LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 3.0

[bjornson]

Are there any other incentives for any other condotel projects in LA? I know the Ritz-Carlton is offering something for Staples, but other than that, what else?

I hope this incentive is showing that Park Fifth may actually happen.

[colemonkee]

Nice day for a walk...


Evo
14 stories up.



From Grand Ave. It's hard to see, but cladding is starting to wrap around the north side.



I really wish this building was taller. The facade is turning out to be very nice (look for the reflection of SBC Center).




Luma



The New 11th Street.



The new Hope Street.




Hanover Tower
Topped out, seen from 11th Street.




717 Flower
Got a little lazy with the stitch job, but you get the idea.




LA Live (Ritz Carlton pictures are in the Highrise Construction forum)
Nokia Theater getting glass...



...dirty glass



ESPN/ESPN Zone Building, from Chick Hearn Ct.



Club Nokia Building from Olympic




Market Lofts
The Ralph's is really coming along. My guess is late June or early July.



Sidewalk landscaping has been in for a couple of weeks.




The Brockman
Windows finally going in on the backside.




LAPD Headquarters




Mura
The south side facing Zip Fusion and E. 3rd. Hey citywatch, what's wrong with this picture?



The facade actually doens't look that bad with the masonry work diluting the "stucco effect" somewhat.




San Pedro Apartments - (Block 8)
Just a very big hole for now...




Federal Building
Slowly but surely coming down.




That's it for now.

[Quixote]

GREAT update!

[Quixote]

Originally Posted by citywatch

I remember seeing the quote of an industry expert who claimed the Glass tower proj across from the Elleven bldg was one of the most solid among a list of proposed bldgs in the hood. The devlpr himself sounded like it was a certainty he'd start work on his bldg in April. Well, we're fast moving through June, &, assuming no one who actually lives in the hood is just being tight lipped about it, there's been no sign of groundbreaking.

According to their website, the Glass Tower will break group in the Fall.

And speaking of the Glass Tower, DeStefano+Partners' website has two nice renderings of the Glass Tower. Go to the "On The Boards" section.

http://www.destefanoandpartners.com/

[fridayinla]

Colemonkee, great photos! I covered the other side of downtown today...

Glo - Retail glass and palm trees installed


Bixel Court



Emerald Terrace (Recently Completed) - Yuck.


Coronita (Recently Completed)


Northwest Gateway






Vista Hermosa Complex
Vista Hermosa Park Site

Park Site, Look towards High School Site

High School



Orsini II - Nearing Completion (this thing is huge)




Eastern portion of the development


Canvas LA (former Broadstone LA) - topped out


LA USD High School #9

[alikaalex]

So not too long after reporting that the scaffolding had finally come down on 620 S Main St (next door to the Pacific Electric), it appears the remaining work has stalled, yet the Downtown News and its related Cartifact map no longer list it as an under-construction project.

Anyone know anything about why? What happened to this project?

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Great updates guys! thanks a million. the wires need to go! Hopefully, this is the last of the Low Rises and we get going with the big boys. The city should really promote taller buildings in downtown area, nothing less than 8 - 10 stories. i know that taller than 4 or 5 floors means no wood, but we are building for the future and we need to build smarter than this. Oh and the Orsini looks like crap.

[BrandonJXN]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

Great updates guys! thanks a million. the wires need to go! Hopefully, this is the last of the Low Rises and we get going with the big boys. The city should really promote taller buildings in downtown area, nothing less than 8 - 10 stories. i know that taller than 4 or 5 floors means no wood, but we are building for the future and we need to build smarter than this. Oh and the Orsini looks like crap.

But I agree. Downtown should start really building up. 8 stories should be the minimum height for new residences. And for God's sake, no more Orsini/Medici/Peiro/Visconti nonsense. No city should be subject to that shit. Buildings like Glo and Mura I can tolerate to an extent. But I'd love to see more glass and bold designs.

[WonderlandPark]

Most of that crap belongs in the Valley, no offense to the Valley, I am moving there in a week, but this is downtown. And I also have to say: Orsini looks like crap.

[LA420]

Originally Posted by WonderlandPark

Most of that crap belongs in the Valley, no offense to the Valley, I am moving there in a week, but this is downtown. And I also have to say: Orsini looks like crap.

HERE HERE Your absolutely right

[JDRCRASH]

^ ^ ^ ^ ^
I agree no less with you guys; large-scale development in Downtown is long overdue. Every time we try to build up, the U.S. Economy plunges into a Recession and development completely grinds to a halt.

If any of you go to Glendale/Burbank and the San Gabriel Valleys, the type of low-rise development you speak about is already commencing.

Since I live in West Covina, we REALLY feel the pain each weekday; as the 10/605 Interchange (possibly one of the worst in the entire Nation), is always clogged with traffic transitioning from 10 Westbound to 605 Southbound.
Its really poor-planned by the state and really needs to be upgraded.

[LAMetroGuy]

Great updates... wow really shows how much dt has come along. Yes cole, I agree... evo should be a lot taller. And

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Originally Posted by ocman

I'm actually really interested to know who plans on taking over for Gehry on phase 2. I wouldn't want that corner to be so Gehry dominated. Huge multi-structured projects shouldn't be designed by one architect.

I completely agree! In the same vein, I am glad Related sold off Block 8 to two different developers who potentially will use (hopefully) 2 different architect firms. It gives the area more spice I think and adds the needed diversity to make the immediate area seem more organically grown.

[edluva]

yup, downtown la's starting to look as nice as irvine these days. just a few more glo's and orsini's and we're practically there!

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

Mura
The south side facing Zip Fusion and E. 3rd. Hey citywatch, what's wrong with this picture?

Huh? What are you talking about?!

Nice to know that if ppl in that hood ever wanna get a jolt of energy in the morning, all they have to do is reach up several dozen feet, & BZZZTTT, ZAAPPP!!!

Thanks for the photo updates, esp of the Brockman.

BTW, you had a post several days ago in the LA forum about the brockman's web site. You said you could have sworn it once listed the dean & deluca grocery store as the ground floor tenant. I didn't make an effort to reply to your comment at the time, but I do recall seeing the brockman's site right after it was first revamped & a "gourmet mkt" I've never heard of was mentioned from the beginning.

I still don't get why, unlike the original web site for the brockman that showed floor plans, the newer one doesn't. And the fact that proj is taking, oh, half a century to complete may be a possible answer to alikaalex's question about what's going on with the loft proj next to the PE bldg.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by fridayinla

Emerald Terrace (Recently Completed) - Yuck.

Now THAT bldg deserves to be complained about! The most visible part of it, which is the corner with the rounded roofline notched at the top, has such ridiculously small windows, giving a real cheap look to the whole bldg, that I'm guessing the devlpr must have gotten his blueprints at Home depot, but doesn't give a damn cuz he's aiming his bldg at subsidized tenants or buyers?

Thanks for the update! The work of you & colemonkee is the next best thing to an actual trip through the hood. I've esp been wondering about projs like the Broadstone, which sits right next to the fwy. I recall all the times I'd drive down Fig & know that if a person turned west on 2nd St, that just one block over, instead of a new proj like Broadstone (or Canvas), there was nothing but a motley assortment of parking lots & dives.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

Downtown should start really building up. 8 stories should be the minimum height for new residences.

You may be setting yourself up for either a very long wait or disappointment. I say that when, again, devlprs like Astani appear to be straining to at least start up actual construction on a highrise condo proj that ALREADY has broken ground, when the devlpr of the Medallion has downsized his proj from more than 7 floors to a shorter wood framed one----& still is taking forever to begin real work on his bldgs----& when the builder of the Glass tower seems to be doing a tap & dance number on everyone.

Another reason too is we're entering a very iffy time, when interest rates on mortgages are going up, sales of homes are going down----& if ppl who live in the burbs or westside now want to buy a place in DT, but also have a tough time selling their current home, you end up with the domino effect-----&, worse, there's still a lot of ppl, esp in LA, who are very cautious about the idea of living in a condo or apt located in a bldg that's over 8 floors tall, & has the higher costs associated with big bldgs.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by edluva

just a few more glo's and orsini's and we're practically there!

In your honor, I'll post the following :









Truly mahvelous bldgs! kitschy & cornball, & crappy too, but like Vegas, or Elvis, or women with too many facelifts & implants, apparently appealing to quite a few ppl. These apt bldgs have leased up faster than almost any other in the hood. By contrast, I know one of my favorites, the Packard apt bldg in south pk still had a pretty high number of unrented units just a few months ago, & metro417, which I think is the height of architectural quality, took a lot longer to fill up too than nouveau burban type junk like the orsini.

[BrandonJXN]

Originally Posted by citywatch

[/b]
You may be setting yourself up for either a very long wait or disappointment. I say that when, again, devlprs like Astani appear to be straining to at least start up actual construction on a highrise condo proj that ALREADY has broken ground, when the devlpr of the Medallion has downsized his proj from more than 7 floors to a shorter wood framed one----& still is taking forever to begin real work on his bldgs----& when the builder of the Glass tower seems to be doing a tap & dance number on everyone.

Another reason too is we're entering a very iffy time, when interest rates on mortgages are going up, sales of homes are going down----& if ppl who live in the burbs or westside now want to buy a place in DT, but also have a tough time selling their current home, you end up with the domino effect-----&, worse, there's still a lot of ppl, esp in LA, who are very cautious about the idea of living in a condo or apt located in a bldg that's over 8 floors tall, & has the higher costs associated with big bldgs.

While I know jack crap about interest rates and home owning and all that goes with it, I think it's silly for people to move into a building like Glo or Emerald Terrece (which would be iconic buildings in places like Palmdale or Castiac) and think that they are a part of 'urban living.' Downtown LA will never truly be urban if people from the Westside move to a building like ugly Orsini on the outskirts of downtown.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

Downtown LA will never truly be urban if people from the Westside move to a building like ugly Orsini on the outskirts of downtown.

If your criterion is based on the height of a bldg, then I'd say you're being too picky or narrow in your definition. For example, think of the thousands of lowrise apt/condo bldgs, many of them known as "brownstones", that exist in NYC. SF, as another example, also is highly praised for its urbanism, but many of its hoods aren't exactly wall to wall with highrises.

However, if your definition is based on the aesthetics of a bldg or hood, that's another matter. But in that case, the hovel like condition & look of many parts of DTLA has represented the bottom of the barrel for several generations.