( CNN ) -- Los Angeles may have become famous for many things over the years -- Hollywood and the Oscars to name but two -- but downtown living is not one of them . What big star of the silver screen could resist the lure of suburban mansions in Bel Air and Beverly Hills after all ? Now , a host of new city developments aim to change all that . At least half a dozen major real estate projects are underway in the LA 's downtown areas and several others are in the works . One of the largest development will see property firm Mack Urban turn a collection of parking lots in the city 's South Park district into 1,500 new apartments . `` We anticipate our build out taking between eight to ten years so this is a long term investment and development plan , '' explained Paul Keller , CEO of Mack Urban . The company intends to invest up to $ 750 million in South Park , enticed by the proximity of the nearby LA Live complex which includes the Staples Center -- home of the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers , the Nokia Theatre , and several hotels , restaurants and bars . This will attract a clientele who are looking to live , work and play in the same area , Mack Urban hopes . `` What 's driving investment and development here in South Park has really been the continuation of a massive investment that AEG ( Anschutz Entertainment Group ) made beginning with the development of the arena here in downtown , '' said Keller , in reference to the Staples Center . All in all , South Park can expect to see nearly 300,000 square meters ( 3.2 million square feet ) of residential and hospitality living come online by 2020 , according to commercial real estate firm JLL . JLL also say land sales in the area now average nearly $ 500 dollars per square meter ( $ 47 per square feet ) , more than double what the going rate was just five years ago . International investors like Greenland Group are paying close attention to these numbers . The Chinese real estate investment firm have already spent more than $ 140 million on a 2.5 acre parking lot that they plan to transform into a massive condominium project called Metropolis . `` We see a lot of opportunity here for education and also for urban living , '' said Ifei Chang , CEO & President , Greenland USA . `` We believe this should be also with the domestic population , it should be an international community here right in the city . '' Greenland expects to spend up to a billion dollars on building the Metropolis and expects that projects like theirs -- along with planned infrastructure improvements like the LA streetcar project currently in build -- will make downtown living the next trend in Los Angeles . If the planets biggest movie stars are spotted moving into the South Park district in the coming years , then they can judged to have been correct . See also : Suburbia gone wild . See also : Architects build first 3D printed house . See also : Giving Motown a replay .
New property developments are on the rise in downtown Los Angeles . International and local real estate companies are investing in a host of new city projects . Some of the most popular can be found in the city 's South Park area .