LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 6.0

[citywatch]

With thousands of houses and apartments lost to wildfires in an already tight housing market, landlords in downtown Los Angeles are trying to woo displaced fire victims to a more urban setting far from the burn zones.

The Historic Core program has about 500 units available at an average of $2,046 per month, Besten said. To increase the appeal to fire refugees, landlords are offering leases as short as three months and will arrange with furniture rental businesses to furnish units for new tenants.

“We’ve tried to very quickly furnish some homes, including kitchen essentials and bath essentials,” said Laurie Miskuski of landlord ICO Group. “There are many people who have lost everything, and the last thing they need to be worrying about is a toaster or a coffee maker.”

“COVID did a lot of damage to downtown in a lot of ways,” said Mark Sanders, co-founder of landlord Fifteen Group. “Habitually, people were not paying rent, and the eviction moratorium didn’t help.

“It’s taken us a long time to cycle through a lot of those units, which is why we have this vacancy” well above market standards, Sanders said.

Reaching out to people displaced by fire offers district stakeholders an opportunity to reach out to “people who have been curious about what it’s like to live somewhere and not have to get in their car for an entire weekend” she said. They may ask, “what does that look like and would I be willing to give it a shot?”

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[citywatch]

yelp.com


laeater

The spacious Maguire gardens in front of Downtown LA’s historic public library hosted the venerable Cafe Pinot, part of the Patina Group, for decades before it closed in 2019. The California French restaurant once helmed by chef Kevin Meehan (now at Kali and the newly opened Koast) has become Settecento, a posh Italian restaurant with a sprawling outdoor patio and a tightly packed bar marked by hanging musical instruments.

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[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Quixote

Some goals and policies of DTLA 2040:

All excellent policies. I truly hope this spurs new development of all sizes (and unique designs) all over DTLA

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by citywatch

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The place and food looks phenomenal. I cant wait to try it out

[SC_00_05]

Originally Posted by Quixote

Some goals and policies of DTLA 2040:

The Goals sound great…hope there are actual real policies backing them up though (maybe there are, I legitimately don’t know)

[citywatch]

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[edale]

Discussing the convention center is against the rules of this forum? Is it not downtown and would its expansion not be a development project? I'm confused why those posts were deleted. The discussion (as of yesterday evening) wasn't political.

[38 Geary]

Originally Posted by edale

Discussing the convention center is against the rules of this forum? Is it not downtown and would its expansion not be a development project? I'm confused why those posts were deleted. The discussion (as of yesterday evening) wasn't political.

The discussion got moved because it inevitably became political. Feel free to continue it here:

https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=260794&page=2

[SoCalKid]

Originally Posted by edale

Discussing the convention center is against the rules of this forum? Is it not downtown and would its expansion not be a development project? I'm confused why those posts were deleted. The discussion (as of yesterday evening) wasn't political.

Agreed. I understand that the moderator wanted to keep all the political talk (which I was guilty of as well) off of this forum, but moderation has gone way too far in the other direction. Anything related to any development or general conditions surrounding development (interest rates, financing environment, etc) should be allowed. If these types of posts aren't allowed, this thread will almost definitely die, as very little is under construction or scheduled to be under construction in the near future.

[38 Geary]

Originally Posted by SoCalKid

Agreed. I understand that the moderator wanted to keep all the political talk (which I was guilty of as well) off of this forum, but moderation has gone way too far in the other direction. Anything related to any development or general conditions surrounding development (interest rates, financing environment, etc) should be allowed. If these types of posts aren't allowed, this thread will almost definitely die, as very little is under construction or scheduled to be under construction in the near future.

Read the replies that followed and tell me it didn't get overtly political. Instead of blaming the moderation team, why don't you take it up with your fellow forumers who can't stop grinding their axes? If there is very little under construction in DTLA at the moment, then so be it. If you want to complain about the reasons why that is, there's a thread for that. It's very simple.

[SoCalKid]

Originally Posted by SoCalKid

Looking at the court docket for Oceanwide Plaza, I noticed a bunch of the liens are being transferred to an entity called DTLA Funding. That seems to be a recently formed LLC. My hope is that this is in anticipation of someone taking over - that seems to be a probable reason why one group would be taking assignment of all the lien claims. Hopefully that means a sale is near! The other explanation I could think of is that the lien holders are consolidating into one entity negotiating on behalf of them, but I don't see why that would just be happening now vs when this whole process started. Also this is kind of dumb but the name "DTLA Funding" doesn't scream "negotiating a settlement for lien holders", to me it indicates funding for the transfer or completion of the the project. Fingers crossed!

So it turns out that these transfers of claims to DTLA Funding were part of a dispute between Lendlease (the contractor) and the lender on the project. So not necessarily a sign that a sale leading to a restart of construction is imminent. A recent filing does mention "proposed sale terms", but who knows how far along/real that is.

[SoCalKid]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Read the replies that followed and tell me it didn't get overtly political. Instead of blaming the moderation team, why don't you take it up with your fellow forumers who can't stop grinding their axes? If there is very little under construction in DTLA at the moment, then so be it. If you want to complain about the reasons why that is, there's a thread for that. It's very simple.

I hadn't seen the replies, I do see where you're coming from now.

[citywatch]

for the first time in over 100 yrs, dtla won't have what used to be known as a 'department' store. The nearby Target doesn't count....I read a rumor that Ikea may be interested in taking over this space....

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I thought an apt tower on the roof of the macy's store would cause problems for the shoppers in the bloc....but now more housing may be the main lifeline of the entire property...


downtownla.com


the bloc...first known as the broadway plaza...is one of the earlier redevelopments in dtla. The 7th at Fig shopping center was built about 10 yrs later & originally had 2 dept stores.

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[scania]

Department stores like Macy’s have been on decline for over a decade. Especially in downtown areas. They seem to still have a small relevance in further out suburbs.

[scania]

Per urbanize.la….city has approved the 51 story tower at 11th and Olive in DTLA!
This is great news!!!

[craigs]

Speaking of . . . .

City Planning Commission approves high-rise at 1105 S. Olive Street in DTLA

51-story building would include more than 500 homes and retail space

Steven Sharp
Urbanize LA
February 13, 2025

Mack Real Estate Development's has hit another key milestone for its plan to build a high-rise apartment building at the intersection of 11th and Olive Streets in Downtown Los Angeles, receiving the approval of the City Planning Commission at its February 13 meeting.

The proposed development, one of two which Mack Real Estate has planned at the intersection, would replace a surface parking lot at 1105-1123 S. Olive Street. Plans call for the construction of a 51-story tower featuring 536 studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes above 4,178 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. Parking for 581 vehicles would be provided within a four-level podium and six subterranean levels.

Designed by Arcadis, the tower is shown in plans as a contemporary glass-clad building rising 603 feet in height. Plans call for amenities at the rooftop deck and above its parking podium. Construction of the tower is expected to occur over a 30-month period, per an environmental study certified last year by the City Council. A start date for construction has not been announced.
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[Quixote]

Originally Posted by scania

Per urbanize.la….city has approved the 51 story tower at 11th and Olive in DTLA!
This is great news!!!

It still needs final approval from the City Council.

This is a great project. While the amount of parking is a bit high, 536 units on a 36,000-SF lot is fantastic density (about 1,000 residents).

[scania]

And that’s great section of DTLA. It’s cleaner than a lot of other areas people love here in LA.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by scania

And that’s great section of DTLA. It’s cleaner than a lot of other areas people love here in LA.

South Park is def underrated. It's our version of Chicago's south loop. Quiet, dense urban living. Neither place is exiciting but they're comfortable for most.

I believe most people live in South Park as well for downtown, so when people say how "scary" it is or whatever, I laugh.

[craigs]

Yeah, South Park is the best residential neighborhood downtown, and this project will only improve it. I had a meeting downtown last May and stayed at the Figueroa. I got to spend some significant time in South Park and found it safe and vibrant, even at night. I would totally live there.