LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 3.0

[JDRCRASH]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

People also seem to forget that downtown has plenty of building conversions going on. The Roosevelt, The Chapman, The Brookman, TENTEN, among others. It really isn't smart business to have lots of ground up construction going on at the same time when you have all these perfectly fine and beautiful early 1900 gems all over downtown. I think that this downturn in the economy is a sort of test to see how strong downtown LA's housing market is and aside from a few ripples (the delays of LA Central, Grand Ave, Park Fifth, the unknown status of The Glass Tower), I think downtown will pass.

A test? Where did you get that from?

An economy must always be ready for slowed growth or even contraction.

[BrandonJXN]

What's so hard to understand? Will downtown continue to improve and grow despite the slumping economay and funky housing market or will downtown revert back to 2002?

Personally I pick the former over the latter.

[RAlossi]

Final phase of the AT&T Center renovation is starting. For those who don't recall, this is the crown that's being turned into high-end offices. There was scaffolding around the crown earlier, and I posted about it on angelenic.

[k3d]

^
The Starbucks in City west is good news too. Your website is cool. I don't know about anyone else but my company blocks your image hosting server Flickr so I have to wait until I get home to see your images.

[RAlossi]

Thanks for the compliment, k3d. We put a lot of work into it, but it's all worth it, since it helps create an active community in Downtown.

[k3d]

I've read there for a while now. You guys usually cover things first and Friday's photos are awesome.

[jlrobe]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

People also seem to forget that downtown has plenty of building conversions going on. The Roosevelt, The Chapman, The Brookman, TENTEN, among others. It really isn't smart business to have lots of ground up construction going on at the same time when you have all these perfectly fine and beautiful early 1900 gems all over downtown. I think that this downturn in the economy is a sort of test to see how strong downtown LA's housing market is and aside from a few ripples (the delays of LA Central, Grand Ave, Park Fifth, the unknown status of The Glass Tower), I think downtown will pass.

I would love to see downtown have more tall buildings, but more than anything, I want downtown to have 70,000+ residents, and 300,000 daytime white collar workers.
I want to see it well lit with its streets clogged with hundreds of pedestrians going to UNIQUE places (e.g., art galleries, cultural events, tiara cafe, edison bar, bar 107, seven grand, etc).
I want to see better street lighting, more building lighting, cleaner sidewalks, removal of metal barriers on businesses after hours, more use of commercial corridors (e.g. broadway and garment district) after 5pm, etc.

All of this can happen without adding a single building to our skyline.

I would rather have vibrancy and reclaim our gorgeous historic buildings rather than a skyline people look at but never go to.

This slowdown may be a good test for downtown and give the historic buildings a little breathing room to succeed.

[LAofAnaheim]

Originally Posted by JDRCRASH

5-7 years away is in itself a random guess as well; there is no proof.

In fact, I just found out on wikipedia that construction won't begin before 2010, not 2013; so you were possibly making that up.

Do you go to any of the Metro meetings? Transit coaltion? 5 - 7 years may be realistic depending on congestion pricing schemes, sales tax possibilities, etc...

Looking at the latest release of the MTA long-term transit plan, at the way we are going with funding is 2016 for Expo Line phase II opening and 2025 Crenshaw Line opening. This considers no sales tax hike or congestion charging. But, it does expect fare hikes.

Yes, JDRCrash...I read documents on the MTA's website and attend transit meetings when I have a chance. Did you go to any of the transit meetings in october? That's what they said too (5 - 7 years to START construction). So, no, my 5 - 7 years was not a random guess like yours. But remember, I didn't say that's set in stone, that's what MTA is saying as BEST GUESS.

[colemonkee]

Originally Posted by RAlossi

Final phase of the AT&T Center renovation is starting. For those who don't recall, this is the crown that's being turned into high-end offices. There was scaffolding around the crown earlier, and I posted about it on angelenic.

Rico, do you know if this phase includes the new glass enclosure over the crown that we saw in previous renders?

[RAlossi]

This is the biggest image I could find ... though I haven't looked too hard:

[LAofAnaheim]

As to this slowdown of developments...I believe there is a high demand for housing in downtown LA. I don't feel the lofts/condos have lost much value. In a large city, prices don't drop like the surrounding cities and the suburbs. Rental prices are going sky high in downtown b/c of the lack of new housing construction. The problem is with the banks. They're getting more stringent with borrowing that its leaving the developers no choice but to put a freeze on their projects. It's unfortunate, b/c these buildings will still sell fast once release. Well...keeps the existing property values increasing, makes housing less affordable, etc....

[k3d]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

As to this slowdown of developments...I believe there is a high demand for housing in downtown LA. I don't feel the lofts/condos have lost much value. In a large city, prices don't drop like the surrounding cities and the suburbs. Rental prices are going sky high in downtown b/c of the lack of new housing construction. The problem is with the banks. They're getting more stringent with borrowing that its leaving the developers no choice but to put a freeze on their projects. It's unfortunate, b/c these buildings will still sell fast once release. Well...keeps the existing property values increasing, makes housing less affordable, etc....

If you are paying attention to the MLS/CLAW and comps for downtown, you can easily see that lofts in downtown A) are not selling at all. B) Have given a 15-25% price drop. C) Still, are not selling. Rent is up though.

[JDRCRASH]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

Do you go to any of the Metro meetings? Transit coaltion? 5 - 7 years may be realistic depending on congestion pricing schemes, sales tax possibilities, etc...

Looking at the latest release of the MTA long-term transit plan, at the way we are going with funding is 2016 for Expo Line phase II opening and 2025 Crenshaw Line opening. This considers no sales tax hike or congestion charging. But, it does expect fare hikes.

Yes, JDRCrash...I read documents on the MTA's website and attend transit meetings when I have a chance. Did you go to any of the transit meetings in october? That's what they said too (5 - 7 years to START construction). So, no, my 5 - 7 years was not a random guess like yours. But remember, I didn't say that's set in stone, that's what MTA is saying as BEST GUESS.

Mine was not made up; I just told you from a fact-efficient website.

[BrandonJXN]

Originally Posted by k3d

If you are paying attention to the MLS/CLAW and comps for downtown, you can easily see that lofts in downtown A) are not selling at all. B) Have given a 15-25% price drop. C) Still, are not selling. Rent is up though.

ANYWAY..

This is why I don't think that downtown should overbuild. I would rather see new towers pop up much later this year (September, October, November). I mean if lofts are selling slowly/not at all, then you would think that developers would want to wait a while. I'm no expert in the world of real estate but this is what sounds logical to me. If someone could further educate me in the goings on in the real estate market then by all means.

[k3d]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

ANYWAY..

This is why I don't think that downtown should overbuild. I would rather see new towers pop up much later this year (September, October, November). I mean if lofts are selling slowly/not at all, then you would think that developers would want to wait a while. I'm no expert in the world of real estate but this is what sounds logical to me. If someone could further educate me in the goings on in the real estate market then by all means.

I'm not an expert on real estate but I watch the downtown 2 bedroom lofts that are priced between 1 and 1.2 mil. There were quite a few units that sold for that between Jan and Aug '07 but very few have sold since. Many of those have since lowered their price to 829/999K and have still not sold.

[citywatch]

The specter of new condo or apt projs struggling to find buyers or renters, along with ongoing (& growing) problems in the housing mkt & finance industry in general, has put the fear of the almighty in me. That's why I found myself looking at recent pics of work on Meurelo's 717 Flower & Astani's Concerto condo towers &, on one hand, wondering what they'd look like in a finished state & therefore hoping they'd be completed ASAP, but on the other also saying to myself, wow, those bldgs are rising almost too fast----slow down, ppl!! Give the hood as much time as possible to absorb everything!

It's too bad so much of DT's totally new devlpt has been dependent on housing. By contrast, quite a few office highrises have been built in NYC over the past few yrs. Not so in DTLA, which means almost everything has been revolving around condo or apt projs only.

Not helping matters, & based on the following info, it doesn't look like that situation will be changing anytime soon. That's why it's even more important that special category projs like the federal courthouse tower, where the need for space in it is guaranteed, get pushed into an active construction phase.

FEBRUARY 4, 2008

While all is in flux for Maguire Properties with the potential sale on the horizon, the company still has long-range plans to build a 50-story office building at 755 Figueroa St. in downtown Los Angeles. The company won't begin construction on the building until it has 50 percent of the 930,000-square-foot building under contract to a tenant or tenants, however.

"I don't know what their plans are," said Kent Handleman, senior vice president for leasing at Thomas Properties. "If they have a tenant lined up, then one would think there is demand for space, unless it comes from another building."

Handleman hasn't heard of any large tenants looking for space downtown, however. "I would be hard-pressed to say who that would be," he said.

The last new office building constructed in downtown Los Angeles was in 1992. It has taken since then for the downtown office market to fill the buildings, decreasing the vacancy rate to the 9 percent to 11 percent range, Collins said.

Even three years from now seems a little optimistic for a downtown office building. "They would probably need $45-a-square-foot net rents on an annualized basis to justify a downtown high-rise," Zietsman said. "Net rents are currently $28 to $29 a square foot annually. Rents would have to jump dramatically."

It's highly doubtful that you could get financing based on those assumptions, he said.

[k3d]

^ There are currently only 6 rentals available in both South group buildings Eleven and Luma according to the MLS. There are about 60 total rentals available in downtown. It sounds like there is currently a good market for rentals downtown. These higher end buildings like Hanover will probably do well leasing them.

[JDRCRASH]

This is strange; on Wikipedia, ESPN West Coast HQ is supposed to be completed in 2008, but the network won't move in until 2009. Why?

[JDRCRASH]

Here is some positive news from curbed:

L.A. council passes ordinance on `density bonus'


By Kerry Cavanaugh, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 02/07/2008 09:26:54 AM PST


After four years of debate, the Los Angeles City Council approved Wednesday an ordinance that would allow developers to build taller, larger buildings if they include units for lower-income residents.

While required under a state law designed to promote affordable housing construction, the "density bonus" ordinance has angered homeowners groups that don't want to see big buildings in their neighborhoods.

To help alleviate concerns, the council tweaked the rules to protect single-family neighborhoods, including requiring developers to get special approval if they want to add extra height for a building within 50 feet of a house.

"We have been working on this to make sure communities have a stronger voice and that we protect neighborhood character," said Council President Eric Garcetti.

"This adheres to this state law that many ... don't love, but it will get us closer to achieving those three goals of making sure we protect our neighborhoods, we build affordable housing and we save taxpayers' money."

The City Council voted 12-2 in favor of the ordinance, with Tom LaBonge and Dennis Zine opposing the rule because they said it doesn't do enough to restrict building size.

Homeowners groups and neighborhood council members still said the law will allow tall, bulky, out-of-character buildings in L.A. communities.

"It's a developer's dream," said David Garfinkle with Tarzana Property Owners Association.

"You can drive around now and sometimes see buildings 20 feet taller than everything else around. With this ordinance, you're going to see a lot more of that."

Plus, he added, there is no guarantee the law will generate more affordable housing, particularly if developers continue to demolish rent-stabilized buildings and build new projects that include just a handful of affordable units.

Under a state law that took effect in 2005, California cities, including Los Angeles, are required to give such density bonuses to developers. The law overrides local zoning codes and says cities must allow developers to build larger and taller buildings, with fewer parking spaces, when they include affordable units.

Planning Director Gail Goldberg said less than 2 percent of residential apartment and condominium projects have used the density bonus, and council members downplayed the impact by noting that density bonus projects have been spread across the city.

"You can see it's not Armageddon. It is not the end of the world," said Councilman Ed Reyes, who heads the council's planning committee.

But Studio City Neighborhood Council member Lisa Sardine said the density bonus rules override the planning rules that communities have designed to preserve the character of their neighborhoods and deal with problems such as a lack of parking.

"The specific plans were painstakingly written over years and years and this throws it away."

[email protected] 213-978-0390
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This should help developers see that they need to think about the homeless and poor.

[JDRCRASH]

Well, 717 Olympic/Hanover is supposed to be completely done in spring, but it's barely even finishing exterior additions.

Like I said, I have nothing against homosexuals. I had a close friend back in middle school who was straight, but in High School, he came out and claimed he was gay. But he's still my friend. I've been told that they tend to be very smart and bright, and i'm not just saying that like it's a fact. So therefore, it may not be true.

The reason why I don't ask status info is because I understand it get's annoying really quick.
On another website forum, people got tired of me asking questions, when in reality, I only asked 2 per week.