no pre-sales information available as the building nears completion, the rumor may be accurate.

Renderings of the transformation can be seen at Killefer Flammang Architects’ website. The new bluish-gray facade panels have yet to be installed.

Additional 1010 Wilshire reconstruction photos available here.

Vista Hermosa School

Located immediately west of the new Vista Hermosa Park at Beaudry and First (across from Canvas L.A.), the 24-acre Vista Hermosa School campus is shaping up after years of environmental delays and rising construction costs. Interior work in the colorful main building (pictured below) is in the final stages, with the campus expected to open in fall 2008. Including the adjacent park component, the entire Vista Hermosa project with all earlier expenditures will cost an exorbitant $350 million!

Additional Vista Hermosa School construction photos available here.

For a complete list of projects in our scope, visit our Construction Coverage database.