LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 3.0

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by JRinSoCal

^Has this tower been approved yet? Is there a groundbreaking date set?

I'm glad SSPers are posting new info about various projs. But right now it's becoming more & more dicey whether any new devlpt should be taken seriously til its 100% under construction.

Of all the major new projs that I thought was the most likely to go forward around now, the Grand Ave devlpt, even that one now is starting to look suspicious.

So in today's climate, getting excited about proposed highrises, or any devlpt in general, is like sending a kid into a candy store & telling him he can't buy anything or that the store is all out of stock.

Frank Gehry was one of four panelists Saturday afternoon for the symposium held as part of the LA Phil's Concrete Frequency series. Gehry, after all, designed the building that the Phil calls home and is the lead architect for the Grand Avenue Project, slated to rise on two sides of the concert hall.

The star architect was openly skeptical of the project's timeline and critical of its developer, Related Companies. He told the assembled crowd that he expects the financing market to create a major project hurdle. "Money is not available and the developer is in denial," Gehry said.

One Grand Plan: Okay, so Related Cos. $3 billion Grand Avenue project has been talked about for years, and work actually started late in 2007. But all signs indicate that 2008 is the year the Bunker Hill effort will really burst on the scene. A formal groundbreaking is expected by March, though no date has been set, and the fall is slated to hold a groundbreaking for the project's 16-acre civic park.

[JDRCRASH]

@FridayinLA: Interesting, maybe there is false information being spread by the media.
In fact, so much so that in some ways trusting them at all can be a risk.

I contacted Related Co. and asked why it has been postponed for the 4th time, so it will be interesting to see what they say, if anything.

[fridayinla]

Originally Posted by JDRCRASH

@FridayinLA: Interesting, maybe there is false information being spread by the media.
In fact, so much so that in some ways trusting them at all can be a risk.

I contacted Related Co. and asked why it has been postponed for the 4th time, so it will be interesting to see what they say, if anything.

I don't know about false info from the media, but according to an interview in the DT News from mid-2007 with Hamid Behdad, 1027 is fully entitled and they're in the plan check phase. That's huge.

The only contingency is the financing (he so says). I called Central City Development Group this morning to tell them I was writing about them. That might get they're attention for sharing info.

[DowntownCharlieBrown]

Citywatch – thanks for posting the article about Coburn. A lot of information there I wasn’t aware of. What a treasure, and as the article states, has the potential to become very influential over time.



I like the nice size balconies that 1027 Wilshire has. Some of the balconies on the newer buildings have been quite small. Still nice to have, but since this is So. Cal., I would (pretending I could afford it) spend a lot of time on my balcony in the sky.

[colemonkee]

They started applying the facade to the LAPD HQ building this morning. I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow.

[DowntownCharlieBrown]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S18LCISRm4



This was originally posted by SFUVancouver in the transportation thread. After viewing this film, it all makes sense. The film was created at a time when many of the old cities’ cores were dieing and there was a belief the highway system and the expected advances in the highway system were unstoppable. The mindset of the nation at the time believed in the film's ideals. This is also the time LA did is vast majority of developing. Destroying parts of DT, widening the streets, developing the highway system, and embracing urban sprawl, the City believed it was forward thinking. In hindsight the advances in travel did not come about as the film predicted. In hindsight, the city did not make the correct choice, or at least a balanced choice in preserving more of the old. That’s why now there is suxh a scrambling going on to build a mass transit system for a population this size, and to repair a downtown that needs to restore its urban feel.

Damn you Mr. Disney!

[JDRCRASH]

So, remove it.....then burn it!

What's interesting is that after all that highway influence took hold on Florida, it still proposes really tall buildings.
But with us....that never is the case....never.

[JDRCRASH]

Fridayinla posted these on angelenic:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fridayinla/2181163946/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fridayinla/2180372877/

It looks like the LAPD HQ is applying exterior facade.

[colemonkee]

Friday beat me to it. Here's the rendering of the facade from the back, to give a better idea of the part they are installing right now, along with some shots I took this morning when the weather was a bit shittier.


(Image Source: DMJM Architecture)

[JDRCRASH]

Awesome. Despite the rising Construction costs, it seems to be speeding up.

[Quixote]

January 8, 2008


From Flickr, by Franc Fernandez


From Flickr, by Franc Fernandez


From Flickr, by Franc Fernandez


From Flickr, by Franc Fernandez

[JDRCRASH]

How deep is it?
20 to 30 feet?

[LAofAnaheim]

Originally Posted by JDRCRASH

Awesome. Despite the rising Construction costs, it seems to be speeding up.

That's because it's funded by taxpayers. Not private funding, which has a tougher time to break ground.

[JRinSoCal]

Will the new federal courthouse break ground anytime soon?

Also, is there any updates on the residential highrise thats supposed to complement St Vibiana's cathedral? Or has that been scraped?

[colemonkee]

^ The Federal Courthouse has been tabled until money can be allocated to it in the Federal budget. So don't expect a groundbreaking on that one until 2009 or even 2010.

The St. Vibiana condo tower is still "on the boards" so to speak, and last time I checked, they were still tweaking the design. It hasn't been cancelled, but I wouldn't expect it to break ground any time soon given our current credit and economic situation. I would, however, like to see work on the restaurant spaces in the Rectory building commence. They sent notice of alcohol sales 6 months ago and I haven't noticed any crews working it the buildings.

On another note, there's finally some progress in the retail spaces at the Douglas Lofts on 3rd and Spring. All three spaces are showing visible progress: HVAC ducting, interior wall frames, counter frames, etc. They still look like they're a ways off, but progress is progress. I'd bet we see at least one of them open in the spring or summer.

[JDRCRASH]

I saw a report yesterday in the Times that at the end of this year, we may see a recovery.

[DaveofCali]

Originally Posted by JDRCRASH

So, remove it.....then burn it!

What's interesting is that after all that highway influence took hold on Florida, it still proposes really tall buildings.
But with us....that never is the case....never.

Because Florida doesn't have an anti-highrise culture and doesn't equally have strong nimbyism (at least in many places.) All the way back when the Coronado towers were built in Coronado Island in San Diego, coastal Southern California cities were horrified and banned any potential future highrise development in response.

[mello]

^^^ That is crazy Dave I was just thinking about that yesterday. I was walking along the coast in Encinitas yesterday and it struck me: Do people in coastal So Cal have any clue has to how densely built with large and tall buildings South Florida is? From Miami to Palm Beach???

I would say it is 20 times more built up with residences and hotels, simply amazing. It makes Coastal So Cal look like a quaint little town in Maine or something.

[JDRCRASH]

^ ^ ^

That is why I think that a nice Beachfront Skyline in SOME of our beaches would draw tourism.
I'm not saying ALL beaches here, but some.

(And let me guess, someone is going to respond with pathetic responses such as: , , or )

[JDRCRASH]

Ooh, looks like something is going on on the Diagonal block at Spring and Main.