LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 3.0

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesBeauty

Hotel Cecil was purchased by a gentleman named Fred Cordova (from Colliers Seeley) and will be converting it into a new hip/trendy boutique hotel with a different name! He wouldn't disclose what the new moniker would be, but he said "You guys are gonna like it!" He said it's gonna get "new" second-hand furniture (beds, etc.) from Las Vegas hotels like Bellagio. New flat screen TVs in all the rooms, a new higher-end restaurant on the ground floor, and revamping the hotel will be completed hopefully by New Years Eve, where he hopes to have a large outdoor party to ring in the new year (in the parking lot across the street that Barry Shy owns I believe).

That's good to know. At first I thought the hotel you were referring to was the one at 4th & Main, across from the Medallion site & the San Fernando bldg. But that's the Hotel barclay.


eecue.com

To complete the clean up of that intersection, I kind of hoping it was. I wonder what's the condition of the Barclay----assuming right now it's a typical SRO----& what may happen to it in the future, if anything?

As for the Cecil, it's lobby was put into decent shape not too long ago, but I'm sure alot more elbow grease can be put into restoring the rest of the hotel in general.


you-are-here.com

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by petescafe

Here's a quick photo update as of this morning. This shot is taken from Pete's Cafe's front door.

Sure hope all the asphalt going right up to edge of the Main St side of the lot is scrapped out before too long. I guess the one downside to that is that ppl wanting to drop into Pete's cafe will have to park elsewhere.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

citywatch, you're too predictable. You should shake it up every once in a while.

OK. How's this: the medallion is too short! No more than 5 stories tall. Why is such a burban type proj being built in DTLA?

And I sure wish the start up schedule of the Medallion proj had been as predictable as the one for Related's new apt bldg now rising in Little Tokyo.

[fridayinla]

I've always thought the Cecil Hotel it was an asset to the new Main Street neighborhood, but disconnected and under-utilized for what it is. It's another link in the chain to connect 2nd Street to 7th Street. Which leads into the streetscape improvement grant mentioned. I agree with Colemonkee that improvements should be made up to 2nd Street. Then again, the developers of Medallion will surely include streetscape improvements into their project, as should the city with the new LAPD parking garage, and blogdowntown mentioned that the new ImaginAsian center will have a scultpure-esque bike rack on the sidewalk. Maybe that 2 block stretch is covered anyway.

Cecil Hotel today

[LAofAnaheim]

Hey...I have adjusted my name to better conceal my identity (i.e. Sodha = LAofAnaheim).

Anyways, I was at the meeting as well and I will chime in with other tidbits.

- Hotel Cecil, besides being refurbished, will be re-branded with a new name. The hotel will be targeted for guests/visitors of loft residences in the Historic Core. Yes, there is a plan for a huge New Year's party on the parking lot behind the Hotel Cecil. He was talking about a ball dropping, but I couldn't make it out as a joke or him being serious.

- ImaginAsian Theater is targeted to open in the last week of October. The owner plans to open a rooftop bar/lounge along with the theater inside. The hope is that people come early for drinks on the rooftop and go downstairs for their movie.

- Santa Fe lofts is having a hard time obtaining a CUP license (alcohol license). They were asking us to help or provide assistance so that they could open a bar/grill restaurant that will stay open until 2 am. A group called United Mission (??) is preventing them from obtaining the license saying that "the area has recovering alcoholics who will be tempted by another liquor servicing establishment". The City Council denied the Santa Fe Lofts the permit, but they are repealing.

- Russell Brown did make mention that the DLANC is trying to push for the downtown connector and the LA Trolley.

- As for Medallion parking, 400 surface parking spots are being removed, but 200 public parking spots will be included in the project. Construction for 1st phase will be 4th street side, the 2nd phase will commence once the 1st phase is completed.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

Russell Brown did make mention that the DLANC is trying to push for the downtown connector and the LA Trolley.

Actually from the way he used "Downtown Connector," my impression was he was speaking of a system that would "connect downtown" into an accessible area for pedestrians. He spoke of a system similar to Portland's trolley cars. He said that "wouldn't it be wonderful if no matter how someone was able to get to downtown, but when they get here, they'll have no problem getting around once they're in downtown."

I don't think he was referring to our Holy Grail of a line that would connect the regional Metro system through Downtown LA.

[funhaus]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

- Russell Brown did make mention that the DLANC is trying to push for the downtown connector and the LA Trolley.

I really hope the trolley happens.

[LAofAnaheim]

Yes...we need to make more awareness of the LA Trolley. Development is driven by the transportation available. How much longer can we sustain + 1,000 parking space garages?? I mean, it kills street life. With a parking garage, though hidden, allows a person to go underground, and inside the building/theater without ever walking on the street. Parking garages and "anti-gridlock" zone measures kill the pedestrian life. We need to overturn "anti-gridlock" zoning and reduce the parking garages available. It's not parking that's the problem in LA, it's providing a feasible and reliable mode of alternative transportation. We cannot use band-aids (i.e. parking garages) to solve our transportation mess. We need solutions (i.e. Red Line)!

[JDRCRASH]

Ahhhhhh!!!!!
I'm Back!!!!


My family and I were staying at a Timeshare hotel since last Friday in Doheny Beach, not far from San Clemente.
We got back about an hour and a half ago.
The shoreline is sooo beautiful and the surfing is awesome!
Man there are some real hot white babes out there!


Unfortunately, there was no Wi-Fi access in the building, and the nearest Starbucks was miles away, so I couldn't get on the Internet....


BTW, despite the Real Estate slowdown, that area of the Southland is still booming with new houses.

[JDRCRASH]

So back on topic, has there been recent high-rise proposals for Downtown from developers when I was gone?

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

Yes...we need to make more awareness of the LA Trolley. Development is driven by the transportation available. How much longer can we sustain + 1,000 parking space garages?? I mean, it kills street life. With a parking garage, though hidden, allows a person to go underground, and inside the building/theater without ever walking on the street. Parking garages and "anti-gridlock" zone measures kill the pedestrian life. We need to overturn "anti-gridlock" zoning and reduce the parking garages available. It's not parking that's the problem in LA, it's providing a feasible and reliable mode of alternative transportation. We cannot use band-aids (i.e. parking garages) to solve our transportation mess. We need solutions (i.e. Red Line)!

You said it right! An effective ALTERNATIVE to automobiles. I get super irritated when I read in the LA Times or any other newspaper when they make these ridiculous statements on how very little mass transit will help relieve congestion, as if that was a reason NOT to invest in mass transit and let's just go ahead an continue widening freeways! It's not unexpected since most of the people writing these articles probably do not rely SOLEY on mass transit, so they are viewing everything from a "I drive a car" lens/perspective.

The sole purpose of creating rail lines is to provide an effective alternative to the car and the intangible benefits to that is creating lively streets that feel vibrant and exciting. You can't really place a price on that, but it's definitely valuable!

[Easy]

I'm sorry to report that we may have been had once again. I walked around LA Central today and noticed that the fencing looked about the same. I noticed a movie crew (I think that you see where this is headed) mobilizing equipment on the South Group/Williams Dame/Whatever they are lot south of 12th. I didn't think much of it until I rode the blue line home and saw that the original wall on 12th street had been "aged" by painting it plywood brown and lots of fake ads and graffiti added to it. I suspect that the "construction fences" are incomplete because that's all they needed for the movie shoot. Maybe the heavy equipment inside the lot is a prop as well?

I'm so confused.

[BrandonJXN]

If that's the case, why would a production company need the lot almost a week beforehand?

[fridayinla]

LA Downtown News

Historic Theaters Get Cleaned

Downtown property owner Michael Delijani last week finished cleaning two key theaters along Broadway in preparation for a full restoration. The 1927 Tower Theater at 802 S. Broadway, which Delijani recently acquired for an undisclosed amount, and the 1911 Palace Theater at 630 S. Broadway were both washed with a mild chemical detergent. During work on the Tower, cleaning crews uncovered an original Orpheum Theater sign underneath a layer of plaster. A Delijani spokesman said he plans to restore the theater's clock tower, which was removed due to structural problems. The Los Angeles Theater at 615 S. Broadway is also slated for a cleaning.

[fridayinla]

CRA Approves Frontier Funding

Alexandria Hotel Owners Gets Second Downtown Project

by Evan George

On Thursday, Aug. 16, in an unusually tense and high profile meeting, the Community Redevelopment Agency's Board of Commissioners approved an $8 million loan to the Amerland Group to renovate and transform the Frontier Hotel into a mixed-income project.

Amerland Group will receive an $8 million CRA loan to transform the Frontier Hotel. Photo by Gary Leonard. The loan is meant to "buy down" rents, freezing 86 units at very low-income levels and 173 rooms at more moderate levels.

The heated 4-2 vote came four hours after the board began hearing testimony from opponents and supporters, which included City Council members Tony Cardenas and Jan Perry; Perry's Ninth District includes the Frontier, now called the Rosslyn Lofts.

In a rare show of backing, both council members stayed for the entire four-hour meeting.

"I believe this project is a good model of mixed-income development," Perry told the board. "We need projects that are economically viable."

The approval comes as Amerland, a San Diego-based, for-profit developer of affordable housing, is 50% complete on renovations to the nearby Alexandria Hotel, also with CRA funding.

That project, which some tenants and activists contend has been managed poorly and resulted in illegal evictions of low-income tenants, was at times the subject of debate before the CRA board.

"Amerland has proven that they are not in compliance with CRA requirements," said Becky Dennison, co-director of the Los Angeles Community Action Network. The board, she said, "should demand compliance before giving them any more money."

Numerous Alexandria residents who have received eviction notices, they say unfairly, sounded off to the board.

Ruben Islas, president of Amerland, denied the charges and agreed that if future evictions are found to be illegal, his company could be in violation of term agreements.

Cecilia Estolano, chief executive officer for the CRA, said that a third party consultant would start meeting with tenants immediately regarding allegations at the Alexandria.

"We will investigate the allegations. If they prove to be true, we're also evaluating our remedies," Estolano said.

Islas told the board, "We fully invite that."

Vice Chair Madeleine Janis, and Joan Ling, the board's treasurer, voted against the approval, citing concerns that the agreement is not in its final form.

"I think it would be irresponsible to approve an agreement that looks like this," Janis said, noting that some sticking points and wording tweaks had yet to be finessed as a result of last-minute negotiations.

The approved project allows the developer to rent 38 units on floors 10 through 12 as luxury apartments while rooms on seven lower levels will remain set at varying degrees of affordability.

Islas told the board he intends to close the purchase of the Rosslyn Lofts building by the end of September but could not predict when construction would start, because he is pursuing state funding as well.

Unlike the Alexandria, the project will not require tenant relocation during construction. "Because the building is vacant, the completion date is exponentially faster," Islas said.

[fridayinla]

LAPD Site Requires $250,000 for 'Replacement Soil'

More than half of the soil at the site of the rising new LAPD headquarters was found to be contaminated by oil tanks, forcing crews to remove and replace the dirt. Recently, the Board of Public Works approved $250,000 to pay for the replacement soil, which has already been delivered to the site bordered by First, Second, Spring and Main streets. "They don't want to have this old unsuitable material there that could compromise the building," said Jimmy Tokeshi, a spokesman for the Board of Public Works. The contamination was identified in January by the contractor, Tutor-Saliba, during the excavation process. It is the latest snafu for a project that has seen costs jump to nearly $400 million. The building will replace aging Parker Center.

[fridayinla]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

If that's the case, why would a production company need the lot almost a week beforehand?

Good question. They would have to pay the lot owners all that lost parking revenue. Maybe it's just a coincidence?

[JDRCRASH]

You said it it LosAngelesBeauty!!

Actually, what your hearing is probably the overreactive environment agencies talking, which to tell you the truth, some would like to tear down cities altogether and let nature take its course.

And unfortunately, thats no exaggeration on how some people feel....

[Easy]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

If that's the case, why would a production company need the lot almost a week beforehand?

I dunno. If I go back downtown this weekend I'll check it out. I didn't get a good a good look at the fence on 12th since I was sitting on a train at Pico Station, but it didn't look like real graffiti or advertising from what I could see.

[BrandonJXN]

Well..mabye they are doing something to brighten up the construction site. Look at LA Live. Their fences have all of that children designed stuff. Who knows?