LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 6.0

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by 112597jorge

Do you know if the 5 large ad spaces are digital video boards? If so Figueroa is going to look pretty cool with video boards on all sides.

i dont know about that but i hope and imagine it would be so

[SoCalKid]

Originally Posted by 112597jorge

Do you know if the 5 large ad spaces are digital video boards? If so Figueroa is going to look pretty cool with video boards on all sides.

If they are video boards, the area will really have a Times Square feel between the convention center, the Moxy tower, Circa, Oceanwide (when and if it completes), LA Live, and the new Chick Hearn Plaza + signage. That new plaza plus a new Gilbert Lindsay plaza will also create a lot more pedestrian space which will give it more of that Times Square feel.

I don't think that's something many locals will want to hang out in, but it's good for a city the size of LA to have tourist districts like that.

[scania]

Originally Posted by SoCalKid

If they are video boards, the area will really have a Times Square feel between the convention center, the Moxy tower, Circa, Oceanwide (when and if it completes), LA Live, and the new Chick Hearn Plaza + signage. That new plaza plus a new Gilbert Lindsay plaza will also create a lot more pedestrian space which will give it more of that Times Square feel.

I don't think that's something many locals will want to hang out in, but it's good for a city the size of LA to have tourist districts like that.

I know this went down the toilet with the scandal…but one can wish the W Hotel that was supposed to be built across from LA Live and next to Oceanwide, could come back to life. They had signage also on the Figueroa side.

[Radio5]

Originally Posted by scania

I know this went down the toilet with the scandal…but one can wish the W Hotel that was supposed to be built across from LA Live and next to Oceanwide, could come back to life. They had signage also on the Figueroa side.

That made me think of all the proposals we had pre covid. They were many and they were ambitious. Hard to look at them all and visualize what could have been today.

[craigs]

Am I imagining that I once read there were going to be digital displays on Oceanwide above Figueroa? I wasn't paying as much attention to the development when I lived in SF, but that is my recollection.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by craigs

Am I imagining that I once read there were going to be digital displays on Oceanwide above Figueroa? I wasn't paying as much attention to the development when I lived in SF, but that is my recollection.

Yes, a huge ribbon screen that wrapped around the retail portion

[scania]

Originally Posted by craigs

Am I imagining that I once read there were going to be digital displays on Oceanwide above Figueroa? I wasn't paying as much attention to the development when I lived in SF, but that is my recollection.

Yes…that included with the Chick Hearn Plaza, Moxy, etc…this was going to be a show stopper. And who knows…it’s possible to still come to fruition before the Olympics. But I do highly doubt that will happen.

[scania]

Per urbaniz.la

https://la.urbanize.city/post/plan-skyline-altering-tower-above-blocs-garage-moves-forward

This is great news. I know it’s still somewhat baby steps. But it’s definitely going in the right direction.

[Quixote]

Not a fan. The tower is fine, but it's not worth being stuck with that fortress that takes up almost an entire square block.

[citywatch]

downtownla.com

Prologis has picked a lane for its redevelopment of the former Greyhound bus terminal in the Arts District Downtown. It will pursue a studio and office development at the southeast corner of Alameda and Seventh streets.

The project is billed in planning documents published this month as a 364K SF "entertainment studio campus" with about 174K SF of soundstage uses, approximately 133K SF of office space to support the soundstages and 57K SF of production-related space such as a mill for props and sets, a commissary and a cafe.

Urbanize LA reported the plan is a slight shift from what was previously announced, which was explored in conjunction with the option of making the site into a logistics hub.

Prologis bought the property in 2021 for more than $90M. The purchase was long envisioned as a redevelopment play, but it did not seem likely that a major industrial landlord would want to put studio space on the site.


urbanizela.com

Most alarming is the continuing plunge in shooting for TV shows, long a mainstay and anchor of production in L.A. Filming for the category is down an estimated 30 percent versus the same period last year and nearly 50 percent compared to the five year average. There were just 13 TV pilots that shot in L.A. last quarter, the lowest tally ever observed by FilmLA.

A report issued by FilmLA last week showed a steep decline in soundstage occupancy over the past two years, highlighting the plunge in filming in the region. Seventeen studios that operate the majority of stages in L.A. posted average occupancy rates of 63 percent last year, down from 69 percent in 2023.

[SoCalKid]

Originally Posted by scania

Yes…that included with the Chick Hearn Plaza, Moxy, etc…this was going to be a show stopper. And who knows…it’s possible to still come to fruition before the Olympics. Bit I do highly doubt that will happen.

I would call myself a realist (for example, I see very little chance of the Bloc tower being built in the near to mid term future - I think the current steps forward were all about the signage district being created), but I think there is a very decent chance that Oceanwide gets finished before the Olympics. And if it does go forward in any form (other than demolishing the entire thing), I promise you the video board will be part of it. That thing might be the highest value part of the whole project lol.

There is a court hearing scheduled for May 5th according to a recent filing, and I guess the public can listen in on it?

https://cases.stretto.com/public/x318/12689/PLEADINGS/1268904092580000000207.pdf

[scania]

Originally Posted by SoCalKid

I would call myself a realist (for example, I see very little chance of the Bloc tower being built in the near to mid term future - I think the current steps forward were all about the signage district being created), but I think there is a very decent chance that Oceanwide gets finished before the Olympics. And if it does go forward in any form (other than demolishing the entire thing), I promise you the video board will be part of it. That thing might be the highest value part of the whole project lol.

There is a court hearing scheduled for May 5th according to a recent filing, and I guess the public can listen in on it?

https://cases.stretto.com/public/x318/12689/PLEADINGS/1268904092580000000207.pdf

That’s great…thanks for the heads up.

[kittyhawk28]

What are the chances of Oceanwide Plaza being demolished? I've seen several sources rumor it's likely beyond saving at this point partially due to being exposed to the elements, but the Fountainebleau in Las Vegas was on partially completed and abandoned for 10+ years before ending up finished? I also can't imagine that LA weather would do that much damage the the structure after 6 years.

[SoCalKid]

Originally Posted by kittyhawk28

What are the chances of Oceanwide Plaza being demolished? I've seen several sources rumor it's likely beyond saving at this point partially due to being exposed to the elements, but the Fountainebleau in Las Vegas was on partially completed and abandoned for 10+ years before ending up finished? I also can't imagine that LA weather would do that much damage the the structure after 6 years.

At least from what I've heard (including from someone who used to work at the contractor), it is definitely not beyond saving. I think there is some remedial work that would need to be done, but that shouldn't necessitate demo. Economics would be the driver of demolition. Like I said before, if it costs ~$1B to finish it, a developer is going to need to underwrite ~$1.3B in value completed if they get the project for free. So add to that whatever the project sells for. So if there's not real interest because buyers can't underwrite that value, and it transfers for some super low number like $20M, demo costs $30M, the risk is that the new owner thinks the lot is worth $70M as parking and pivots to that (these are all hypothetical made up numbers).

What are the chances of that happening? No idea, but hopefully there is a push from the city side to support whoever ends up owning it. I'll tell you this - Measure ULA, the $30 minimum wage for hotel works (nearly double the rate that is applied to everyone else), and other anti-business policies put in place by the city in the last few years makes it much more likely than it would have been otherwise.

[citywatch]

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[scania]

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[craigs]

The crane is up and construction is well underway on the Colburn School expansion. I will try to snap a pic or two during lunch sometime in the coming workweek.

[JDRCRASH]

^ Wow, here’s hoping it stays true to the rendering.


On another note, I suppose these aren’t major losses, but still thought it’d be good to mention for those that don’t already know.

Recently I have been doing ride-sharing around LA for some extra income and so it pained me to find out by driving around that we’ve lost two relatively historic properties I had heard were being demo’ed but had hoped would be preserved somehow:


B'nai B'rith Lodge
846 S Union Ave


Creator: Steven Luftman via LA Conservancy




Grand Theater
LA Trade Tech College Campus



Creator: Mike Hume ; Copyright: Mike Hume via LA Historic
Theatre Foundation

[craigs]

I didn't get over to the Colburn School to snap crane shots today, but I took a picture of the crane from N. Broadway and Temple on my walk between the bus stop and the office:

[citywatch]

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