LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 6.0

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by craigs

The crane is up and construction is well underway on the Colburn School expansion.

https://colburncenter.org/the-building/live-feed/

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[plinko]

Snapped a couple of shots of Olympic + Hill on Saturday...the top looks kinda heavy...


O+H 001 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr


O+H 002 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

[Radio5]

Originally Posted by plinko

Snapped a couple of shots of Olympic + Hill on Saturday...the top looks kinda heavy...

O+H 002 by Michael Stroh, on Flickr

Something about that top looks cheap, maybe it's just the font signage.

[colemonkee]

I love how the 'hats' in the first shot face the same way. I'm not a big fan of the crown, but the rest of the tower is much better than Hope & Flower. The quality of the window wall system is much better, and less use of spandrel glass. As for the crown, they could have played up and increased the size of the horizontal glass fins, which are tiny and practially unnoticeable from afar. I totally get the mechanical need for the space inside the hat, but there are much better ways to dress that.

[scania]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

I love how the 'hats' in the first shot face the same way. I'm not a big fan of the crown, but the rest of the tower is much better than Hope & Flower. The quality of the window wall system is much better, and less use of spandrel glass. As for the crown, they could have played up and increased the size of the horizontal glass fins, which are tiny and practially unnoticeable from afar. I totally get the mechanical need for the space inside the hat, but there are much better ways to dress that.

I’ve two friends that are moving there I believe the end of June. We pretty much all agree that the crown is only pleasant to the eyes at night.

[citywatch]

latimes.com

LA Times Today: With Los Angeles in need of housing, downtown’s empty office towers have appeal

https://ca-times-cdn.platform.california...c-16x9-1280x720p-30hz-2mbps-qvbr-vq7.mp4

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[citywatch]

• Video Link

• Video Link

• Video Link

[citywatch]

[I]Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

But almost three years after the Grand LA opened to the public, in 2022, that “place” has yet to be fully realized. While some components have gotten off to a promising start, the development has struggled to draw permanent tenants to the most visible part of the complex: the more than 164,000 square feet of street-level commercial space.

The complex’s hotel, the Conrad, a high-end hotel by Hilton, has been successful, according to a spokesperson for Related, averaging an occupancy rate of 69% (above the national hotel occupancy rate of 63%, as measured by the data analytics firm CoStar). And the hotel’s restaurant, San Laurel, by award-winning Spanish chef José Andrés, draws a busy mix of tourists and locals. The residential tower, the Grand by Gehry — which includes 347 luxury rentals and 89 affordable units — is more than 95% leased.

“There are very few traditional retail tenants that are looking to grow in downtown LA and there is a lot of space that is available in retail buildings in downtown,” says Nick Vanderboom, chief operating officer of Related California. “It has caused us to pivot.”

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[LAsam]

^Seems like Related is doing a good job pivoting on the retail and getting it leased up. Sounds like some promising tenants. Also, wow at the 95% leased apartments!

[citywatch]

bisnow.com

Downtown Los Angeles has lost some of its shine in the last five years, like every other urban core in the country. But Angelenos are still forking over big bucks to live there, in much the same numbers as they did before the pandemic. Multifamily occupancy in the first quarter was 90.8%, up from 84.7% in 2019, according to data from business group DTLA Alliance. Rents in Downtown are creeping up too. Average effective rents reached $2,838 in Q1, within a couple of dollars of Q1 2023’s $2,841, the highest average effective rent over the last five years, according to DTLA Alliance reports from that period. The numbers have reinforced that the appeal of downtown living continues to be strong and that the market [in LA] continues to be strong,” DTLA Alliance Executive Vice President Nick Griffin said.

“The neighborhood part has felt really, really consistent, and I think the occupancy numbers really show that part’s been pretty steady, but also from a lived experience on the ground, like, that's what you see,” said Cassy Horton, co-founder and board member of the Downtown Los Angeles Residents Association.

The Beaudry, a 64-story Brookfield property that opened in 2023, is asking between approximately $2,500 and $3,200 monthly for studio floor plans. The largest units, at three bedrooms, can reach up to $11K per month. The 785-unit development is 90% occupied and saw a 34% increase in lease-up in May over April, according to a representative for Brookfield.

“We have a real concentration of a residential community that wasn't here in the same numbers 10 years ago,” Horton said. “I think that is the exciting part about being Downtown right now, is we are this other iteration of what Downtown is going to be.”

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[LA21st]

Crime and murder is way way down for the city and thats helping downtown's image in a way.

In fact, the biggest crime story this year seems to be guy cutting down trees.

You really dont hear too many incidents out of downtown lately like in 2020-2022. People on social media aren't complaining like they were those other years.

[liat91]

Any news on Centro Westlake or Lake on Wilshire? Are they cancelled? Can’t find anything.

Probably the two most important developments LA needs. Next would be 2AM

[citywatch]

Aleksey Kondratyev for The New York Times


Aleksey Kondratyev for The New York Times


Aleksey Kondratyev for The New York Times

After years of delays, the mammoth Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is finally approaching completion in Exposition Park in Los Angeles.

Even now — 15 years since Lucas first proposed a museum, and eight years after ground was broken in Los Angeles — many questions remain about an ambitious but somewhat amorphous project that is now slated to be completed next year.

Whatever the bumps along the way, the museum is widely expected to draw large crowds when it finally opens, given its dramatic architecture, “Star Wars” worldwide fame and Lucas’s celebrity status.

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[kittyhawk28]

State recently released stats for housing construction in LA City and County, through FY2024 (marked 2025 on the graph)


Surprisingly, Measure ULA didn't dent housing construction horribly much even though its been active since the start of 2023. Additionally, its curious to note that LA City and County overall have been building far more housing units in the past 3 years than any time since the early 1990s. The County is building on average >30,000 housing units each year for the past 3 years between 2022-24, as has built between 150K-160K units so far this decade.

If this pace continues through the end of the decade, assuming no acceleration, the county will have built a cumulative ~340K-350K new units between 2020-2030. For perspective, there was 3.6 million units of housing in LA county at the start of the decade, so this pace represents a decently healthy growth of ~10%, which is likely enough to keep rents stable through the rest of the decade. Of course, this projection doesn't account for the ~12K destroyed homes from the fires, and the original RHNA goals for the county were closer to 800K new units of housing, but housing construction pace might also increase with more and more state housing laws + future loosening of interest rates.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

ULAs effects won't be in these states until a couple more years down the line. By the time a parcel has been purchased, permitted, financed and built takes at least 4 to 5 years

[SoCalKid]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

ULAs effects won't be in these states until a couple more years down the line. By the time a parcel has been purchased, permitted, financed and built takes at least 4 to 5 years

Exactly right. This is units DELIVERED. You need to look at building permits pulled, which is for new starts. That has absolutely cratered.

We will get very, very few units built until ULA is repealed or significantly modified. Call you city Council Member and tell your friends.

There's an effort underway to introduce a statewide ballot measure that would repeal ULA and all other ballot measures that impose taxes that didn't receive 2/3rds votes.

[FoldingBoxes]

On the Lucas museum, I just drove by it a few weeks ago, and it looks like one of his spaceships landed next to the LA Coliseum.

Also, though, I just recently finished watching the TV show "Andor" and noted that it used the Calatrava designed City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain as a set for the Imperial Senate, and wondered whether there is anything in L.A., or anywhere in the USA that has such a futuristic look. It was also used in Westworld.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Arts_and_Sciences

https://cac.es/en/arquitectura/

[ReDSPork02]

Originally Posted by FoldingBoxes

On the Lucas museum, I just drove by it a few weeks ago, and it looks like one of his spaceships landed next to the LA Coliseum.

Also, though, I just recently finished watching the TV show "Andor" and noted that it used the Calatrava designed City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain as a set for the Imperial Senate, and wondered whether there is anything in L.A., or anywhere in the USA that has such a futuristic look. It was also used in Westworld.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Arts_and_Sciences

https://cac.es/en/arquitectura/

Other LA locations were used for Westworld that I recognized, MacArthur Park, Skirball Center, LA convention Center, DTLA, Ennis House, .....etc... Cool to see.

[DTLA Worker]

I'm shocked that they are 95% leased for the residential units. As someone that works two blocks from there, it almost feels vacant. There is very little foot traffic around The Grand. You would think that there would be a lot more "life" around there if the hotel is doing well and the residential part is essentially filled.

Originally Posted by LAsam

^Seems like Related is doing a good job pivoting on the retail and getting it leased up. Sounds like some promising tenants. Also, wow at the 95% leased apartments!

[DTLA Worker]

Apologize for the amateur question, but is there a listing anywhere of the "major" developments under construction in DTLA or ones that are soon to be under construction.

I was bummed out to learn that it looks like the Bunker Hill tower is not happening.

Any other projects to be excited about.

TIA....