[citywatch]

Originally Posted by Blueseattle

Not sure if they're cleaning the surface of the building or if it was already like that..

thanks for the pics! I understand the facade of the old hall of justice bldg will be cleaned for the first time in decades....they said it will have a shiny white look, just like when it was first built, once they're finished.

I'm so relieved the parking lot that once was across from city hall has gone bye bye....I'm still not sure why it hasn't formally opened yet.

I saw clifton's on friday & the fact its front side hasn't been worked on even to a tiny degree is was one of the reasons I came away from my visit rather & feeling even more impatient than in the past.

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

LA Downtown News print edition had a nice roundup of 10 new apartment projects either under construction or soon to be in downtown LA, including the usual suspects we've been discussing lately and new news regarding Barry Shys 40 story historic core project. Barry says his project is "By right" and he is looking to break ground relatively soon. That could be huge.

thanks for mentioning that info....the other big bit of news that was in it was a brief description of a proj that I've not heard about til today....

Houston-based Hanover Group, which opened the luxury 717 Olympic tower in 2008, is seeking approvals for a 281-unit complex at Olympic Boulevard and Hill Street. The company is looking to break ground next year, said Simon Ha, chair of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council's Planning and Land Use Committee, which received information on the project.

^ that's quite interesting cuz a few wks ago I happened to grab an image from google maps of what I'm guessing is the location of that proj. there's a small pic of the proj at downtownnews.com, which shows a 7 story bldg.


maps.google.com

The story didn't even mention the 2 apt projs planned for the large lot across from the doubletree hotel in little tokyo.

I'm bothered that Barry Shy....& blackcat, that is his name.....is claiming that the location of his tower is already zoned for his type of proj...or he makes it sound like there isn't much of a hurdle in going forward with his bldg. But the property appears to not be entitled for a bldg as large as he wants to build there.



there also seems to be some haziness about the exact timeline of the large apt proj planned for the parking lot at grand & 8th St, next door to the brockman bldg. It also now seems the tower at 9th & olive is on a sketchier schedule too, since it's supposed to break ground later in the fall, & not right around now, as was first said several months ago.

no excuse for glass tower type of delays within delays within delays....esp if the current situation is as good as these 2 delvpr are saying.....

Historic Core apartment king Barry Shy has been sitting on big plans for a new tower at Sixth and Main streets ever since he bought the site for $30 million in 2006. Now, he's eying an April groundbreaking on a 40-story, 350-unit complex dubbed SB Omega.

Shy's plan calls for 35 levels of apartments above a five-story, 1,200-space parking facility. The structure would stand twice as tall as most Historic Core buildings.

"The rental market, it's amazing," said Shy, who already owns some 1,200 apartments in five Downtown buildings. "I have no vacancy and the rent keeps going up."

Old Bank District developer Tom Gilmore is among those posting a 98% occupancy rate on his books -- but even that figure is somewhat deflated, he said. "We are effectively full," he said. "The only reason I'm not at 100% is because I can't turn the apartments over fast enough."