LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[Mojeda101]

Hm, so only one side of the sidewalk is getting extended. It's going to be fun seeing all this develop. I'll be on scene to update you all. I was DT last night, cladding is going up on the Marriott since my last picture, but it was too dark to take a good picture.

[LA/OCman]

The Stocking Frame, located in an old brick building on Hill and 9th opened this weekend. Here is the original article on Brigham's website. Now there is finally going to be some activity at this end of Hill Street (located adjacent to the new apartments being built on Olympic and Hill). This restaurant has a good history in Orange County. Since they opened Lola Gaspar in the Arts District in Santa Ana, the place has been packed.

http://brighamyen.com/2013/01/18/new-res...ng-to-downtown-los-angeles/#comment-5835

[DistrictDirt]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

Hm, so only one side of the sidewalk is getting extended. It's going to be fun seeing all this develop. I'll be on scene to update you all. I was DT last night, cladding is going up on the Marriott since my last picture, but it was too dark to take a good picture.

Only one side is getting the full 12' sidewalk extension, but both sides are getting 8' curb extensions on top of that. You can see in the plan view that the extensions are present for nearly half of each block.


Broadway Streetscape Plan

[The Illusive Man]

Hey everyone. Long time lurker. About time that I made an account. I love LA and want to see it continue to improve.

Here's a pretty good article on our new mayor. So far, he seems like the perfect fit:

http://laist.com/2013/07/08/mayor_garcetti_asks_top_city_officials_to_reapply.php

[StethJeff]

Originally Posted by The Illusive Man

Hey everyone. Long time lurker. About time that I made an account. I love LA and want to see it continue to improve.

Here's a pretty good article on our new mayor. So far, he seems like the perfect fit:

http://laist.com/2013/07/08/mayor_garcetti_asks_top_city_officials_to_reapply.php

Welcome to the forum.

There's actually an entire thread devoted to mayor garcetti where this article may get more discussion if you're interested:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=205685

[jamesinclair]

Originally Posted by BOYCOTT 90210

Mind you, Whole Foods just opened an 8,000 SF store in Boston.

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/real_estate/2013/03/whole-foods-to-open-in-brookline-soon.html

Thats not a real whole foods. They just slapped their name on an existing market.

[StethJeff]

Originally Posted by brudy

This is my gripe about Old Town/Pasadena and Gaslamp/San Diego. They feel fabricated and engineered. They don't feel like they developed organically. That said, I don't think Figat7th and The Bloc are going to feel the same way. There's simply too much else going on over there. It's a mix now of office, retail and residential. And the designs are so different it's not going to feel like a single outdoor mall.

I think what's going to happen is that high-end chain stuff will end up in south park and that historic core will be a mix of indie shops and edgier brand store (Acne for example), at least in the short to medium term. As it builds out, perhaps higher end stuff will migrate east. Can anyone think of an example established higher end chain that took that much of a location risk?

I really like the Bringing Back Broadway initiative, but I think the Core as a whole needs a plan like this. While the core as a whole will benefit from the Broadway plan, it seems too focused on just one street (albeit one that has the farthest to go and with perhaps the most potential).

Bringing Back Broadway's singular street focus actually makes a lot of sense to me. Most other parts of DTLA are either doing fine or going through tremendous change as we speak: Jtown, Civic Center, Bunker, South Park. The Core in general is improving all around as well.

Broadway is a unique situation though. It both represents the best that DTLA has and the most that needs repair. Those theaters are priceless and their current state is unacceptable. DTLA revitalization means nothing without Broadway. Once Broadway is fixed, it becomes one of the most interesting streets in America IMO. A thriving and clean commercial theater district would benefit the entire core and DTLA.

In other words, Broadway is Kobe's Achilles' tendon. Its totally fucked up but it's our biggest priority and once it's fixed, it makes everyone else better.

[blackcat23]

Some different views of 888 Olive.

http://martinezcutri.com/projects/888-south-olive-street/






And just for fun, here's a shot I took of One Santa Fe from work today.

[Wilcal]

Originally Posted by StethJeff

Bringing Back Broadway's singular street focus actually makes a lot of sense to me. Most other parts of DTLA are either doing fine or going through tremendous change as we speak: Jtown, Civic Center, Bunker, South Park. The Core in general is improving all around as well.

Broadway is a unique situation though. It both represents the best that DTLA has and the most that needs repair. Those theaters are priceless and their current state is unacceptable. DTLA revitalization means nothing without Broadway. Once Broadway is fixed, it becomes one of the most interesting streets in America IMO. A thriving and clean commercial theater district would benefit the entire core and DTLA.

In other words, Broadway is Kobe's Achilles' tendon. Its totally fucked up but it's our biggest priority and once it's fixed, it makes everyone else better.

I believe that Broadway has immense potential. The architectural gems that line the street would make any city envious. Thankfully, much of the "modernizing" alterations where superficial and therefor the ground floors of many buildings can restored. Once in place, the design standards must be strictly adhered to. In the past the city has taken an attitude that anything is better than nothing. Something that comes to my mind is a hideous piece of shit I think on the north east corner of Broadway and third Pollo Loco/Carls Jr.). When that thing was built, if the city design standards for Broadway, the project would have been denied. Hopefully, some day this monstrosity along with a few ugly garages will be razed for something better. Also, one thing that is so important is that the city maintain this and other projects. One thing that I noticed when driving through recently is that downtown, for the most part, lacks "curb appeal." Many parts look dirty and seedy. The city needs to realize that it has to maintain its assets, and downtown is one of them. Sure people will say that they don't want a "sanitized" look. But they forget that in order to revitalize and grow, downtown requires many people, to live in and visit. Yes, the typical suburbanite comment about downtown is that it is dirty, and unsafe. I don't think that the same comments are made about downtown San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, etc. Not all people are pioneers or tolerant of an "edgy" environment.

[brudy]

Originally Posted by Wilcal

I don't think that the same comments are made about downtown San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, etc. Not all people are pioneers or tolerant of an "edgy" environment.

You'd have to be more specific about neighborhoods in those cities. There are some crappy parts of boston including the downtown crossing area, which is semi-similar to broadway (although it too is turning around).

[alki]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Yup. Do we really need two malls on 7th Street both vying with street-facing retail for tenants? And doesn't L.A. Central also have a mall component? And how about that developer who is going to build that huge multi-billion dollar on the fashion complex, or the new Alameda Square project that will also have retail and offices in an area that is all industrial. Downtown can only support so much.

Two observations: first fig@7th and the bloc [stinko name] had/have to work within the parameters set by their existing structures. There was no way economically they could/can abandon the mall concept completely. Both tried/are trying to mimimize the mall-ish aspects of their structures while making them work economically.

Secondly, I think you may be thinking too small. Frankly, I have been surprised at the number of retail stores that have jumped onto the DT bandwagon. I did not think development DT had advanced far enough. It looks like I was wrong. I now believe that DT could become the largest shopping destination in a region that has nearly 18 million people. That's a lot of retail. The thing to watch is how many office users jump into the mix..........that IMO will be the ultimate tell.

[alki]

Originally Posted by DistrictDirt

Only one side is getting the full 12' sidewalk extension, but both sides are getting 8' curb extensions on top of that. You can see in the plan view that the extensions are present for nearly half of each block.


Broadway Streetscape Plan

I read the article in The Atlantic. It looks like the streetcar is planted on the sidewalk. The photo seems to support that placement. If I am correct, its kind of odd. I don't know how well that's going to work.

[Mojeda101]

Originally Posted by alki

I read the article in The Atlantic. It looks like the streetcar is planted on the sidewalk. The photo seems to support that placement. If I am correct, its kind of odd. I don't know how well that's going to work.

Isn't that safer for people to get on the actual streetcar? I thought it was going to be in the middle of the street, but I don't actually mind this concept now. Hopefully in the near future they will add another going the opposite direction on the other side.

[Illithid Dude]

The streetcar is in the street, next to the sidewalk.

[Wilcal]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

The streetcar is in the street, next to the sidewalk.

I hope that there is ample clearance between the parked cars and the path of the streetcar. If someone parks incorrectly, and their car sticks out--the streetcar can't drive around it!

[alki]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

Isn't that safer for people to get on the actual streetcar? I thought it was going to be in the middle of the street, but I don't actually mind this concept now. Hopefully in the near future they will add another going the opposite direction on the other side.

I don't know. Its unusual to mix pedestrians with vehicular traffic. I can't think of when I've seen it done before. That's not saying it won't work........it just seems unusual to me.

I just saw ID's comment. Maybe I am not reading the diagram correctly. It looks to me like the textured portion is the sidewalk and the tracks sit on the sidewalk and the parked cars sit between the tracks and the street.

[inSaeculaSaeculorum]

Originally Posted by Wilcal

I hope that there is ample clearance between the parked cars and the path of the streetcar. If someone parks incorrectly, and their car sticks out--the streetcar can't drive around it!

The Bringing Back Broadway street plan ought to just get rid of street parking completely. It seems so cumbersome to have parking right there. In addition the streetcar will be sharing the sole southbound lane with other vehicles, making it just a cosmetically nicer bus. The long term goal I'd like to see is to close off Broadway to automobiles completely.

[brudy]

The streetcar positioning is interesting. Other cities have light rail mixed with traffic, but it's a little strange to share the only lane. I would have preferred giving the streetcar its own lane and gone down to two lanes for cars. They sure are trying to jam a lot onto that street...

[DistrictDirt]

Originally Posted by inSaeculaSaeculorum

The Bringing Back Broadway street plan ought to just get rid of street parking completely. It seems so cumbersome to have parking right there. In addition the streetcar will be sharing the sole southbound lane with other vehicles, making it just a cosmetically nicer bus. The long term goal I'd like to see is to close off Broadway to automobiles completely.

As much as I think we need to stop catering to cars and take back space for pedestrians and cyclists, I disagree with removing street parking. That's the whole complete streets concept: to make space in our corridors for bikes, transits, pedestrians, and yes- cars too. We already have performance parking in Downtown LA where the prices at the meters rise and falls based on the time of day. That's pretty damn progressive. We don't need to go removing street parking on Broadway altogether.

[DistrictDirt]

I walked past SB Tower yesterday and saw the Robert Vargas mural firsthand. Its looking great so far. Can't wait to see it when he's finished with it.