Parts of downtown streets closed to make room for Next on Lex
The southbound lanes of North Orange Street are closed from West Lexington Drive to West Milford Street due to construction.
Parts of three major downtown arteries will be closed for the next year to make way for the biggest mixed-use development in the area.
The southbound lane on Orange Street between Milford Street and Lexington Drive, the westbound lane of Lexington between Orange and Central Avenue and the parking lane on Milford from Central to Orange will be closed through next July.
City spokesman Tom Lorenz said email blasts have been sent to nearby residents and businesses in order to keep them mindful of the closures.
“We’re asking people during peak hours to use alternative routes and alternative methods of transportation,” he said in a phone interview.
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The westbound lanes of West Lexington Drive are closed from North Orange Street to Central Avenue due to construction.
The closures are to accommodate construction of Next on Lex, a 494-unit, mixed-use project that will consist of three six-story buildings, commercial/retail space and pedestrian walkways.
Lorenz said it’s typical for a development that large to require blocking off streets.
“[The developer] is going to improve the sidewalk area and the pedestrian area, upgrade our streets to be... compliant [with the Americans With Disabilities Act],” he said.
While the closures will be in effect through July 1, 2017, the first phase of Next on Lex likely won’t be completed until 2018.
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Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com
Twitter: @ArinMikailian
