LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 3.0 - Page 34

fridayinla · #**661** Posted **Jul 6, 2007, 6:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LongBeachUrbanist

That's it. Further east, the weeds get even worse.

You're right, it does. That whole stretch is Orsini III. Is there really that much of a demand to live in tacky housing on the fringes of downtown?

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAlossi

But do we prefer weeds or another Palmer development? Oh god, three Palmers all on the same corner!!! They are all going to look exactly the same!

Considering what's there now, I prefer a Palmder development. Tacky is better than trashy if I'm left with only that choice.

citywatch · #**662** Posted **Jul 6, 2007, 6:47 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by fridayinla

That's the site for Orsini phase 3. BBQ King, a junky auto shop and lots of graffiti will soon be history.

Thanks for that pic, because it shows one of those sights that, even though I'm aware they exist, & have seen them before, never fail to catch me off guard, then somehow drive me crazy all over again, & finally make me realize why so many ppl diss LA. They force me to understand why ppl will think "how the heck can anyone live here?! This hood is a big joke!"

Going through DT, esp on a wkday or even on the wkend, & seeing so few ppl walking or even driving about also drives me nuts too. I was in Pasadena a few wks ago, took a look at parts of their oldtown, saw all the ppl milling about, then drove to DT later that day (around 7:00 pm) &, even though it was a wkday, was surprised at how quiet the hood looked. That & noticing the various deadzones & gaps, like the ones across from Disney Hall, was a double whack in the face. That's why it won't come a second too soon when work finally begins on new devlpt like the Grand Ave proj.

citywatch · #**663** Posted **Jul 6, 2007, 6:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by fridayinla

You're right, it does. That whole stretch is Orsini III. Is there really that much of a demand to live in tacky housing on the fringes of downtown?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Originally Posted by RAlossi

But do we prefer weeds or another Palmer development? Oh god, three Palmers all on the same corner!!! They are all going to look exactly the same!

And, colemonkee, you say I complain too much?!

TOMdowntown · #**664** Posted **Jul 6, 2007, 7:20 PM**

Digging has indeed resumed at Concerto. This project definitely appears up and running again. Who knows if it has been revamped, but it is moving forward. I can post a pic if someone can tell me how.

fridayinla · #**665** Posted **Jul 6, 2007, 7:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by TOMdowntown

Digging has indeed resumed at Concerto. This project definitely appears up and running again. Who knows if it has been revamped, but it is moving forward. I can post a pic if someone can tell me how.

You'll have to upload it to an image hosting website like Flickr or ImageShack and link to the image's url using the little image icon on the toolbar.

BrandonJXN · #**666** Posted **Jul 6, 2007, 8:08 PM**

Somewhere, citywatch is smiling.

The corner of 9th and Fig will hopefully become the gateway to LA Live. Barring anymore delays, hopefully both towers of Concerto (as well as the 7 story midrise) will be complete by 2009.

colemonkee · #**667** Posted **Jul 6, 2007, 9:38 PM**

Hot damn! Another site to hit up on the photo updates.

On another note, the orange barricades have been removed from around the retail spaces at Pan American Lofts on Broadway and 3rd. Hopefully move-ins are just around the corner.

k3d · #**668** Posted **Jul 6, 2007, 10:35 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by colemonkee

Hot damn! Another site to hit up on the photo updates.

On another note, the orange barricades have been removed from around the retail spaces at Pan American Lofts on Broadway and 3rd. Hopefully move-ins are just around the corner.

Speaking of retail spaces, I was curious why if the Coffee Bean / Tea Leaf at Ralph's / Market Lofts looks like it is ready to open, are the other retail spaces not occupied? They have already announced Quiznos, Coldstone, UPS and a few others but none of them seem to be in a hurry to even get started.

LosAngelesBeauty · #**669** Posted **Jul 6, 2007, 10:59 PM**

^ The UPS store is actively under construction as of last week.

Easy · #**670** Posted **Jul 6, 2007, 10:59 PM**

Isn't that usually the case when a grocery store opens in a strip mall? The grocery store is first and the other businesses follow because they need the traffic flow from the grocery to be succesful. The model for downtown should be a litttle different, but at this point I guess it's not. Plus all of those stores are small. They should be able to move in pretty quickly once they actually start.

I was wondering why there are two Coffee Beans? One inside the grocery and the outside one which is literally just feet away. Maybe they could have been creative and used the space inside for something different.

Easy · #**671** Posted **Jul 6, 2007, 11:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LosAngelesBeauty

^ The UPS store is actively under construction as of last week.

By construction do you mean move-in or building construction? I didn't see any sign of a move-in at any of the storefronts except Coffee Bean.

fridayinla · #**672** Posted **Jul 6, 2007, 11:13 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Easy

I was wondering why there are two Coffee Beans? One inside the grocery and the outside one which is literally just feet away. Maybe they could have been creative and used the space inside for something different.

Same situation with the Ralphs at Wilshire/Western. There's a new Coffee Bean inside the upgraded Ralphs and a new one opening in the Mercury, just across the street. I guess the CB locations will be targeting different pedestrian traffic.

funhaus · #**673** Posted **Jul 6, 2007, 11:51 PM**

Today's Downtown News has an article on the Medallion at 4th and Main. Confirms that the reconfigured development will break ground on July 15th.

Quote:

The $125 million, five-acre complex will have nine buildings ranging from one to seven stories. It will include nearly 203,000 square feet of retail, 188 rental units and a giant outdoor plaza and amphitheater.

http://downtownnews.com/articles/2007/07/09/news/news03.txt

funhaus · #**674** Posted **Jul 6, 2007, 11:56 PM**

Oh, and an article on Concerto, confirming both towers are still in the plan...

Quote:

Concerto Gets Funds, Gets Going

News Brief

The long-stalled Concerto project at the corner of Figueroa and Ninth streets, which has sat as a large hole in the ground for more than six months, may soon see some construction activity. The developer, Sonny Astani of Astani Enterprises, announced last week that he has received a new $190 million loan from Corus Bank to finance the project. The previous loan fell through because of sub-prime lending problems, Astani said. Construction slowly started back up on July 4 and the first step will be to complete the 1,000-space subterranean parking lot, said Astani. If all goes well, the first phase of the project - a 30-story tower and a six-floor building - will be ready for occupancy by May 2009. Construction will then begin on the second phase of the project, another 30-story tower. Altogether, Concerto will have 624 residential units, 23,000 square feet of retail space and a one-acre urban park. The towers will have glass walls, a first for the area, as well as 10 1/2-foot ceilings, Astani said. "It will be an iconic building, and it has come with a huge price and complexity," said Astani. Expect to see a large crane on the site soon.

citywatch · #**675** Posted **Jul 7, 2007, 12:48 AM**

fridayinla · #**676** Posted **Jul 7, 2007, 12:54 AM**

^After all the delays, down-sizing and disappointments on both Medallion & Concerto, we finally get the pay back!!!

fridayinla · #**677** Posted **Jul 7, 2007, 12:58 AM**

Colemonkee, make that two new sites to hit up for photo updates!! I'll be there, camera in hand.

TOMdowntown · #**678** Posted **Jul 7, 2007, 1:11 AM**

Friday's work on Concerto. The hole for the crane is now dug, but that is all that happened today.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40391708@N00/742907621/in/photostream/

fridayinla · #**679** Posted **Jul 7, 2007, 1:25 AM**

I'm going to retract my comments a couple days ago regarding Medallion. After reading that article, it sounds like the entire project is really well designed, on an urban planning level. I love all the public spaces, pedestrian alleys, multi-tiered plazas and the way it engages both the OBD and Wholesale District fronts. It sounds like it's going to double or even triple the amount of walkable and "interesting" space in that neigborhood. I'm looking forward to it.

Someone also mentioned a couple days ago that an old office building across from the Blossom restaurant is being renovated for more parking. Sounds like that been timed precisely to coincide with the lose of all the surface spaces.

Easy · #**680** Posted **Jul 7, 2007, 1:37 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by fridayinla

I'm going to retract my comments a couple days ago regarding Medallion. After reading that article, it sounds like the entire project is really well designed, on an urban planning level. I love all the public spaces, pedestrian alleys, multi-tiered plazas and the way it engages both the OBD and Wholesale District fronts. It sounds like it's going to double or even triple the amount of walkable and "interesting" space in that neigborhood. I'm looking forward to it.

Someone also mentioned a couple days ago that an old office building across from the Blossom restaurant is being renovated for more parking. Sounds like that been timed precisely to coincide with the lose of all the surface spaces.

I agree but it could still be taller. It's going to be there forever.

That parking garage must be the one owned by Tom Gilmore that's mentioned in the DTNews article.