LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 3.0

[LAsam]

^Yeah, that paint job is offensively bad.

[JDRCRASH]

Hey Colemonkee, are the Hanover Tower billboards up and running?

I would check myself, but for some reason, Camera 2 of lalive.clarkconstruction.com won't automatically update itself.

[JDRCRASH]

Originally Posted by citywatch

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.

Is all this true?!!

[RAlossi]

I'm not falling for this again.

[colemonkee]

Originally Posted by JDRCRASH

Hey Colemonkee, are the Hanover Tower billboards up and running?

I didn't see them this morning. I think it will be a bit longer before they start putting finishing touches like that on Hanover. There's still quite a bit of work to be done, and those kinds of things are usually the last.

[Echo Park]

Vista Hermosa looks great.

[ladowntowner]

Anyone ever notice how Park Fifth sorta resembles the DWP building on steroids or a massive overdose of SuperGro??

Compare:



To:



And the DWP building was built in 1964! Is "mid-century" architecture making a comeback or something (see also Park Tower, which IMHO is rather hideous)? Nevertheless, Park Fifth is a great and ambitious project, and I for one look forward to it being added to our skyline.

[DTLA]

^^^ That is a really good point, my guess is that park fifth is trying to distinguish itself from the other skyscrapers (US Bank, AON, California Plaza, etc.) which all have smooth exteriors, and in the case of US Bank and CA Plaza, are rounded. Also, it may be trying to distinguish itself from the older building that it is incorporating as part of the project(I don't remember what its called, I assume one of of u guys knows). I would figure they would design the balconies to be more like the balconies on Luma, Hanover, Elleven, etc and not just plain white slabs jutting out from the sides. I guess its kind of a lie in the poster where it says that it's a unique architectural design when it looks exactly like the DWP building. I'm not a huge fan of the design, but damn I still hope it gets built.

[BrandonJXN]

Regarding Plutonium High: LA is one of the few places in the country that can get away with ugly architecture. But that color scheme is just awful.

DTLA: The 2 buildings that Park Fifth is incorporating into it's design is the Title Guarentee Building (on the corner) and the Subway Terminal Building (now Metro 417).

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Originally Posted by k3d

Not to keep on about malls or H&H or anything, but recently the subway downtown has changed my perspective on H&H in the sense that it now seems to me like an extension of Downtown since you can go in one door on 7th/Flower and exit another door at Hollywood/Highland and there you are. It really adds a lot of choices where to go for dinner / entertainment every night without having to go to the parking garage, sit in traffic, find a place to park, etc...

Yeah, that "extension of Downtown LA" is really the area of LA that should be considered "The City." The same concept can be applied to the Purple Line going into Koreatown down Wilshire Blvd. That extension is really just your urban playground expanded by Mass Transit.

It's akin to someone who lives in Manhattan (but has never tried using the subway before in a make-believe situation, let's say). Imagine someone who just moved to NYC and lives in Downtown NYC. He travels by subway and comes out in Mid-Town. Mid-Town isn't really an "extension" of Downtown Manhattan, but all part of "The City."

As the subway in LA is expanded (hopefully before it becomes prohibitively expensive due to Peak Oil), then it'll become much more apparent what is considered "The City" when it comes to LA. We already have many, many urban pockets in West Central, now all we have to do is connect them by subway, and you have yourself a bona fide CITY.

[k3d]

The scaffolding behind Ralph's.

[POLA]

ladowntowner, your right on the money with your assesment. Park fifth is meant to be a homage to MCM, as it's a uniquely LA style. In fact, it's actually meant to look like the case study house on steroids.

[alikaalex]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

Regarding Plutonium High: LA is one of the few places in the country that can get away with ugly architecture

While I'm not in love with Vista Hermosa either, I don't think architecture in LA is really any better or worse than in any other city. I guess it comes down to personal taste. As with Park Fifth, one person's "retro" is another person's "passe". Personally, I think architecture succeeds when it provokes a reaction in the viewer, when its form follows its function, or some combination of the two. Of course, that's just my .

[k3d]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

The 2 buildings that Park Fifth is incorporating into it's design is the Title Guarentee Building (on the corner) and the Subway Terminal Building (now Metro 417).

I knew they were incorporating the Title Guarentee Building but I haven't heard any details on how 417 will be incorporated. Is there any info on this?

[JRinSoCal]

There's nothing "hermosa" about this "vista" that's for sure. I feel sorry for the future residents of Canvas LA who will have to wake up to this view every morning.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by JDRCRASH

Is all this true?!!

jeez, you make me feel like one of those ppl who sell used cars, swamp land in florida, or bridges in brooklyn.

I was giving merely a hypothetical about what would happen to condo sales & apt leasing in DT right now if more ppl, instead of living in the distant burbs & putting up with ridiculously long commutes, decided to move to DT.

However, this wasn't hypothetical.



And it looks like colemonkee could be getting a nice price break on his property taxes in the future:

After much work and lobbying by a commitee of owners here, the building has gained “National Historic Monument” status. In a quote from the e-mail announcing this:

“This is a moment to acknowledge the intrinsic value of our investment in this extraordinary building, and to learn about the many possibilities this prestigious status presents for us — including the Mills Act — which could open the door to financial resources for maintaining, preserving, and restoring the building. “

There’s going to be a bronze plaque placed on the building and a big ceremony here and at the Edison in November, attended by dignitaries from City Hall and the LA Conservancy.

And I don't believe that either metro417 or the Title Guarantee bldgs will be incorporated into Parkfifth's design or construction. If the devlpr said his proj would "incorporate" aspects of those 2 neighboring sites into his proj, he may have meant that the design would not be so unneighborly as to provoke NIMYBism in the ppl currently living around the proposed devlpt.

[RAlossi]

Originally Posted by JRinSoCal

There's nothing "hermosa" about this "vista" that's for sure. I feel sorry for the future residents of Canvas LA who will have to wake up to this view every morning.

You're totally right. I was actually considering Canvas/LA as a place to live, but that view....

[k3d]

from http://lacowboy.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

A Historic Day For Broadway And All Of Los Angeles!
Yesterday, after months of hearings in committees, the City of Los Angeles finally made a commitment to help restore Broadway as a center for live entertainment and – most importantly – live theater.

And that should be important to everyone in an increasingly financially precarious city. Few people in Los Angeles know that Broadway theaters alone – and not counting Off-Broadway or Off-Off-Broadway theaters – or the major Lincoln Center non-profit theaters, bring 5 billion dollars every year into the economy of New York City.

Yes, five billion dollars.

What passed was simple enough. To start a master plan to develop the infrastructure that will make Broadway once again a cultural and entertainment center for the entire city; an entertainment center that will bring major conventions to the city and fill the hotel rooms throughout the city of Los Angeles.

And bring lots of dollars into the city's treasury.

[JDRCRASH]

^ ^ ^
Awesome, maybe that will help create an economic "link" between the high-rise booms in both the South Park and the Civic Center.

$5 Billion?

Wow, I knew it topped at least ONE billion, but 5?
Thats pretty incredible.

[Bernd]

Originally Posted by JRinSoCal

There's nothing "hermosa" about this "vista" that's for sure. I feel sorry for the future residents of Canvas LA who will have to wake up to this view every morning.

It will eventually be painted a different scheme you realize.