LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 6.0

[craigs]

Originally Posted by Quixote

Not the sexiest development, but 1317 Grand is a terrific example of how we can make housing more affordable, livable, urban, and interesting. This is what I hope becomes of the Fashion District.

The building, with 147 units, is a mere 50 feet wide along Grand and covers approximately 9,400 SF. Extrapolating that to one square mile and assuming one person per unit, that yields a density of nearly 436,000 per square mile. It just goes to show you how much of a waste parking podiums are.


Apartments.com

I assume those are all very small studio units.

[Scotchman]

Originally Posted by craigs

I assume those are all very small studio units.

The apartments will average just 328 square feet in size.

[Radio5]

Originally Posted by Scotchman

The apartments will average just 328 square feet in size.

There's definitely a market for that. I lived downtown in a shitty studio about that size, so a new construction that size would be great for a single young person.

[colemonkee]

The renderings of the project implied a much different color scheme, and metal panels, but the smooth white stucco works here really well. Finishes actually look decent!

[homebucket]

I like that there is no parking included in that project as well. That means every resident must enter and exit by foot or bicycle! Should really help with the pedestrian activation around that area.

[HusBy]

Originally Posted by Quixote

Not the sexiest development, but 1317 Grand is a terrific example of how we can make housing more affordable, livable, urban, and interesting. This is what I hope becomes of the Fashion District.

The building, with 147 units, is a mere 50 feet wide along Grand and covers approximately 9,400 SF. Extrapolating that to one square mile and assuming one person per unit, that yields a density of nearly 436,000 per square mile. It just goes to show you how much of a waste parking podiums are.

These should be the standard for new developments from DTLA to Hollywood. Imagine the pedestrian activity.

Compare this to the Venice Dell project in Venice... which has a similar 140 units... on 10 times as much land area. Insanity!

[citywatch]

• Video Link

[citywatch]

SeanPavonePhoto/Adobe Stock

Los Angeles is home to about 86 Am Law 100 firms that lease a combined 4.5 million square feet, JLL reported. San Francisco is not far behind, with 74 Am Law 100 practices occupying 4.8 million square feet. But San Francisco office vacancy hit a record high of 32.4% through the first quarter of this year, JLL found. In Los Angeles, commercial leasing is down 20% in the last two consecutive quarters.

But law firms looking to enter California are increasingly less interested in setting up shop in downtown areas. Historically, this wasn’t the case. Downtown LA remains a central hub for transit commuters and close proximity to a swath of financial firms that still operate downtown and could be clientele. And despite high vacancy rates, rents remain elevated.

“There’s a bit of a belief that the power epicenter for Los Angeles business has shifted west,” Bender said. “Downtown is still Downtown, and still has a number of firms that are committed to it.”

.

[DJM19]

Originally Posted by Quixote

Not the sexiest development, but 1317 Grand is a terrific example of how we can make housing more affordable, livable, urban, and interesting. This is what I hope becomes of the Fashion District.

The building, with 147 units, is a mere 50 feet wide along Grand and covers approximately 9,400 SF. Extrapolating that to one square mile and assuming one person per unit, that yields a density of nearly 436,000 per square mile. It just goes to show you how much of a waste parking podiums are.


Apartments.com

I love this development. Simple design, lots of units, doesn't gobble up the whole block. There are so many narrow lots in that area that could be converted to this. Imagine 20 more of these scale developments downtown. Thats 3,000 more units of housing thats on the more affordable end. Its not the scale of place that works for everyone but for thousands of people thats all they need for now.

[Quixote]

Originally Posted by Scotchman

The apartments will average just 328 square feet in size.

So triple the average size of each unit and reduce the extrapolated density by a third... still 145,000 per square mile.

[Quixote]

Originally Posted by DJM19

I love this development. Simple design, lots of units, doesn't gobble up the whole block. There are so many narrow lots in that area that could be converted to this. Imagine 20 more of these scale developments downtown. Thats 3,000 more units of housing thats on the more affordable end. Its not the scale of place that works for everyone but for thousands of people thats all they need for now.

There are lots single-story buildings occupying small-footprint lots, but unfortunately they are likely to be consolidated should they be redeveloped. Small-footprint buildings really make for the best urbanism. More buildings bring greater visual variety, produce more affordable housing (because of increased competition from having many different property developers/owners), increase livability because they create small storefronts that a variety of place-making small businesses can afford to rent, and create a pedestrian experience that feels more human scale and vertically oriented.

[colemonkee]

Interesting that BIG (Bjark Ingels Group) chose Santa Monica as their 2nd US location for an office (New York was the first). They have the under construction Robert Day Sciences Center at Claremont McKenna University and the proposed (but in my opinion unlikely to be built soon) high rise project in the Arts District as local projects. Here's hoping having that presence here means they'll have more proposals in LA.

https://www.dezeen.com/2024/06/14/bi...um=rhs_block_3

[craigs]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

Interesting that BIG (Bjark Ingels Group) chose Santa Monica as their 2nd US location for an office (New York was the first). They have the under construction Robert Day Sciences Center at Claremont McKenna University and the proposed (but in my opinion unlikely to be built soon) high rise project in the Arts District as local projects. Here's hoping having that presence here means they'll have more proposals in LA.

https://www.dezeen.com/2024/06/14/bi...um=rhs_block_3

The architecture firm I worked for a million years ago would open offices in cities in which they expected to have large projects or a series of projects. After the projects wrapped up, they usually closed down those offices. But this could just be BIG planting a flag in the Western US.

[Illithid Dude]

I know of two more projects that BIG has under development that I am not really at liberty to discuss. One is a private residence while the other is a smaller five story building in Silver Lake. I assume that BIG intends to design other buildings around the West Coast from their LA office as well.

[NIMBY Slayer]

Originally Posted by Quixote

Not the sexiest development, but 1317 Grand is a terrific example of how we can make housing more affordable, livable, urban, and interesting. This is what I hope becomes of the Fashion District.

The building, with 147 units, is a mere 50 feet wide along Grand and covers approximately 9,400 SF. Extrapolating that to one square mile and assuming one person per unit, that yields a density of nearly 436,000 per square mile. It just goes to show you how much of a waste parking podiums are.


Apartments.com

As simple as this is, I like it. I would take hundreds of these all over the city than the monolith Tetris Stucco Shitboxes (TSS) that have plagued our fair town for nearly 3 decades now.

[Illithid Dude]

I don't think the new building looks bad at all. It's simple and elegant. Reminds me of much of what gets built in Tokyo or Seoul.

[LAsam]

If 1317 Grand leases up quickly at pro forma rents it will be proof of concept for this kind of development and we could easily see other developers following suit.

[Quixote]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

I don't think the new building looks bad at all. It's simple and elegant. Reminds me of much of what gets built in Tokyo or Seoul.

Exactly. Having visited Tokyo recently, I'm fascinated by how a city of largely banal-looking slender buildings can come across as so attractive.

[citywatch]

deadline.com

East End Studios has broken ground on its downtown Los Angeles Arts District facility, East End Studios Mission Campus. Demolition and excavation are currently underway with the vertical phase of construction set to begin this summer. The project, with a total cost of approximately $230 million, is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

East End Studios Mission Campus will be a 245,000-square-foot Class-A facility featuring five stages ranging in size from 14,000 square feet to 35,000 square feet. The campus is expected to create 1500 construction jobs in the city of Los Angeles and upon completion, will create 750 permanent jobs.


eastendstudiosadla.com

.

[ChelseaFC]

Just across the river from the Arts District

https://eastendstudios.com/campus/mission-campus/