DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES – The City Planning Commission last week granted key approvals to a proposed 43-story building that would rise near the Convention Center, on current parking lots between Figueroa and Flower streets.

The project, proposed by two South Korean investors working under the umbrella California Human Technologies, LLC, would include a 35-story tower over an eight-level podium and two subterranean levels. It would house 273 residential units, 8,496 square feet of restaurant space and a 9,566-square-foot spa, with 379 parking spaces, according to city documents. The Planning Commission gave its okay to the project, being designed by well-known architect Daniel Libeskind, on Thursday, April 9. Officials anticipate breaking ground in 2010, said project spokeswoman Veronica Becerra.

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