Bringing Back Broadway, Again
City Has Another Plan to Revive Key Corridor, Though Past Failures Indicate Nothing Will Be Easy
by Kathryn Maese
Over the last three decades, at least a dozen plans, studies and initiatives have been floated to recapture Broadway's former magic. The efforts all aim to recreate the era when streetcars traversed the busy corridor, well-heeled shoppers spent the day at department stores and wide-eyed theatergoers watched talkies in gilded movie houses.
But like Broadway's theaters over the years, those plans faded, victims of funding shortages, lack of political leadership and little to no consensus among the area's diverse and sometimes absentee property owners.
Now, a quiet effort headed by 14th District City Councilman José Huizar, the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council and the Historic Downtown Los Angeles Business Improvement District appears to be gaining traction in a way previous efforts have not. While observers acknowledge that it will not be easy to restore Broadway's luster, the growth of a residential community in Downtown is creating an urgency to act.
The first major step in years came last Tuesday, when the City Council approved a Huizar motion to hire a full-time city planner dedicated to the effort, spend $250,000 to develop the Broadway Specific Plan and address a parking shortage that has hindered the area's development.
"Historically, plans for Broad-way revitalization have come and gone over the years," Huizar said. "The initiatives have not lacked great ideas, but rather the commitment from both public and private entities to bring those ideas to fruition. There have been times when the property owners were ready but the city wasn't as engaged as it needed to be. There have been times when the city seemed ready but the property owners were not united."
For the first time, many of the area's key stakeholders are at the table, including theater owners, landlords, business leaders and community groups. The shared vision, initial plans for which could be completed by year's end, would turn Broadway between Third Street and Olympic Boulevard into an entertainment destination. It would diversify the largely Latino shopping hub with new retail, nightclubs, creative offices and live shows in renovated theaters.
"It's an important step forward for Broadway and we can't lose the moment," said Linda Dishman, executive director of preservation group the Los Angeles Conservancy. "The motion to do an overlay zone means this process can move faster than a specific plan and be more flexible in many ways."
In addition to creating incentives for new retail and tackling logistical issues such as the absence of theater loading docks and infrastructure, Huizar's motion aims to solve one of the main obstacles to creating a thriving theater zone: a severe lack of parking. Last week, the City Council directed four city departments to develop a report by the end of December on the feasibility of permanently using the Pershing Square garage a block west of Broadway at Sixth and Hill streets. Planners would also examine ways to improve pedestrian connections and signage along the corridor.
The garage is the only parking facility close to Broadway that could accommodate large theater and shopping crowds in the evenings. Huizar is also studying the possibility of building an elevator at the corner of Sixth and Hill streets and a kiosk that could sell tickets and direct patrons to theaters, similar to one in San Francisco's Union Square that offers half-price tickets and a Ticketmaster outlet.
"There is projected to be $30 million in Quimby fees generated from the Park Fifth skyscraper planned across the street that could be used," said Russ Brown, president of DLANC and director of the Historic Downtown BID, referring to funds paid by housing developers that go to park projects. "We want to activate it so that it connects to the surrounding neighborhood. One of the problems is that the parking garage is buried underneath the park and there's not a whole lot above that activates it now."
The Great Dim Way
For years Broadway has been viewed as one of Downtown's great failures. While a hodgepodge of retail bustles on the street level - and indeed, space on Broadway commands some of the highest rents in the region - behind and above the swap meet-style storefronts sit numerous neglected and mismanaged historic treasures. Whereas New York's Broadway is known as the Great White Way, Downtown Los Angeles' theater district has become the Great Dim Way. Despite boasting the largest concentration of historic movie palaces in the world, only one of the 11 venues is active year-round.
In 1977, city transportation planners floated a proposal to revitalize the area by closing it off to traffic and installing wide sidewalks and lush banks of trees. The vision was ultimately abandoned, as were several succeeding plans. The most recent effort, called Nighttime Broadway, focused on creating a 24-hour theater district by fast-tracking the city's permit process to spark development along Broadway from Third to Ninth streets. Announced with fanfare by former Mayor Jim Hahn, the initiative advocated extending operating hours past 2 a.m. and encouraging the development of a pedestrian mall.
The plan never took off.
Proponents of the current effort say this time things are different. For one, housing development in the area has begun to create a demand for more entertainment and late-night venues. The $2 billion Grand Avenue shopping and cultural hub a few blocks north is also underway, and Broadway could become the link between it and the L.A. Live sports and entertainment district on the south.
"About 1,200 residential units are in or going in directly on Broadway, and we will soon have tens of thousands of people living Downtown," Huizar said. "The growing Downtown residential community will need a diverse range of retail and commercial amenities, restaurants, entertainment and nightlife close to home. A revitalized Broadway will help connect this part of Downtown to the other great destination amenities being put together right now."
Additionally, many landlords who have sat on properties for years have begun to see the profit potential in enlivening the corridor, which glowed with a sea of vertical neon marquees and illuminated storefronts. That radical shift has been partly the work of the Historic Downtown BID and theater owner Michael Delijani, a founding member of the business group who is working closely with Huizar on the Broadway plan.
Delijani owns numerous properties along the corridor, including four of Broadway's most stunning theaters - the Los Angeles, Palace, Tower and State. Among those, the Los Angeles, at 615 S. Broadway, is the most active, hosting occasional fashion shows, film festivals and other special events. Although some on the street grumble that Delijani has done little with his properties, over the years he has sunk millions into restoring the Los Angeles Theatre, and during the summer he removed decades of filth and grime that marred each theater's façade.
Delijani said he is working on a budget and renovation plan to activate each theater, some with retail and others with bars and restaurants. Earlier this year he purchased the Tower Theater at 802 S. Broadway, which he said could be converted into a boutique hotel; he also received a liquor license for the Los Angeles Theatre.
"In order to make this Broadway plan happen, it's important to have nightlife fill in the gap between the theaters," he said. "We need businesses, restaurants and retail to stay open so that people want to walk around from theater to theater."
Several key parcels are slated to open in the next few months (see sidebar). The most significant is the Million Dollar Theatre, which anchors the district on the north at Third and Broadway.
Partner and manager Robert Voskanian has spent more than $1 million to spruce up the 1918 theater, which was built by Sid Grauman and seats 2,100 people. The space was in poor shape when Voskanian took it over, the once brilliantly painted walls and ceilings whitewashed. The refurbished venue, which has largely been restored to its original splendor, will host film screenings, movie premieres, stage performances and concerts. Although Voskanian has been working on the project for years, he said it could hold a soft opening by the end of the year.
"The Million Dollar is one of the most important theaters on Broadway because it was one of the original theaters," said Voskanian, who operated Downtown's Stock Exchange nightclub until last year. "Every day I'm surprised at how many people walk in and say they used to come here when they were kids with their mom and dad. It's especially important and popular in the Hispanic culture."
Voskanian, who graduated from film school, said he plans to activate the theater through in-house booking and promoters. "I'm betting on Broadway coming back," he said. "That's why we spent so much money on this."
Also on track to open in the coming months is the Broadway Arcade Building, where a mid-block arcade stretching between Broadway and Spring Street has been refurbished; it will come online along with 142 apartments. In addition, the Judson C. Rives Building at 424 S. Broadway is undergoing an $11 million renovation that will include 60 apartments.
An 'Organic' Effort
Unlike previous plans, stakeholders say the Huizar-led effort seems to be evolving around market demand, not a forced vision of what Broadway should look like.
"It's organic," said Brady Westwater, a member of the DLANC arts committee who is working on the Broadway initiative. "We're looking at the strengths of what the community is as opposed to trying to build the Grove Downtown. This is about how do we meet their needs?"
Westwater and Brown are trying to attract new retail to the ground floor and creative offices in the empty buildings above. DLANC hopes to house three museums along Broadway, along with art galleries, cultural institutions, performance venues, and antique and book dealers. So far, Westwater said, property owners have been surprisingly accommodating, even offering discounts on rent to non-profits eager to occupy unused upper floor space.
"There is an incredible opportunity to develop a real creative core for all the arts here," Westwater said.
Brown said that by spring he hopes to have a "culture crawl" one night a month that would expand on the wild success of Downtown's monthly Art Walk. That event draws thousands to stroll the streets, browse galleries and fill restaurants and bars.
"We want to further expand the art galleries, but also theater, dance, film, music and fashion," Brown said. "There is a natural synergy between those two communities."
Transportation also figures prominently into bringing Broadway back. As in Broadway's heyday, the Red Car trolley tops the agenda. The idea has political support from U.S. Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, who three years ago secured $100,000 for a feasibility study on bringing the fabled trolley system back to Downtown. Early estimates pegged the five-mile route at $50 million, though no funding sources have been identified.
"The Historic Core is a natural pathway to get people from Grand Avenue to Staples Center and the Convention Center," Brown said. "A Downtown transportation system is the logical step. Downtown Portland has a trolley system, and once you're there you never need a car to get around to most of the neighborhoods."
In the short term, stakeholders say the Downtown DASH bus needs to operate beyond 6 p.m. and create more stops. Currently there are no stops along Broadway.
Though revitalizing Broadway would be a complex, long-term project, some like Dishman believe baby steps can go a long way in making an immediate improvement in the area. As an example, she cited Spring Street property owner Izek Shomof, who includes a clause in each lease that requires commercial tenants to keep their lights on until midnight or 2 a.m.
Others say replacing the street's gauntlet of solid metal roll-down gates covering stores with see-through models would create instant visual impact for pedestrians and light up the street.
While most historic theater districts that have been revitalized across the country are funded through a city entity, the Downtown Los Angeles effort would likely be bankrolled through a mix of sources and grants. Though financing has yet to be nailed down, a few possibilities could include the L.A. Department of Transportation, Route 66 money (part of Broadway lies along the historic thoroughfare), Save America's Treasures, and state funds for infrastructure.
"People look at Broadway and leave it up to the property owners," said Tara Jones, a preservation consultant who also works with Delijani. "Any historic core you look at, whether Hollywood or Philadelphia or Cleveland, the city stepped up with redevelopment funds, revolving loan funds and completely re-landscaped the street. L.A. has a huge handicap."
Still, stakeholders and political leaders agree that the time for Broadway's encore has arrived. With national media attention surrounding the Downtown residential and cultural renaissance, stakeholders such as Delijani believe the theater district has a chance to recapture its place as the city's entertainment center.
"This is the best opportunity we have to make it happen now," Delijani said. "It has to happen."
Transforming Broadway
Six Projects Changing the Face of a Key Corridor
Numerous notable projects are unfolding along the Broadway corridor in Downtown Los Angeles, from residential rehabs to sleek office towers. Each is adding new life to once abandoned or underused structures. Here is a peek at six.
Million Dollar Theatre: Robert Voskanian, a partner in the building, has spent more than $1 million to spruce up the 1918 theater at 307 S. Broadway, which seats more than 2,000 people and will host film screenings, movie premieres, stage performances and concerts. It is set for a soft opening by year's end.
Arcade Building: On track to open in the coming months is the Broadway Arcade Building. The mid-block arcade at 540 S. Broadway, stretching between Broadway and Spring Street, has been refurbished and will come online along with 142 apartments.
Chapman Lofts: This $30 million project at Eighth Street and Broadway is set to open soon with 168 condos. The 13-story, 94-year-old edifice once housed garment manufacturers. The building will keep its original decorative façade, doors, columns and window trim and create a rooftop garden.
Pan American Lofts: Residents have moved in to this 111-year-old former office building at Third Street and Broadway, which opened this summer. The $20 million project includes 40 condominiums and 6,400 square feet of retail space. It is across the street from the Million Dollar Theatre.
Judson C. Rives Building: This $11 million renovation will transform the 10-story former theater and office building at 424 S. Broadway. Expected to open in the next few months, the project includes 60 apartments and will retain historic elements such as the marble and metal vaulted ceilings and glass canopy. New balconies will overlook Broadway.
Metropolitan Building: Located at 315 W. Fifth St. (at Broadway) this project will rehab the 10-story building into 84 apartments by next fall. The ground floor will retain its discount department store, Fallas Paredes, though the storefront will be modernized.
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Source:
Los Angeles Downtown News
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