LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 3.0 - Page 180

colemonkee · #**3581** Posted **Feb 8, 2008, 9:54 PM**

^ My guess would be a combination of rising construction costs, City approvals (which take foreeeever), and waiting for construction offices and staging of Hanover Tower to vacate the area.

k3d, that view will be veeeery interesting over the next several months. It'll be fun to watch 717 and Concerto rise together.

As for the roof of Market Lofts, it still presents a great opportunity to green up the roof below those air conditioning units. If I remember right, the City was kicking around some kind of tax credit measure for greening roofs. Perhaps the HOA of the Market Lofts can take advantage of that in a couple of years when they get more established, provided the structure can support the added weight and drainage.

k3d · #**3582** Posted **Feb 8, 2008, 10:08 PM**

^Luma will be my more permanent vantage point after next week. I still have a view of 717 and Concerto but a little further away.

citywatch · #**3583** Posted **Feb 8, 2008, 11:37 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by k3d

From what i can tell most of the units are occupied in Luma and Eleven as well as Sky.

In the video linked to by bobcat, the devlpr of Elleven/Luma/Evo said that 10 units remain in Luma. He said they had 12 sales during the traditionally slow month of Dec. He also mentioned that since last June there have been 70 cancellations, with 2/3 of that due to applicants finding problems in getting financing, & 1/3 due to speculators dropping out. He said that speculators started disappearing around last summer. He also noted that about 20% of the units in elleven & luma are rented out.

Another devlpr said that about 1/2 of the units in markets lofts have been sold & that Lee homes is getting around 8 to 10 sales per month, with 95% of applicants being approved for financing.

A banker said that he didn't think any major new condo or apt proj would break ground in the hood over the next 6 to 9 months.

Someone else said that there have been 10,000 condo/apt units built in Washington DC over the past few yrs, & that the amt in DTLA has been averaging only around 3500 per yr, which by comparison is a drop in the bucket. That's why he didn't think DT would become as overbuilt as certain other cities.

Another person said that if Hanover is able to get $350 per sq ft for their apts, that would indicate just how much stronger the rental situation was in DT, & why rent has been rising while prices of condos have dropped 5 to 7% over the past yr.

k3d · #**3584** Posted **Feb 8, 2008, 11:56 PM**

^That doesn't sound good for Evo.

JDRCRASH · #**3585** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 3:20 AM**

I thought Evo was doing well; it's lofts must have skyrocketed in price.

Construction on Tower 3 of Concerto was scheduled to start in 2009, but somehow i'm not optimistic that will happen.

ladowntowner · #**3586** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 3:41 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDRCRASH

I thought Evo was doing well; it's lofts must have skyrocketed in price.

Construction on Tower 3 of Concerto was scheduled to start in 2009, but somehow i'm not optimistic that will happen.

Since when was there a Tower 3 in the Concerto development, "dude?"

Easy · #**3587** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 4:23 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ladowntowner

Since when was there a Tower 3 in the Concerto development, "dude?"

IIRC Phase 1 is the high rise and the low rise. Phase 2 is supposed to be the other high rise.

ladowntowner · #**3588** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 4:57 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Easy

IIRC Phase 1 is the high rise and the low rise. Phase 2 is supposed to be the other high rise.

Meaning there will be 2 towers and a low rise, built in 2 phases, and no such imaginary "Tower 3" possibly being delayed as another forumer had posited, correct?

LAofAnaheim · #**3589** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 4:59 AM**

JDRCrash....where do you get your stats from?

Easy · #**3590** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 7:25 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ladowntowner

Meaning there will be 2 towers and a low rise, built in 2 phases, and no such imaginary "Tower 3" possibly being delayed as another forumer had posited, correct?

More or less. I wouldn't go so far as to say that there will be two towers, but that was the plan the last I heard.

Wright Concept · #**3591** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 12:43 PM**

Could we cut out this bullshit on JDRCrash Please! Damn, this thread is really going down hill and it isn't just because of that poster. One more remark from anyone that is unneccessary and antagonistic, I'll send the PM's to the adminstrators to have you suspended. I know there is a slow down period in Downtown but that doesn't give anyone an excuse to keep up this madness.

ladowntowner · #**3592** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 4:18 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Easy

More or less. I wouldn't go so far as to say that there will be two towers, but that was the plan the last I heard.

Sorry, I meant to say two towers are planned. Considering the nature of the current slowdown, it's anyone's guess as to if the second tower will actually ever get built, however, at this time it is still planned. Thank you for the clarification.

LAofAnaheim · #**3593** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 6:59 PM**

^ Well..they have been working on the underground garage for Tower 2; so it's likely to move forward once Tower 1 is substantially complete.

colemonkee · #**3594** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 8:21 PM**

Getting things back on topic, I updated the first page with the following:

1. Added 850 S. Hill to the "proposed" section.
2. Moved Residences at Bixel to "approved". I'll move it to "under construction " as soon as we get verification of foundation work.

There are some broken images I need to fix, which I'll deal with later. Anything else I should add to the front page?

colemonkee · #**3595** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 8:31 PM**

And an update on the LAPD HQ Building. Glass on the south side makes its slow but steady march upward and outward. And cladding along the Spring St. side moves north along the first floor. I actually like the reflectivity of the glass. This building's starting to grow on me.

The MJ Higgins gallery is no more. Didn't take long to reduce it to rubble - it was still standing as of Monday morning.

ladowntowner · #**3596** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 8:35 PM**

^Thank you for your tireless efforts at maintaining the front page of this forum and gently attempting to keep us insolent posters on-topic and focused.
Here's to colemonkee!

LosAngelesSportsFan · #**3597** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 8:42 PM**

i was at the MOCA Grand event last night, and it was great. big crowds, cool art, cool scene with music and drinks, hot girls, and even a celeb (adrian Grenier) The flow of people on grand, around MOCA and the side streets made it awesome. It was plainly obvious why The Grand will be so important to Downtown LA. BTW, Colburn ties in beautifully to MOCA and downtown, the area between the two is a nice plaza area.

yeah215 · #**3598** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 9:38 PM**

Sorry if I missed this, but I have a couple of questions. Once the new Police HQ is occupied, what then happens to Parker Center? I assume it will be torn down because of all of its structural problems. Does the city plan on building a new office building there, maybe reduce the the amount of office space they lease? Is it a potential site for some new County offices and courts to expand the County Mall?

What about the Los Angeles Mall? Is there a way to get rid of that and use it for other civic purposes? What is the deal with the County's Hall of Records and Law Library? Both of those buildings look so run down and dilapidated. Are they really needed in their current form anymore in a downtown setting? Now there is the internet and whatnot?

In an ideal world, it would be great to see all the buildings in between City Hall and Music Center go. The park would really be wonderful then, and much larger and more substantial. To the extent some buildings are still incorporated into the park, they should be be short (I'm thinking of buildings with the massing of the Central Library). Some of the other larger buildings can be relocated. My feeling is that most of them need to be rebuilt anyway. Some of the other open areas in the civic center could be used for these purposes.... the old parker center site, the parking lot around the old Hall of Justice, the LA Mall site. Opening up those three, plus allowing a couple smaller buildings on the edges of the park would make the Civic Center feel more cohesive. I don't like the way the park will potentially come up right to the front of the Criminal Courts building. The massing seems all wrong and I think it will feel really awkward.

Wright Concept · #**3599** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 9:50 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by colemonkee

And an update on the LAPD HQ Building. Glass on the south side makes its slow but steady march upward and outward. And cladding along the Spring St. side moves north along the first floor. I actually like the reflectivity of the glass. This building's starting to grow on me.

That glass really works with the texture of the elevation facades. A little retro but modern in the same breath.

JDRCRASH · #**3600** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 11:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by colemonkee

Getting things back on topic, I updated the first page with the following:

1. Added 850 S. Hill to the "proposed" section.
2. Moved Residences at Bixel to "approved". I'll move it to "under construction " as soon as we get verification of foundation work.

There are some broken images I need to fix, which I'll deal with later. Anything else I should add to the front page?

Nice job colemonkee!

By the way, Tower 3 on Concerto is 30 stories.
It even says so in the last Downtown News quarterly update.
It is quite amusing, though; because that would mean that I AM intelligent, and know my facts and where to get them, contrary to what some may dramatically claim.

Anyways, I like the development occurring along the westside. Hopefully Downtown can imitate with the construction of the grand avenue project.