Quote:
Originally Posted by jlrobe
is "potentially valuable" downtown LA land THAT much more valuable NOW than the most prime land in the entire state of Oregon?
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Yes. Land costs in downtown Los Angeles are 2-3 times as expensive in cost per square foot in downtown LA than in downtown Portland. That plays a major factor in the overall cost of a project. For example, Sonni Astani paid something like $30 million for the Concerto lot over 2 years ago, where comparible lots in cities like Portland might go for $8-$12 million. We also have much, much larger blocks in LA vs. Portland, so the square footage is higher, making the land more expensive based purely on the size.
Other factors that lead to more expensive development costs in LA are the City approval and inspection processes which add more time (time=money) in the pre-construction and construction phases. I could be wrong here but I think labor costs might be higher here than in cities like Chicago, Miami or even Portland, given that our highrise construction labor force is smaller due to relatively slow activity over the past two decades. There's also the possibility that our supply chains for materials like concrete and rebar might not be as efficient as other cities, making material costs higher.
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