Citrus Commons

Photographer Credit: Tom Bonner

Architecture Firm: Johnson Fain

See Full Credit List Below.

TOUR DETAILS

Citrus Commons is a mixed-use project occupying Southern California’s historic Sunkist headquarters site. The project design restores the landmark modernist building, pays tribute to the region’s agricultural heritage and integrates it into a pedestrian-centric and residential urban village. The historic office building is re-imagined as a creative office environment, surrounded by gardens and outdoor gathering spaces and centered on the historic central atrium, redesigned and refurnished.

Two mixed-use residential buildings are located along Riverside Drive. A major grocer anchors the ground floor along with smaller community-serving retail tenants and the residential lobbies. The residences are a mix of one and two-bedroom units plus ground level townhouses. Parking is dispersed throughout the site in either below-grade levels or perimeter above-grade parking structures. Street trees and furnishings, paving and plant materials provide continuity and encourage public access through the project, the surrounding neighborhood and the landscaped parkway along the adjacent Los Angeles River.

Program:
Creative Office (168,000 sf), Subterranean and above grade Parking Garages (565 cars), Multi-Family Residential (285,275 sf, 252 count), Retail, Grocer, Community Park

Site Area:
8 acres

Sustainable Metrics:
LEED-GOLD, FitWELL

Completion Date:
2025

Tour Duration: 

Approximately 60 minutes

TOUR HOST

Brendan Bailey, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, LFA – Associate, Johnson Fain

Brendan, a registered architect with over 15 years of experience, is dedicated to advancing sustainable design in architecture. Specializing in Multi-Family, Mixed-Use, Creative Office, Emergency Response, and Transit-Oriented Development, he has expertise in Healthy Materials, Biophilic Design, and Coastal Sustainability. Brendan holds key accreditations—LEED AP BD+C, Living Future, and EcoDistricts—alongside a Healthier Materials certificate from Parsons School of Design. His practical experience includes impactful design research as a graduate assistant for LSU’s Coastal Sustainability Studio, focusing on post-disaster rebuilding of communities in Southeastern Louisiana affected by inland flood events, emphasizing resilience, health, and well-being. With a BEnvD from the University of Colorado Boulder and an MArch from Louisiana State University, Brendan believes in advancing the AEC industry through volunteerism, demonstrated by his service as this year’s AIA LA COTE Committee Past Chair. He also contributes to subcommittees on climate action (AIA CA Climate Action Advocacy), and green schools (USGBC Green in Schools), and is a thought leader at Johnson Fain’s Sustainability + Resilience Lab.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1) Analyze strategies for adaptive reuse of mid-century modernist structures, using the Sunkist Headquarters transformation to evaluate preservation, code compliance, and contemporary performance requirements.
2) Evaluate site planning approaches that transform auto-oriented campuses into pedestrian-focused, mixed-use environments that enhance safety, accessibility, and community connectivity.
3) Assess the role of landscape architecture in promoting environmental performance and occupant well-being, including the integration of native planting, stormwater management (e.g., rain gardens), and microclimate design.
4) Examine design techniques that improve health and wellness outcomes in residential and mixed-use developments, including daylighting, access to open space, and biophilic design strategies.
5) Identify sustainable design strategies contributing to LEED Gold and Fitwel certification, including energy efficiency, water conservation, and material selection.
6) Explain how large-scale infill development can respond to complex urban edge conditions (freeways, river infrastructure, adjacent neighborhoods) to improve safety, environmental performance, and social cohesion.

TOUR MEETING SPOT

Meet in front of the ‘Ministry of Coffee’ off of Stansbury Ave.

Address: 14150 Riverside Dr #154, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 + Map

PARKING

Park on Level 1 of the stand-alone on-site parking structure, 14130 Riverside Dr, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423, behind the office building (SouthWest corner of the Site). The parking structure can be accessed off of Hazeltine Ave, or Stansbury Avenue off of Riverside Drive.

FULL CREDIT LIST (Architects, Builders, Engineers, etc.)

General Contractor / Owner: IMT Residential
Architect: Johnson Fain
Landscape Architect: Border
Structural Engineer: Labib Funk + Associates
M/E/P: Introba
Civil: KPFF