LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 6.0

[caligrad]

I've seen a few videos of the mayor complaining about how the new construction isn't putting a dent into the homeless crisis and how "the city has the right and ability to take over some of these plots of land and projects like oceanwide to house the homeless"

With the backlash received from Angelenos about the new Weingart towers. You would think that her and the city rest of city hall would understand that maybe this isn't the way to do things.

"Would cost 1.5 billion to finish oceanwide plaza"

That money could be spent to build a massive housing complex to house 10s of thousands in the outer banks of the county like Palmdale and Lancaster.

But the city/state isn't really interested in ACTUALLY fixing the problem.

[edale]

Originally Posted by scania

As a longtime resident, you have clearly seen the growth of DTLA. With all of the crime and homeless of DTLA...DTLA continues to grow with more residential towers, hotels, high end restaurants, etc. etc. It seems odd that your first comment on this board to be what you stated. There is a ton of room for improvement in DTLA and LA in general. No matter, what people say on the news, in article, etc. The fact is that DTLA has improved drastically within the past decade and hasn't been this at least in the past 30 plus years. I'm going to call BS and I'm sure you are just citywatch (so sad).

Office vacancy is definitely higher now than it has been at any point in the last 30 years. The homeless population downtown is probably the biggest its ever been, too. So not everything is trending the right way for downtown. Skid Row and the homeless continue to drag DTLA down to the gutter, and until Skid Row is actually cleaned up, DTLA will never come close to realizing its potential, which is vast.

The Historic Core and Civic Center areas are grimey and dirty and frankly embarrassing. People like you who evidently live in denial aren't helping anything. When I posted here last year about nearly being assaulted by a crazy man who smashed a glass bottle against the Reagan State Office building right in front of me at noon on a Tuesday, I was accused of lying. When someone comes on the forum saying downtown needs to be cleaned up, you accuse them of...secretly being another forumer who still posts here? I guess Onni is also fabricating the crime and grime in DTLA that's prevented them from breaking ground on the LA Times redevelopment project? Get your head out of the sand and demand better.

[scania]

Originally Posted by edale

Office vacancy is definitely higher now than it has been at any point in the last 30 years. The homeless population downtown is probably the biggest its ever been, too. So not everything is trending the right way for downtown. Skid Row and the homeless continue to drag DTLA down to the gutter, and until Skid Row is actually cleaned up, DTLA will never come close to realizing its potential, which is vast.

The Historic Core and Civic Center areas are grimey and dirty and frankly embarrassing. People like you who evidently live in denial aren't helping anything. When I posted here last year about nearly being assaulted by a crazy man who smashed a glass bottle against the Reagan State Office building right in front of me at noon on a Tuesday, I was accused of lying. When someone comes on the forum saying downtown needs to be cleaned up, you accuse them of...secretly being another forumer who still posts here? I guess Onni is also fabricating the crime and grime in DTLA that's prevented them from breaking ground on the LA Times redevelopment project? Get your head out of the sand and demand better.

Dude, I am not in denial. Let's make it clear...the financial district in every major city has taken a hit since Covid. Those areas never have any foot traffic after office hours and those areas are mostly void of people at night and on weekends. Let's talk about the historic core...yes there is a lot of homeless and it has been for the past 10 years. But...there is also new business that are thriving and more businesses on their way to historic core. For example, there is a new coffee shop MedLab that is opening at 8th and Spring. Apple, Addidas, Maestro, etc. is an example of DTLA growing and trending in the right direction. Come to SoHo House with me and have a drink and maybe you realize that there is a light that is getting brighter.

[DJM19]

Originally Posted by caligrad

I've seen a few videos of the mayor complaining about how the new construction isn't putting a dent into the homeless crisis and how "the city has the right and ability to take over some of these plots of land and projects like oceanwide to house the homeless"

With the backlash received from Angelenos about the new Weingart towers. You would think that her and the city rest of city hall would understand that maybe this isn't the way to do things.

"Would cost 1.5 billion to finish oceanwide plaza"

That money could be spent to build a massive housing complex to house 10s of thousands in the outer banks of the county like Palmdale and Lancaster.

But the city/state isn't really interested in ACTUALLY fixing the problem.

Palmdale/Lancaster can grow all they want but why would we encourage tens of thousands of housing units way out in the high desert and now locally near jobs and transit and services.

But I do agree the city should not be spending that money on a single development downtown to house relatively few people.

[craigs]

Originally Posted by edale

I guess Onni is also fabricating the crime and grime in DTLA that's prevented them from breaking ground on the LA Times redevelopment project?

You are referring to a complaint in a contract dispute. Legal complaints are not like objective journalism; they are intended to spin everything a certain way so the party can prevail. Here, Onni's attorneys are asserting whatever they think will unwind the contract so they can recoup $30,000,000. It's entirely possible that homelessness and crime are up at the site Onni purchased, but be careful in blindly accepting their assertions as objective facts. The truth of their assertions has not yet been determined by the court. This is just how the game is played, and I say that as a guy who likes Onni and wants them to continue developing downtown.

[scania]

Originally Posted by craigs

You are referring to a complaint in a contract dispute. Legal complaints are not like objective journalism; they are intended to spin everything a certain way so the party can prevail. Here, Onni's attorneys are asserting whatever they think will unwind the contract so they can recoup $30,000,000. It's entirely possible that homelessness and crime are up at the site Onni purchased, but be careful in blindly accepting their assertions as objective facts. The truth of their assertions has not yet been determined by the court. This is just how the game is played, and I say that as a guy who likes Onni and wants them to continue developing downtown.

I was wondering...has Onni had more than one project being built at the same time?

[ajbeaver25]

Alternate reality concept I came up with where Skid Row was demolished and turned into a massive park, how do you think this would impact the city?

[4thethrill]

I'm a long time resident and I don't think we should be minimizing the situation with griminess and homelessness under any circumstance.

There are no visible improvements under Mayor Bass. It's hard to objectively compare one year to the next but things seem worse off. Homelessness and mental illness has extended from Skid Row into Jewelry District, Little Tokyo, and Financial Districts over the last few years. Businesses along Main Street have been hollowed out and Historic Core as a whole has the street-level tension you find in the middle of Skid Row. Buildings along Spring Street are seemingly falling into disrepair and so are the sidewalks and infrastructure. Historic Core today doesn't compare to itself circa 2017.

This is an all hands on deck moment. City and County need to be forced to address issues here because this is the elephant that is holding everything back.

County claims there is a 22% drop in unsheltered homelessness in Skid Row but I think they're cooking the numbers. It has never looked worse.

https://homeless.lacounty.gov/news/r...s-in-skid-row/

There are 3,791 people experiencing homelessness in Skid Row, 2,112 of them unsheltered, according to the 2024 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count. This is the densest concentration of people experiencing homelessness in the County, according to the count. This year’s results showed a 14% drop in homelessness and a 22% drop in unsheltered homelessness in Skid Row.

[caligrad]

Originally Posted by DJM19

Palmdale/Lancaster can grow all they want but why would we encourage tens of thousands of housing units way out in the high desert and now locally near jobs and transit and services.

But I do agree the city should not be spending that money on a single development downtown to house relatively few people.

I'm referring to a facility that would directly house/ filter the homeless in to get them the services they need. Palmdale / Lancaster would be an area that would see the least amount of resistance and legal issues for a massive facility to house thousands, plus the obvious having enough land to do so (Google map an ariel view of Disneyworld's All-Star Resort for reference).

In terms of new units being built in all of LA, I'll always be team BUILD DTLA. I personally feel the city should force developers to build downtown before they decide to try to build a high rise anywhere else, Like the random Culver City cluster that rose out of nowhere. Housing needs to be STACKED downtown with endless proposals for the next 50 years.

[craigs]

I'm a long-term lurker and a lifetime resident of downtown. I couldn't be bothered to engage in any forum discussion until this very moment, and I am NOT A BOT! This city is the very worst, just so awful. Everything here is terrible. We should just glass the whole place and replicate Texas or Florida. C'mon, you guys!

[edale]

Originally Posted by craigs

I'm a long-term lurker and a lifetime resident of downtown. I couldn't be bothered to engage in any forum discussion until this very moment, and I am NOT A BOT! This city is the very worst, just so awful. Everything here is terrible. We should just glass the whole place and replicate Texas or Florida. C'mon, you guys!

Yep, everyone who points out anything negative is lying or a bot.

There's something very strange about the LA forum topics. Just an insane amount of defensiveness and delusion that you don't see when other cities are discussed. LA has been growing non-stop since it's founding. It's a massive city known the world over. It has a reputation for glamor and celebrities and sunshine and beautiful people. It's had some of the best urban fortunes of any American city, yet some of its boosters are some of the thinnest skinned, softest people I've ever encountered, who can't even handle hearing that people find Downtown LA to be unacceptably dirty.

[craigs]

Originally Posted by edale

Yep, everyone who points out anything negative is lying or a bot

Nice strawman fallacy there. Nobody said that. Anyway, I agree with you that there's something weird about the LA Projects and Construction threads--there is a constant drone of unwarranted negativity. I never experienced that in the two-plus decades I engaged in the more balanced San Francisco P&C thread. Ditto for the year I was active in the Sacramento thread. In LA's threads there's an obsession not with projects and construction, but with griping about politicians, homelessness, crime, trash, visible power lines and how new buildings suck because they don't look just exactly like the renderings that they fell in love with. Anyway, let's get back to projects and construction.

[scania]

Originally Posted by craigs

Nice strawman fallacy there. Nobody said that. Anyway, I agree with you that there's something weird about the LA Projects and Construction threads--there is a constant drone of unwarranted negativity. I never experienced that in the two-plus decades I engaged in the more balanced San Francisco P&C thread. Ditto for the year I was active in the Sacramento thread. In LA's threads there's an obsession not with projects and construction, but with griping about politicians, homelessness, crime, trash, visible power lines and how new buildings suck because they don't look just exactly like the renderings that they fell in love with. Anyway, let's get back to projects and construction.

I agree...it's very strange. Atlanta doesn't come close to all of the great things going on here in LA, but you never really hear them complaining or griping about little things. Like we have the one forumer that every single post he/she makes, they have some negative or snark remark to say at the end. You also have people who make all of these statements about the politicians, meanwhile never saying who you should vote for to help DTLA be it's best. I personally believe that LA gets a lot of hate for obvious reasons, and you simply have trolls that love to get on here and try their best to hate on LA.

[Doctorboffin]

Originally Posted by citywatch

Social media in general shows that aspect of one's fellow humans time & time again. Mental health is just a comment away from disintegrating in various ppl....that's one reason why homelessness in areas like dtla is so severe nowadays. Various ppl who are living on sidewalks in 2024 in the past were kept in asylums.

As for onni's current proj in dt, I was hoping that was going to be followed up by their proj on 1st street across from the civic ctr. Now that doesn't seem likely.


Paul Wright, Facebook dtla development group

More than likely it's going to be the Arts District tower. They relatively recently updated their plans for it (giving it the mandatory Onni height chop). It will still definitely make an impact on the skyline, similar to Alloy.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by Doctorboffin

More than likely it's going to be the Arts District tower. They relatively recently updated their plans for it (giving it the mandatory Onni height chop). It will still definitely make an impact on the skyline, similar to Alloy.

I didn't know about that one. This is from Aug 2021 & the past 3 yrs have seen big changes in the economy, financing & investor confidence. Will be ironic if this proj breaks ground sooner....in the more sketchy east side of dtla...before anything happens to the site at 1st St near LA city hall...

A new mixed-use development, including a 36 story tower, is planned for the Arts District, at 2143 East Violet Street. Canadian-based Onni Group is the developer. The 2.2-acre site will retain a couple of existing buildings while bringing denser commercial and residential space to the area.

[Radio5]

Originally Posted by scania

I agree...it's very strange. Atlanta doesn't come close to all of the great things going on here in LA, but you never really hear them complaining or griping about little things. Like we have the one forumer that every single post he/she makes, they have some negative or snark remark to say at the end. You also have people who make all of these statements about the politicians, meanwhile never saying who you should vote for to help DTLA be it's best. I personally believe that LA gets a lot of hate for obvious reasons, and you simply have trolls that love to get on here and try their best to hate on LA.

I think this has to do with several factors. 1) Most people are not from here and don't understand the nuances and reality of LA and it's history. 2) Since LA is so hyped up, there's a bigger expectation development wise and how the city presents itself in general.

[HusBy]

Originally Posted by citywatch

Will be ironic if this proj breaks ground sooner....in the more sketchy east side of dtla...

This area isn't sketchy at all, unless you consider Michelin star restaurants, high end tacos, Soho house, Warner Music Group, or trendy coffee shops 'sketchy'.

[scania]

Originally Posted by HusBy

This area isn't sketchy at all, unless you consider Michelin star restaurants, high end tacos, Soho house, Warner Music Group, or trendy coffee shops 'sketchy'.

You are 100% correct.

[scania]

Originally Posted by Radio5

I think this has to do with several factors. 1) Most people are not from here and don't understand the nuances and reality of LA and it's history. 2) Since LA is so hyped up, there's a bigger expectation development wise and how the city presents itself in general.

That's totally fair. There are some people that I can understand that mindset. But, you have others that come and specifically have the agenda to tell you that "LA is not all what it's cracked up to be", and lastly the one that kills me is that 15 years ago, people would've seen on TV these impressive skylines from NYC, Chicago, SF...never did you see a skyline of LA. I'm like what did you expect? LOL
Now, LA has a skyline worth mentioning, and hopefully it will continue to grow. But, LA did just fine without a plethora of skyscrapers and people came here in droves to visit, as well as to relocate here.

[Illithid Dude]

The Art's District is one of the least sketchy parts of downtown.