The Emerson is a 20-story high-rise residential tower in Downtown Los Angeles featuring 271 market-rate and affordable units, four levels of parking, and ground-level retail. The building includes extensive amenities such as a rooftop terrace, recreation lounge, pool, and fitness center.

Designed by LARGE Architecture and Arquitectonica, The Emerson integrates contemporary form and urban connectivity. Its white precast façade mirrors The Broad Museum’s geometry, while its efficient floor plates maximize usable space and natural light. A shared public plaza bridges the two structures, creating a cohesive public realm for residents, visitors, and museum patrons.

Sustainability guided every decision. Through collaborative design and precise execution, the project exceeded performance expectations and achieved LEED® Gold Certification, consuming 20% less energy than Title 24 standards. Pankow Builders’ use of BIM coordination ensured seamless integration of MEP systems and prevented costly redesigns during construction.

The Emerson exemplifies how design excellence and construction innovation can transform density into opportunity, offering a sustainable, human-centered living experience in the cultural core of Los Angeles.

A Tower Built for City Life

The Emerson is designed to embrace the full promise of urban living bringing together sustainability, amenity-rich programming, and connectivity in downtown Los Angeles. Pankow Builders’ delivery of the 20-story, 271-unit residential tower integrated high-performance design with thoughtful mixed-income inclusion. On the ground level, residents and visitors enjoy café-and-restaurant options, office and tech spaces, and a fitness centre, while upper floors offer homes for families and individuals across income levels. Four levels of structured parking support both residents and visitors in a tight downtown footprint.

From a sustainability standpoint, the project achieved LEED Gold certification with 61 points, signaling Pankow’s commitment to high-performance design in the residential market. At the same time, the tower’s placement on Grand Avenue—steps from the Broad, Disney Concert Hall, the Museum of Contemporary Art and major transit lines—connects residents to culture, mobility and urban energy. The Emerson is not simply a place to live, it’s a city-building piece that reinforces downtown LA’s residential renaissance, offering quality, diversity and a future-forward approach to housing.