About the Building
The Metro anchors the Crescent Park district of Playa Vista: a four-storey building of 121 condominiums completed in 2003 in the community's first phase, and one of the largest condominium buildings of that phase. Its architecture is a deliberate homage to Southern California work of the 1930s and 1940s — Art Deco-inflected massing in alabaster and cream tones, fine fretwork detailing, and a five-storey tower element marking the entrance. Community guides describe it as a focal point of Crescent Park, facing the park itself with the restored Freshwater Marsh and the West Los Angeles skyline in view from upper homes.
Buying anywhere in Playa Vista means understanding the two-tier association structure. Metro owners pay dues to the building's own association and, separately, to the Playa Vista master association — commonly referenced as Playa Vista Parks and Landscape, or PVPAL — which operates the CenterPointe Club, The Resort fitness and pool campus, roughly twenty-nine parks, community security patrols and, per local guides, bulk cable and internet service. On top of both, most first-phase parcels carry Mello-Roos special taxes on the property-tax bill, funding the infrastructure that built the community; local sources report the underlying bonds maturing in the early 2030s, which buyers should verify per parcel.
Most residences are two-bedroom, two-bath plans, many with dens, alongside larger three- and four-bedroom layouts. Guides put two-bedrooms at roughly 1,230 to 2,617 square feet and the largest plans near 3,700, with some listing feeds showing smaller homes near 930 square feet. Formal floor plans distinguish The Metro from loft-styled neighbors: two-storey living rooms, small gallery libraries, private decks and defined dining rooms appear across the plan set. Parking is gated and subterranean with guest stalls, and two assigned spaces — often side-by-side — are typical in listings, though assignments should be confirmed unit by unit.
Two community-wide facts apply. Playa Vista sits over historic gas operations and naturally occurring methane, so buildings here were engineered with mitigation systems — sub-slab barriers, venting and monitoring — installed and reviewed under City of Los Angeles oversight; peer reviewers retained by the city found the dewatering and mitigation approach did not create significant impacts. Disclosure packages address this, and it is a normal part of Playa Vista diligence rather than a building-specific issue. Schools run through LAUSD, with Playa Vista Elementary — a K-5 campus inside the community operated with a Loyola Marymount University partnership — as the assigned elementary.
The Metro's case rests on scale and setting: a large, established first-phase association fronting Crescent Park, a short walk from Runway's grocery, restaurants and cinema and from the tech campuses that give the neighborhood its weekday energy. Amenity life routes largely through the master association's facilities — CenterPointe Club's pools, screening room and fitness floor — rather than an in-building amenity suite, which keeps the building association focused on the structure itself. For buyers comparing Playa Vista's first-phase buildings, The Metro offers formal plans and a wide size range; verify current policies directly with the association, because it publishes little on its own.
Amenities & Services
The Residences
The Metro was drawn with defined dining rooms, dens and traditional room separation rather than open loft volumes, a deliberate contrast with other first-phase buildings and part of its 1930s-40s design brief.
The core of the building: two-bedroom, two-bath plans that guides place at roughly 1,230 to 2,617 square feet, with downstairs dens in several layouts adding office or guest flexibility.
Larger plans run to about 3,700 square feet by guide counts — among the biggest condominium footprints in Playa Vista's first phase — and surface in listings far less often than the two-bedroom core.
Select multi-level plans carry double-height living rooms and small gallery libraries, giving vertical volume that most four-storey buildings lack. These layouts photograph well and command attention when they trade.
Orientation drives value here: homes face Crescent Park, the restored Freshwater Marsh or the West Los Angeles skyline depending on position, and upper-floor exposures carry the longest sight lines.
Parking is subterranean behind controlled entries with cameras and guest stalls. Listings typically convey two assigned spaces, often side-by-side; confirm the exact assignment and any storage with the association.
Due Diligence
Gated subterranean garage with controlled entry, cameras and guest stalls; listings typically convey two spaces, often side-by-side. Confirm assignments, tandem versus side-by-side configuration, and storage rights with the association.
No building-specific pet policy is published. Listing feeds mark pets as permitted subject to association rules; obtain the current limits on number, size and breed in writing before relying on them.
Rental rules are not publicly documented. Ask for the building association's leasing provisions and any master-association tenant-registration requirements, including minimum terms and caps, before buying with rental plans.
Two sets of dues: The Metro's own association plus the Playa Vista master association (PVPAL), which funds CenterPointe Club, The Resort, the parks system, patrols and — per local guides — bulk cable and internet.
Modern-code 2003 construction. Playa Vista buildings also carry engineered methane mitigation — sub-slab barriers, venting and monitoring — installed under city oversight; ask for system maintenance records as part of standard local diligence.
No major capital projects are publicly documented. The building has passed twenty years, the age when podium decks, elevators and waterproofing enter reserve conversations — read the reserve study and recent minutes.
Controlled access, cameras and resident management are referenced in listings rather than doorman or concierge service. Confirm the current management company and on-site staffing arrangement directly with the association.
Alterations need association approval; expect flooring, sound and working-hours rules. Any work touching ground-level slabs can implicate the methane membrane system, so flag project scope with the association early.
Everything above is drawn from public records, city permit data and published sources. The association’s statutory disclosure package is the only authoritative answer on dues, rules, reserves, insurance and litigation — Ben will request it and read it with you before you remove contingencies.
Common Questions
Keep Exploring
More about the neighbourhood: Playa Vista
Off Market & Coming Soon
Residences here reach the open market rarely, and some never do. Ask Ben to tell you when one is coming, including quietly.
Work With Ben
Units here often trade before they are ever listed. Tell Ben what you are looking for and hear first when something opens up, including off market.
Start the ConversationOff Market & Coming Soon
Residences here reach the open market rarely, and some never do. Ask Ben to tell you when one is coming, including quietly.
Ben will reach out shortly to set up your tour.
