LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 3.0 - Page 161

Echo Park · #**3201** Posted **Jan 12, 2008, 5:46 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAlossi

The Grand Avenue Project has been delayed! More info here.

Summer groundbreaking at the EARLIEST.

oh man citywatch explosion in 4...3...2...

jlrobe · #**3202** Posted **Jan 12, 2008, 5:51 AM**

Well, it looks like the boom is over for now. Hopefully we can take this time to get some rail built and educate the public about zoning, land use, parking requirements, TOD, and density. When the next boom comes, we will be ready.

Looking at interest rates, and the availability of liquid, it could be around 2009 before anything of interest gets done. Higher construction costs, higher interest rates, higher insurance cost, a fee/concession/tax heavy city, and falling prices don't make a sound venture. Any profit margin is now completely gone! At least for now.

The only thing that really excites me now is the completion of LA live and the downtown nightlife and retail market at large.

edluva · #**3203** Posted **Jan 12, 2008, 9:11 AM**

...1...

fucking film shoots! i hate them. i think downtown could do without them.

RuFFy · #**3204** Posted **Jan 12, 2008, 4:29 PM**

I work at Bloomberg here in NY and the story is we're in for a bumpy ride this year (recession) but it's not expected to be a long one. I expect that Bush's exit from the white house will in itself be a stimulant for the economy. In any case, while it sucks to hear that TheGrand was pushed back to a summer opening, it's not hard to see that it was probably a good decision. It's a crappy one from our standpoint but a push back is better than a cancellation. This will just give us more to talk about and well.. fight. ha ha.

DJM19 · #**3205** Posted **Jan 12, 2008, 8:35 PM**

film shoots downtown are good for LA's film economy.

I know it probably is very annoying often to the residents downtown. I always wondered if fake gun shots sound just like real ones and how that much seem when a move shoot has a gun battle going on.

LAofAnaheim · #**3206** Posted **Jan 12, 2008, 9:02 PM**

I live in downtown...and I don't find the film shoots annoying (unless, it's at 2 am, but that rarely happens in South Park/Financial District). I quite enjoy seeing my streets in commercials/tv/movies. Where else can you say you live in a big hollywood backlot?

Echo Park · #**3207** Posted **Jan 12, 2008, 9:22 PM**

it wouldn't surprise if nothing above 12 stories goes U/C this year other than grand ave, (also still holding out for LA Central)

colemonkee · #**3208** Posted **Jan 12, 2008, 10:33 PM**

^ I agree with you, but my guess is we won't see anything break ground until the 3rd or 4th quarter of the year. I'll be pleasantly surprised if anything does before then.

On another note, they've installed more cladding on the LAPD HQ. These pictures are a bit grainier than usual because I forgot to adjust the ISO. Oops!

Some of those panels got pretty durrty. I wonder if they'll clean them or just let 'em be.

Quixote · #**3209** Posted **Jan 12, 2008, 10:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRinSoCal

Will the new federal courthouse break ground anytime soon?

Unable to Raise Funds for Courthouse, Feds Shift Course

By Eric Richardson
January 12, 2008

Downtown's green space will be expanding in the upcoming year, but it won't be the city's Parks and Rec doing the planning. With the upcoming 2009 U.S. budget unlikely to include funds needed for construction of a new Downtown Courthouse, the federal government has decided to shift course on the land it holds at 1st and Broadway and create Downtown's first lake.

Master plans released in the 1960s and 1970s showed a lake as part of South Park, but this new federal plan instead sites the body of water on the block encompassed by 1st, Broadway, 2nd and Hill. While the land has already been dug out, budget issues and a tight water situation in Southern California have forced the Feds to rely on seasonal rainfall to fill the as-yet unnamed lake. Once filled, operation will be handled by the National Park Service.

Officials from Related Companies were unavailable for comment on how the new space would integrate into plans for their $2 billion Grand Avenue Project. The project sits on two blocks just north of the lake site.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: blogdowntown

edluva · #**3210** Posted **Jan 12, 2008, 11:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJM19

film shoots downtown are good for LA's film economy.

I know it probably is very annoying often to the residents downtown. I always wondered if fake gun shots sound just like real ones and how that much seem when a move shoot has a gun battle going on.

LA's film economy. exactly. There are other industries which are at least as important and don't get this red-carpet service from city hall. it's bullshit. We pay taxes to use these roads, not for these narcissic fools to take over public property on a daily basis. It's not just residents who suffer, it's thousands of commuters who rely on whatever amount of predictability they can get. Aren't we notorious enough for our traffic without them?

ladowntowner · #**3211** Posted **Jan 12, 2008, 11:47 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Westsidelife

Unable to Raise Funds for Courthouse, Feds Shift Course

By Eric Richardson
January 12, 2008

Downtown's green space will be expanding in the upcoming year, but it won't be the city's Parks and Rec doing the planning. With the upcoming 2009 U.S. budget unlikely to include funds needed for construction of a new Downtown Courthouse, the federal government has decided to shift course on the land it holds at 1st and Broadway and create Downtown's first lake.

*snip*
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: blogdowntown

I highly suspect that story was tongue-in-cheek, I could be wrong, but I doubt it. I heard from a fairly reliable source that the space will be turned into yet another "temporary" surface parking lot.

WonderlandPark · #**3212** Posted **Jan 13, 2008, 12:40 AM**

aaargh. Courthouse and Grand Ave were 2 projects that I thought were a lock to happen in a reasonable time frame.

Sure, maybe by the time I am 50 these projects may get done, but goddamit

JDRCRASH · #**3213** Posted **Jan 13, 2008, 12:53 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAlossi

The Grand Avenue Project has been delayed! More info here.

Summer groundbreaking at the EARLIEST.

It figures

DowntownCharlieBrown · #**3214** Posted **Jan 13, 2008, 4:38 AM**

Beautiful day in LA today.

View from Hollywood

LA High School

Orsani

Heading down Grand Ave and the sun roof is coming open

A filming shoot

Heading to South Park

South Park in my next post -

Quixote · #**3215** Posted **Jan 13, 2008, 5:18 AM**

^ Nice to see some taxis in that last pic. LAofAnaheim, RAlossi, fridayinla, colemonkee, petescafe, etc... Do any of you guys know if taxis are a popular mode of transport Downtown?

DowntownCharlieBrown · #**3216** Posted **Jan 13, 2008, 6:12 AM**

LA Central - Only $20 a car

LA Live

Future Cinemas

Ritz site with cranes from Concerto and 717 Flower in background

Starting to come up...

Working hard on Saturday

Hanover nicely framed

The whole site

Concerto

717 Flower

What is that up in the sky? a bird? a plane?

No! It's flying sh*#! Run Away....

edkao · #**3217** Posted **Jan 13, 2008, 7:25 AM**

Drove by mode tonight and noticed their blue sign is off, and a note was taped on the door.

Could the 24 hour experiment is over?

LAofAnaheim · #**3218** Posted **Jan 13, 2008, 8:58 AM**

Framing on the 3rd floor of the 9th/Fig tower on Concerto is started! They're doing very well!

As for taxis...would love to say "yes", but still people come over and the first thought is "who's driving?". Granted, most of my buddies coming from out of LA is from the OC, where they live with wide-a** boulevard, no street parking, urban-fax paradises (i.e. "downtown" fullerton, Irvine Spectrum, etc...), and everything is "15 minutes" away.

But, I have seen more zipping around lately, especially late night. Usually, a bunch do stay around the Edison & lately near Elevate/Standard, which is good to see.

RAlossi · #**3219** Posted **Jan 13, 2008, 9:07 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by edkao

Drove by mode tonight and noticed their blue sign is off, and a note was taped on the door.

Could the 24 hour experiment is over?

Dude, I had the freakiest experience at Mode this evening after I noticed it was closed... It's totally haunted!

See the shirt that shows up in the bottom left of the photo? I just finished writing about the ghost here.

Affrojuice · #**3220** Posted **Jan 13, 2008, 10:52 AM**

sometimes when i come out of bar 107 at closing time, there will be taxis waiting outside, and a lot of inebriated patrons using them to get home.