Fig Central has already eaten up a parking lot directly across from Staples, and down in the Historic Core, the glittery Topaz apartments are set to go up where a Joe's Parking lot was. The latest parking casualty is the Joe's Parking lot at Twelfth Street and Figueroa, just southeast of the Staples Center, which sold to three local mystery buyers (one is rumored to be David Y. Lee, head of one of SoCal's largest corporate landlords) for more than double what Joe's Parking parent company L&R paid for it back in 2010, according to the LA Times. (The actual price they paid is also shrouded in mystery.) UPDATE 3:57 pm: Building LA reported yesterday that the developer submitted plans late last year for "two 36-story towers, connected by a retail/parking podium." The land already has approvals for two residential high-rises (35 and 27 stories), 648 residential units (either condos or apartments), and 40,000 square feet of groundfloor retail, but the new owners might try to get city approval to use more of the total development space (863,000 square feet) space for a hotel and more retail, says an advisor to the seller. Thank goodness this future parking disaster is steps away from the Blue and Expo Lines.

· Investors Buy Parking Lot Across from Staples Center [LAT]