LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 3.0

[edluva]

like i always say, unless la's parking req'ts change, we're going to continue to get disappointments like this. huge lowrise podium developments with enormous garages taking up acres of land, and still costing a lot of money. and our parking requirements won't change until transit does. south park's going to look like sporadic gaptoothed skyline poking out of a giant podium

[ladowntowner]

Originally Posted by citywatch

The LA central towers look kind of bland, & it appears a large above ground parking structure is going to take up part of the block of land. I'd guess unlike Concerto's underground garage, the parking spaces for Monian's proj will go from the 1st level upward to save $$$. I can't take that lightly cuz the higher the cost of building the condos, the harder it will be to sell them.

I like the taller, slimmer tower better, but they are both admittedly plain Janes. Hopefully with added details and further render iterations they'll improve. In every case I prefer the parking to be underground, but these guys did a pretty good job of obscuring the parking structure within the project, with retail fronting it and a minimum of it visible externally. Since they made that effort, and it helps make the project economically viable, I can accept the fact that it isn't underground.

Originally Posted by citywatch

As for another grocery store just a few blocks away from the new Ralphs!? I know Whole Foods' format is different from Ralphs, with WF being for the more health conscious shopper, & with higher prices to match. If LA Central is built within the next 3 or so yrs, & it does contain a WF, I hope it & the ralphs don't cannibilize each other.

As long as a lot of the other proposed/approved projects in South Park come online before or at about the same time as LA Central (and sell/lease well), I think the hood should be able support both. That's a lot of new residents, not to mention all the office workers who can shop to kill time while waiting for traffic to die down before departing on their nasty commutes. Better that than suffering through traffic just to go shopping in the 'burbs near home.

[petescafe]

Look what's happening this morning. Bye, bye parking lot.

[citywatch]

^ The breaking news scoop goes to you, petescafe!

Getting rid of that deadzone is even more important not only because all that asphalt is junk, but so are all the fugly billboards & cheap parking lot lights with wires hanging between them.

I guess the DT News saying groundbreaking would be on sunday isn't quite as off as their saying Ralphs would be opening on Friday, June 20th.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by ladowntowner

That's a lot of new residents, not to mention all the office workers who can shop to kill time while waiting for traffic to die down before departing on their nasty commutes. Better that than suffering through traffic just to go shopping in the 'burbs near home.

One of the odd things about DT & the fwys around there is that often the fwys will be jammed with cars while many of the streets of the hood itself are quiet. I've also seen lines of cars headed out of DT, while the hood the ppl in those cars are leaving behind looks empty. Certainly several yrs ago it was easy to say those ppl were abandoning a hood at the end of the day that wasn't worth hanging around for. Now the burbs most of those ppl are driving out to seem to deserve even less all the drive time & aggravation from clogged roads.

[Steve2726]

I believe there is an updated render for the St. Vibiana residential project. I did a search but only came up with the original photo on the first page. Go to www.nadelarc.com> portfolio> commercial and residential> multifamily residential > The residences at St. Vibiana. I need help posting the flash photo. Sorry if this is already mentioned.

[petescafe]

Two more photos, got to head to work now.

[colemonkee]

^ That looks like a good sign to me. Looks like they're still milking every second of parking revenue, though.

Steve, here's the updated info on the St. Vibiana tower from Nadel's web site. Looks like it's 35 stories now, instead of the original 41. Still a very good size for that area. I'll update the front page later tonight.



The Residences at St. Vibiana
Los Angeles, CA

This 35-story condominium tower is located adjacent to the historic St. Vibiana Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles. Its 350 luxury loft-style units will be the residential component of an overall larger mixed-use cultural and entertainment center. The tower will be serviced by an 800-stall parking structure. Decomissioned in 2002, the church will be used as a venue for special events, concerts, exhibits, and lectures. Ground floor public spaces between the church and the condominium tower will be designed as a continuous experience. When all buildings are completed and renovated, the site will be a cultural campus including a versatile events hall, a boutique hotel, restaurants and cafes, retail amenities, and the Residences.

[Steve2726]

Awesome, thanks.

[fridayinla]

Originally Posted by petescafe

Two more photos, got to head to work now.

Woo hoo! Dirt has never looked so beautiful

Hopefully by the end of this week that parking lot will be completely dozed. They're cracking me up with the last minute parking revenue. Give it up already!

[LAMetroGuy]

According to Morley Builders:

New York developer, The Moinian Group, is bringing a new entertainment and residential corridor to the corner of 11th and Figueroa in downtown Los Angeles. L.A. Central will feature two towers (54 and 40 stories), a hotel, and 11 parking levels for residents and visitors.

http://www.morleybuilders.com/building_blocks/current_bb.pdf

[SD_Phil]

Originally Posted by citywatch

[/b]

As for another grocery store just a few blocks away from the new Ralphs!? I know Whole Foods' format is different from Ralphs, with WF being for the more health conscious shopper, & with higher prices to match. If LA Central is built within the next 3 or so yrs, & it does contain a WF, I hope it & the ralphs don't cannibilize each other.

Don't know if these two cases are exactly the same but here in San Diego (UTC area) a WF and Ralphs have sat across the street from one another for years. I shop at Ralphs for 70% of the things I need, at a Trader Joe's (right next door to the Ralphs) for 20% and WF for the remaining 10%. Seems like they can all live in harmony, at least here.

[fridayinla]

Originally Posted by SD_Phil

Don't know if these two cases are exactly the same but here in San Diego (UTC area) a WF and Ralphs have sat across the street from one another for years. I shop at Ralphs for 70% of the things I need, at a Trader Joe's (right next door to the Ralphs) for 20% and WF for the remaining 10%. Seems like they can all live in harmony, at least here.

Agreed. Also, 3 years down the road downtown will have many more residents. Just in South Park alone - Concerto, Evo, 717 Ninth, Residences at Ritz Carlton, Hanover and LA Central will all be open by then. Possibly even Jardin.

[Steve2726]

I am on a bit of a roll, here is an updated render of the Zen tower from Kawada:

http://www.buildingtradesnews.com/latest/kawada-company-to-bring-zen-to-los-angeles-4.html




Tuesday, 19 June 2007

The Kawada Company of America is planning on making downtown Los Angeles a little more “Zen.” This particular “Zen” will take the form of a 330-unit condo tower rising 50 stories at the northeast corner of Third and Hill streets.

These “soft-loft” and penthouse condominium units will range from 495 to 2,765 square feet in area, with 66 units being dedicated to workforce housing. A parking garage with approximately 700 parking spaces will occupy 10 floors above grade, and will be topped by a two-story, 57,000-square-foot fitness center and indoor pool.

About 10,000 square feet of retail is planned including a high-end convenience store. A slender, Asian-inspired glass-tower structure will feature condos with an outdoor garden or sunroom. A large roof garden or balcony will overlook downtown. When completed, the project will be one of the tallest residential building in downtown. The outdoor garden, pool, and health club will be open to the public.

“This project will be the first great redevelopment project of this caliber in the 14th District,” said Ziegler.
The Kawada Company’s principal, Natsuo “Nat” Kawada, is a long-time property owner in Los Angeles has been active in the downtown business community for many years. Kawada’s companies own or control several successful downtown properties, including the nearby Kawada Hotel.

“Mr. Kawada retains his properties. He is not going to build this project and then sell it as some developers do,” said Ziegler.

The 26,400-square-foot site of the development is currently at Joe’s Parking Lot; it neighbors Grand Central Market and the senior housing complex Angelus Plaza. The project, being touted by Kawada as the first new mixed-use high-rise in the district, is currently under review by the city. The project has received widespread community support including the Central City Association, downtown Neighborhood Council, Weingart Center Association, along with numerous businesses and trade associations.

The project has also received support from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and City Council Members Jose Huizar--whose District the project will be built in--and Jan Perry.
The project is currently in the entitlement process, according to Ziegler. If all goes according to plan, the project will break ground in January of 2008.

[LAMetroGuy]

So the Zen beast lives...great find! Hopefully the January '08 date pans out!

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

wow, what a nice 10 hours worth of information. Great job with all the new renders. Zen looks very nice as does Vibiana's. I just wish that Fig Central will be altered a bit.

[WonderlandPark]

Originally Posted by Steve2726

The project, being touted by Kawada as the first new mixed-use high-rise in the district, is currently under review by the city.

Still under review? A the 50 story Zen has been floating around for like 3 years now, probably longer.

[BrandonJXN]

At least it's alive. Zen has been the one tower I've been hoping would rise since I heard of it.

[citywatch]

^ I hate to be the yang to the yin, but cuz I don't like being fooled more than I have to be, & end up being the sucker, I can't get too excited about the Zen tower til I know who's funding it, how solid that funder is, & til I have more current sales figures for existing condo projs in the hood in general.

All I know is that right now it's taking several months for projs like the skylofts, market lofts & 1100 wilshire to sell a fair portion of their units. And I have a suspicion that even the South group's 3rd tower, Evo, is showing more resistance from potential buyers than what elleven & Luma were greeted with. That may be why their 4th tower, originally called Jardin, has been delayed & is supposed to be having problems in getting funding.

I'll say it again, but it's at least as important knowing how sales or leasing in existing condo & apt projs is doing as it is in keeping track of a proposed proj's latest design, number of floors, amt of parking, whether it will be made of wood or steel, & so on & so forth.

[DJM19]

Zen looks great, hope its built!