LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 3.0

[petescafe]

Originally Posted by fridayinla

Oohh, I might have believed you for a second if you hadn't called it a parking structure.

That's what it is now. No more offices.

[fridayinla]

Originally Posted by petescafe

That's what it is now. No more offices.

We're talking about the surface lot at 4th & Main (NE corner), the site of the future Medallion development. It's supposed to break ground this month, so we're all watching closely for a green construction fence to go up soon.

[petescafe]

Originally Posted by fridayinla

We're talking about the surface lot at 4th & Main (NE corner), the site of the future Medallion development. It's supposed to break ground this month, so we're all watching closely for a green construction fence to go up soon.

I'm talking about the building across from The Blossom restaurant.

It was an old MTA building and is currently used as the main parking area for the San Fernando, the Hellman, and the Continental buildings. The entire building is being gutted for parking now.

Only the bottom 2 floors and the basement are currently being used for parking, but after the construction, all 6 floors will be open.

I think the plan is to get it ready for the opening of the El Dorado as well as the project on 5th and Spring.

Regarding the parking lot, one of the giant billboards that faced Third st. was taken down about a month ago. There's still one left facing Main St., plus the womens shelter should be moving into there new San Pedro digs soon next to the Tokyo lofts.

[RAlossi]

Originally Posted by petescafe

There's still one left facing Main St.

Gotta love the Spearmint Rhino. Hot.

[fridayinla]

Originally Posted by petescafe

I'm talking about the building across from The Blossom restaurant.

It was an old MTA building and is currently used as the main parking area for the San Fernando, the Hellman, and the Continental buildings. The entire building is being gutted for parking now.

Only the bottom 2 floors and the basement are currently being used for parking, but after the construction, all 6 floors will be open.

I think the plan is to get it ready for the opening of the El Dorado as well as the project on 5th and Spring.

Regarding the parking lot, one of the giant billboards that faced Third st. was taken down about a month ago. There's still one left facing Main St., plus the womens shelter should be moving into there new San Pedro digs soon next to the Tokyo lofts.

Ah, gotcha! That's good news. I think the El Dorado and Rowan buildings will be opening early 2008... FINALLY!!

Regarding Medallion, once the women's shelter is out, we should have a green light, right guys?

[RAlossi]

The Rowan and El Dorado are such great buildings -- and very important ones for the continued development of the Historic Core. I can't wait for this lease to be over so I can get a cool place elsewhere Downtown.

[Easy]

Originally Posted by RAlossi

The Rowan and El Dorado are such great buildings -- and very important ones for the continued development of the Historic Core. I can't wait for this lease to be over so I can get a cool place elsewhere Downtown.

I think that where you are now is pretty cool. You have Union Station at your back door. Easy connections to Amtrak, Metrolink, red line purple line, gold line, flyaway bus, and several Metro and muni bus lines. Plus you're close to the civic center, little tokyo, chinatown, and the other areas of downtown are not that far away especially by public transportation. The historic pueblo on Olvera Street is right across the street.

In short although the area where you are isn't really happening right now it's easy to see why it could be in 5 or 10 years. Especially after Medallion, Block 8, the Little Tokyo gold line station, and hopefully some other projects fill in some of the gaps and create a more seamless transition between Union Station and the rest of downtown.

[BrandonJXN]

Where exactly will the Medallion be located and why is it so important?

[petescafe]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

Where exactly will the Medallion be located and why is it so important?

The Madallion will be located between 3rd and 4th and Main st and Los Angeles st. It will take up one city block.

Here's a link for more info.

http://www.m2a-architects.com/portfolio/multifamily/medallion.html

[Easy]

The Medallion is going to fill a humongous dead zone. It's almost like downtown just stops at that parking lot. At least that's what it feels like when you're walking.

Of course we were all originally excited about this project when it was projected to break ground two years ago. It's been scaled down so much that I'm more excited about the removal of the dead zone. The project itself isn't really much to be excited about anymore.

[jlrobe]

Originally Posted by Sodha

I worked up north for a bit and when I transferred to socal, HR told me its easier to send people to SF or SJ but not LA, OC, or SD. They said their is A LOT MORE DEMAND for people to move to southern california, and not northern california. Weather plays a huge part, beaches as well, activities (if you've been up north, you'd know there is only SF and everything else). In LA, we have downtown, hollywood, santa monica, venice, marina, etc... Nowhere near that type of activity like in SF. I think $500k is very reasonable for LA, and reasonable for SF b/c you are in an awesome urban area. BTW...my company is VERY PROMINENT and has over 70k workers in the US.

Well, I am not so sure if LA is in more demand than Norcal. I like both areas and I dont want to compare them, they are just different.

I love LA and LA has lots to offer, I am not arguing that. What I am saying is that Downtown LA is quite under-developed compared to other good areas. Downtown LA has tons of POTENTIAL, but weighing its current disadvantages, it is not the focal point of southern CA, YET! Downtown LA's price-per-sqft (including the super high HOA's), do not reflect this reality, and that is why I am complaining.

Downtown SF is obviously the cultural, culinary, and shopping capitol of northern CA, and thus is justified as being the most expensive area in terms of price-per-sqft in the entire state.

I am not comparing Norcal to Socal, I am comparing Greater Downtown SF to Greater Downtown LA. Downtown LA should be expensive because it is in LA and because it does have potential, but it shouldnt be downtown SF expensive. Not YET anyways.

[jlrobe]

Originally Posted by Easy

The Medallion is going to fill a humongous dead zone. It's almost like downtown just stops at that parking lot. At least that's what it feels like when you're walking.

Of course we were all originally excited about this project when it was projected to break ground two years ago. It's been scaled down so much that I'm more excited about the removal of the dead zone. The project itself isn't really much to be excited about anymore.

Man, costs, costs costs are really pissing me off. anyhow, in 2005, given all the projects on the table, I was like, "man, downtown LA in 2008 will be pretty damn cool". Sometimes I still think, "man, downtown LA in 2010 will be cool" but then I remember what I thought in 2005, and remember that potential is not the same as reality.

Anyhow, I too focus on removing deadzones. As long as the project has ground level retail and does not shorten the sidewalk, I dont care. A deadzone gone is a deadzone gone. 4th and main has a lot of pedestrians and is a fun corner, so that deadzone is particularly annoying.

[bobcat]

Video of the DTLA Housing Forum. No major announcements, but nonetheless interesting to watch. Projects discussed include Grand Ave Project, Park Fifth, and Market Lofts.

http://la36.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=11&clip_id=2606

[ladowntowner]

Originally Posted by jlrobe

... Anyhow, I too focus on removing deadzones. As long as the project has ground level retail and does not shorten the sidewalk, I dont care. A deadzone gone is a deadzone gone. 4th and main has a lot of pedestrians and is a fun corner, so that deadzone is particularly annoying.

I generally agree that deadzone elimination is a good thing. I just lament that the lots/blocks are being underutilized, not living up to their potential and not creating the density I would like to see and that downtown could support and should have. We will be stuck with these lower density, suburban type projects for many decades until (or if) the economics improve to the point that it will be worthwhile to demolish them in favor or more dense developments. So my opinion is that the low density developments, as a result of just being there, will delay the time frame of when denser projects will move on to these lots/blocks.

Again, and with that said, generally I do believe deadzone elimination is a positive step forward even with these low-rises as long as the projects try to blend into and become part of the street/neighborhood, rather than some gated suburban fortress or off-world colony.

[ladowntowner]

I don't believe I've seen anyone else post on this. Today I happened upon a "NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO PROPERTY OWNERS AND OCCUPANTS WITHIN A 500-FOOT RADIUS" posted along the construction site at L.A. Live regarding a hearing on an "Amendment of the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment District Specific Plan" requested by Fig Central, LLC.

In short they were asking to increase the square footage of the project by 368,101 sq feet, increase one of the tower's height from 494 feet to 575 feet and the other from 350 feet to 455 feet, increase from 700 residential units to 860 residential units and 220 hotel rooms, and an increase in the allowed number of alcohol uses from 24 to 34 among a few other minor changes.

The hearing was June 29th and I'm not sure what happened, but I seriously doubt it would not be approved. Full document can be viewed here: http://cityplanning.lacity.org/MeetingsnHearings/dsp_viewFileDetail.cfm?filename=AAAHbZAAFAAARgbAAN

This sounds like good news because it could mean that these guys have faith in DT and they sense the demand for more units. OTH, it could be they may have discovered that the changes were necessary to get the project to "pencil out" due to rising costs and it's now in jeopardy. Hopefully it doesn't delay or kill the project, and whatever the reason, as long as it gets built as now envisioned it's still good news since we get a denser project. Let's keep our collective fingers crossed on this one!

[RAlossi]

Great catch! I don't see any reason it wouldn't be approved... but we are starting to see the beginnings of some NIMBYism. I'd love to see an updated render.

[Dale]

Originally Posted by ladowntowner

I don't believe I've seen anyone else post on this. Today I happened upon a "NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO PROPERTY OWNERS AND OCCUPANTS WITHIN A 500-FOOT RADIUS" posted along the construction site at L.A. Live regarding a hearing on an "Amendment of the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment District Specific Plan" requested by Fig Central, LLC.

In short they were asking to increase the square footage of the project by 368,101 sq feet, increase one of the tower's height from 494 feet to 575 feet and the other from 350 feet to 455 feet, increase from 700 residential units to 860 residential units and 220 hotel rooms, and an increase in the allowed number of alcohol uses from 24 to 34 among a few other minor changes.

The hearing was June 29th and I'm not sure what happened, but I seriously doubt it would not be approved. Full document can be viewed here: http://cityplanning.lacity.org/MeetingsnHearings/dsp_viewFileDetail.cfm?filename=AAAHbZAAFAAARgbAAN

This sounds like good news because it could mean that these guys have faith in DT and they sense the demand for more units. OTH, it could be they may have discovered that the changes were necessary to get the project to "pencil out" due to rising costs and it's now in jeopardy. Hopefully it doesn't delay or kill the project, and whatever the reason, as long as it gets built as now envisioned it's still good news since we get a denser project. Let's keep our collective fingers crossed on this one!

Does this mean the Hilton would only be 575' at best, or are we talking about two other towers here ?

[BrandonJXN]

^ It's regarding LA Central.

[ladowntowner]

Originally Posted by Dale

Does this mean the Hilton would only be 575' at best, or are we talking about two other towers here ?

Yeah.. sorry if I didn't make that clear. L.A. Central it is, which I believe will be catercorner to L.A. Live, on the South-East corner of Fig and Chick Hearn. So, yeah, stuff IN ADDITION to everything at L.A. Live.

[Dale]

Originally Posted by ladowntowner

Yeah.. sorry if I didn't make that clear. L.A. Central it is, which I believe will be catercorner to L.A. Live, on the South-East corner of Fig and Chick Hearn. So, yeah, stuff IN ADDITION to everything at L.A. Live.

Thanks! This is good news then.