LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 3.0

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by petescafe

Time for a photo update of the Medallion site, and points beyond.

Thanks for the pics. Your photos are pretty much the only ones on the net that are tracking progress on the proj. Progress that's been slow, but at least where there's been some changes each day on the site.

Next major step: Those 2 bldgs on the NE quarter of the block & the remaining billboards finally being torn down

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by RAlossi

I can't remember offhand if someone posted about this a few days ago before the forums went to crap. I'm too lazy to look, so no complaining

I believe your blog partner, fridayinla, posted several wks ago the 1st pick I've ever seen of the crane for the proj, but your pics are the first ones that give a closer look of the site itself.

And last, but not least, the Manufacturers Bank Building at the Cultural Center Plaza is being remodeled.

Interesting that you mention that, cuz I was driving east on 2nd st, stopped at the intersection of 2nd & San pedro & noticed the bldg looked cleaner than in the past. I figured it wasn't just my imagination, cuz when I had seen the Manu bldg in past yrs I could tell quite easily that the exterior had become really dirty.

BTW, there's a statue at the front of that bldg, on top of a base that once had a bronze plaque inserted in it. Some idiot stole it several yrs ago----probably to sell it for scrap----& obviously no one since then has wanted to spend the $$ to replace it.

And the new pinkberry farther east on the south side of 2nd St has given some life to that area of the hood. In past yrs, almost no one could be seen milling about, much less sitting around, that side of 2nd.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

Here's a photo update of South Park, Financial District, and the Historic Core:

Good update! I was in the hood yesterday, & for a handy comparison, in SaMo on Sat.

SaMo's 3rd St & pier were full of ppl, while most parts of DTLA still don't have that kind of street life, esp on the weekend. I've noticed the same difference when I've been in Pasadena & then run over to DT. But what really stood out to me this time around was that in spite of all the crowds, SaMo still is a more burban, segregated type of setting, meaning all the shopping (& crowds) is limited to 3rd St, & most everything else, inc housing, offices & cultural bldgs, are somewhere else. Plus almost all the bldgs are mainly 2 to 5 stories, so NIMBYism that forces new devlpt to be short & burban like will remain in force there.

IOW, DTLA still is the ONLY hood in LA that can possibly fill the role of being a place in SoCa, at least north of SD, that is more urbanized. DT Long Bch is the only other hood that comes next to meeting that requirement. So if DTLA can't succeed, then LA really will be 100 burbs in search of a city.

Union Lofts (my favorite renovated bldg):

You can see floodlights installed on several of the ledges of that bldg. I saw pics of the Union lit at night posted on one of the DT blogs, & that bldg looked great.

By contrast, I saw this bldg yesterday, & its first level looks unfinished &, sad to say, cheap. I wasn't as bothered about it several months ago cuz I thought the owner still planned to work on that part of the bldg, to make it more like the drawing indicated:



But at this late date, with the upper floors now fully finished & open for sales, I'm starting to think the owner either is too lazy or too poor to fix up the main level the way it should have been done months ago.





And 5 more wks til demolition begins (or is supposed to begin) on the tinker toy parking lot across from Disney Hall. Before then, I hope signs of life finally appears on the walled off site of LA Central.

[JDRCRASH]

Originally Posted by Easy

JDR, It's cool, but you have some of your figures mixed up. LA only has 4 million people now and it won't double in population in 6 years. And generally when people use the term "LA Basin" they mean that part of LA that's south of the SF Valley.

Technically, Los Angeles is still 3.8 million, according to the Government.
I'm very sorry if I offended any, but I'm only bringing up these numbers because I believe increases like that would most certainly affect the high-rise growth in Downtown.
On the contrary, maybe, just perhaps, they're only estimates.
But they're numbers nonetheless......with NO "made up source", might I add...



And no Westsidelife, Echo Park and Threehundred, I am not trying to emphasize that Los Angeles is bigger than New York City.
So go to google news and prove to yourself that I DID NOT lie.

[k3d]

Last Friday night we walked aver to LA Live to see the plaza in person. We were sitting in plaza and some kids walk up and asked if we wanted some free tickets to the show, they had to leave. For some reason I thought the Eagles were playing so I of course said yes we would take them. We went in and were ushered to seats close to the front. As we were walking through the crowd I thought two things; these people are quite young for an Eagles concert and this doesn't sound like the Dixie Chicks. It only took a few more seconds after sitting down to realize we were at the video games live concert instead.

We stayed until the intermission. the orchestra sounded good and I may have even recognized a few of the songs. Oh well, I just went to see the plaza and ended up inside so I took a few pics.

The plaza was very nice and colorful. You could even walk pretty far down the "alley" to an entrance to the parking garage. Overall though massive in scale the whole area seemed a little small. It seems that the render of alley from the LA Live website suggest that there will be venues on many levels. Also, it is interesting that the convention center will have similar exterior blue lighting and giant advertising above the loading dock facing the 110. (render at lalive.com) I also noticed the spotlight show was still running at 2:30 am this morning.










Photocredit: http://lalive.com/

[LAofAnaheim]

I actually do hope Los Angeles grows in population. With more population, hopefully we'd have more growth in the CITY and not the suburbs anymore. Then, we'd have higher utilization of Metro Rail (and more demand!), a more enjoyable city with people walking around, and better paying jobs within Los Angeles. I hope to see companies start moving back into LA (thank you NBC) and new jobs created!

Anyways, just did a little walk around South Park. The UPS Store is open! Its hours are 8 - 8 on weekdays, 9 - 5 on Saturday, and 11 - 5 on Sunday. Roebeks Juice at the Market Lofts is beginning its build-out. And lastly, I noticed some scaffolding being erected on the back side (Hope view between 8th & 9th) on a building that's between Market Lofts & the Gas Company Lofts. The building facing Flower looks like s***, so whatever they're doing hopefully is good news.

[jlrobe]

Originally Posted by citywatch

All I know is that ppl like this need their head examined if they continue to put up with the mess described by this writer. They live too far away, they add to and get trapped in too much traffic, & they show what a joke it is when a town lives & dies based on cars, cars, cars, fwys, fwys, fwys.
.

i am just as urban in nature as you are and have been to transit meetings and doing my part to push for rail. If you are implying that I need my head examined, please dont make silly assumptions about me.

I am simply stating that besides the paper article by a philly reporter, LA's subways havent gotten much buzz around the country. In fact, 2/3 Angelenos dont even know it exists. I know it exists, you know it exists, eveyone on this board knows it exits, but MANY Angelenos dont. Heck, most Angelenos STILL dont know about downtowns revitalization, hence LA live and grand ave. It is sad, but true.

People dont support subways here because they dont fully understand its usefulness. Once people TRULY discover the red line, I think more and more average Joes will embrace LA's evolving urban character and start voting for more subways.

Anyhow. I agree. 80% of Angelenos are suburbanites and it sucks. Especially when the LA times quotes morons like Joel Kotkin.

[citywatch]

^ The person I was referring to was Jane Wells, the writer of the article. She lives in thousand oaks, & is typical of the many ppl in SoCa who have run off to distant burbs throughout SoCa. They end up in isolated hoods where getting to other parts of the region now means long drives, 100 minutes or more. And for what?! To start & end the day in a palatial mansion, like Hearst Castle? No. They end up in some zzzzz house on a cul de sac.

If even a fraction of such ppl became bored----or frustrated----by their choice of home & hood, & wanted to be closer to the action, that would guarantee every new condo & apt in DT, existing or proposed, would be sold or leased in a second.

For instance, Parkfifth at 5th & Olive: SOLD OUT!! Even before groundbreaking! And groundbreaking within the next 5 months is GUARANTEED!

Or 1010 Wilshire: FULLY LEASED!!!

Or LA central: SOLD OUT!! And due to that, groundbreaking within the next wk is GUARANTEED!!


BTW, the skylofts web site says there is only one loft left for sale, so that's one less condo devlpt to have to wonder & be concerned about.

[alikaalex]

Are you feeling OK, citywatch? Your post above seems so ... un-citywatch!

Just kidding, of course. I must admit those sales and lease figures are news to me. And here I was waiting for 1010 Wilshire's website to come online to get some rent info. Meanwhile they've leased out. What a delightful quandary to be in these days!

[RAlossi]

^ He was joking.

And we're still not 100% sure whether 1010 is going to be for lease or condos...

[Easy]

Speaking of occupancy rates I couldn't help but notice all of the empty units at Luma when looking over from Figueroa. At least 1/3, maybe almost half, of the units that I could see from that vantage point appeared to be vacant. I hadn't realized that Luma was so far from being full.

[RAlossi]

Perhaps the lights were off because they were all out enjoying the city.

[k3d]

Originally Posted by Easy

Speaking of occupancy rates I couldn't help but notice all of the empty units at Luma when looking over from Figueroa. At least 1/3, maybe almost half, of the units that I could see from that vantage point appeared to be vacant. I hadn't realized that Luma was so far from being full.

There are a considerable amount of Luma units both for sale and for rent on the MLS. Mostly rentals. Search condos/DowntownLA at http://guests.themls.com/ or condos/rentals 90015, 90017 at http://www.realtor.com
I am selling at Sky and moving to Luma myself.

[BrandonJXN]

In the new LA Magazine, there is a glossy new rendering of Park Fifth at dusk. I tried looking for it but to no avail.

[RAlossi]

It's on Page 81. Meanwhile they have a great little section on some (hot) hockey players. That singlehandedly renewed my interest in LA Magazine.

I'll scan it and post it. The ad, not the hockey players, that is...

[DowntownCharlieBrown]

Thanks for the photo updates to those that posted their pictures taken over the weekend. I spent the weekend in DT and took a few pictures myself. I would post them all but they have already been covered by the other photo updates, including the vacant lot on Flower (I also had the same question). Here are a couple items that were not covered.

Vista Hermosa High School


Vista Hermosa High School and Park under construction


Canvas LA. There was a discussion regarding how close to the freeway this building is. From this view… its close.



Also walked up Spring Street for the first time (usually walk down Broadway). Much quieter than Broadway, but a lot of loft conversions going on or what appear to be recently completed loft buildings. I see this street becoming a lot busier in the next two years.

Also visited the Ralph’s grocery store at 11:30 on Saturday night. The sidewalk in front of the store is very well light. I found it very inviting since I just walked through some dimly lit sections of DT. The store was busier than any grocery store I have been in at midnight on a Saturday.

[RAlossi]

Park Fifth ad....

[alikaalex]

Originally Posted by RAlossi

^ He was joking.

Oops. Sharp as a tack, I am. Sharp as a tack.

[RAlossi]

Oh, you're good...

[colemonkee]

Great shots, DCB! I really don't mind Canvas LA. For a stucco low-rise, it ain't half bad. Vista Hermosa, on the other hand, looks like some very large person vomited in perfect 90-degree angles all over the building. The design architect that approved that paint job should be fired and pantsed in front of the entire school when it opens. Then beat up out by the bike racks after 7th period.