LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 3.0

[StethJeff]

From the LA Times:

Attorneys Kabateck and Geragos aim to do justice to Fine Arts Building



By Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 27, 2008

One of the most venerated structures in downtown Los Angeles, a richly embellished Jazz Age office tower honoring the arts, has been acquired by two high-profile attorneys for $23.5 million.

The aptly named Fine Arts Building at 811 W. 7th St. is now owned by Brian Kabateck and Mark Geragos, who last week announced its purchase from a Denver real estate partnership. The Los Angeles lawyers plan to take over almost half of the space on the top floor and rent the rest of the space in the 12-story building to tenants.

Kabateck and Geragos, whose clients have included pop star Michael Jackson, have coveted the Romanesque Revival-style building for years, Kabateck said.

They already own and keep offices in a nearby former fire station built in 1912 known as Engine Co. No. 28. It has a restaurant of the same name on the ground floor, where some of the city's first motorized fire engines were once housed.

"After we bought Engine Co. we decided we loved older buildings," Kabateck said. "The real building we thought it would make total sense to own was the Fine Arts Building."

The Los Angeles Times called the Fine Arts Building "one of the finest business blocks in the Southland" when it opened in late 1926 with a private gala for thousands of guests.

The design reflected an era when sculpture was integrated into architecture as a way of expressing the meaning and purpose of a building, according to USC archives.

The builders hoped to attract tenants in arts-related fields, and elaborate display cases were built into the lobby to show off works by tenants, said architect Christopher Martin, a former part-owner and occupant of the Fine Arts Building whose family firm has been designing Los Angeles buildings since 1906.

"They thought the wealthy people who shopped on 7th Street would flock to it," Martin said.

The Fine Arts Building was designed by Los Angeles architects Albert R. Walker and Percy A. Eisen, who also created such well-known structures as the Oviatt Building downtown, the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills and the El Cortez Hotel in San Diego.

Claremont sculptor Burt Johnson, weakened from influenza and heart attacks, worked from a wheelchair to create several statues for the building, including a girl with a fish in the lobby and two giant figures representing Architecture and Sculpture that recline against ledges on the third story.

The front of the building is clad in terra cotta from the kilns of Gladding, McBean & Co., which decorated other local landmarks, including department store Bullocks Wilshire.

In the lobby is a vast assortment of tiles by Pasadena artist Ernest A. Batchelder, a leading figure of the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 20th century, and a mural by popular theater muralist Anthony Heinsbergen.

"It's an amazing example of great architecture on the interior and exteriors," said Linda Dishman, executive director of the Los Angeles Conservancy. The Depression apparently put an end to the Fine Arts Building's reign as a cultural haven, Dishman said.

By 1933 it was known as the Signal Oil Building and went on to be called the Havenstrite Building and Global Marine House.

It was renovated in 1983 by developer Ratkovich Bowers & Perez and rechristened the Fine Arts Building.

Since then it's had a handful of owners, most recently Denver real estate investment company Alliance Commercial Partners, which paid $17.8 million for it in 2006.

One improvement the new owners plan to make is the opening of a ground floor restaurant in a space originally occupied in the 1920s by the Pig 'n Whistle and most recently by McDonald's.

"We want to bring in a high-end, notable restaurant," Kabateck said.

Kabateck has been in the news as the attorney who filed a class-action suit against AT&T Inc. for allegedly facilitating private investigator Anthony Pellicano's wiretapping schemes. He also represents actor Keith Carradine in a suit against Pellicano.

Geragos won an $18-million judgment this year from the owner of a celebrity jet service who secretly videotaped Michael Jackson talking with his lawyers.

Geragos and Kabateck, who maintain separate firms, will probably buy more buildings together.

"We are not stopping," Kabateck said.

"We have our eye on other historical buildings in the business district. We thoroughly believe in the ongoing revitalization of downtown and want to be part of it."

[BrandonJXN]

This page makes me lol.

I hope iHope and Park Tower become reality. From a design standpoint, Park Tower is really unique. It's mid 60's architecture reminds me of some of the mid 60's houses that you see in Inglewood and Compton and other cities in South LA.

IHope, while nothing speical design wise, is another good infill project that'll help make South Park into a nice, dense neighborhood.

I hope iHope I hope iHope.

[DowntownCharlieBrown]

Originally Posted by StethJeff

From the LA Times:

Attorneys Kabateck and Geragos aim to do justice to Fine Arts Building



By Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 27, 2008

One of the most venerated structures in downtown Los Angeles, a richly embellished Jazz Age office tower honoring the arts, has been acquired by two high-profile attorneys for $23.5 million.
[/COLOR]

I just saw this pic on Curbed LA of the building in your post and had to post it. It's beautiful!!!

And very LA, don't you think? ... with the palm trees and guy suntanning on the roof.

[DJM19]

I love park tower. Hope its built...

And yes, the fine arts building is maybe my favorite building to downtown...good to see it may get some solid use.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

^ I have this feeling that developers have two reasons for not lowering their prices yet to reflect the current slowdown in market demand for condos and houses.

1) They're obviously greedy and many of them are completely unaware of what's going on because they have all these projects downtown but they live in Bel Air or Beverly Hills. They're out of touch with the broader base of reality. So they continue to stubbornly keep prices high because they ALL think they have some kind of great "product" to offer to buyers. They all think like that.

2) Many of them have numerous loans and they don't want to be upside down. Which is why many are switching to rentals I assume.

However, I have this bad feeling this "economic cycle" will not be heading back up again because of the relentless rise in oil prices.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Here's another pic of the building I took a few years ago:

[Echo Park]

its a gorgeous building, but the interior is probably even more attractive than the exterior. i've been inside and its quite elegant.

[LAofAnaheim]

Finally! A new groundbreaking (and pretty significant as well, b/c of the density it gives near the Expo Line)..University Gateway at the corner of Figueroa and Jefferson.

Gateway complex breaks new ground
Developers will build new housing complex in the style of campus buildings.
Natalie Jarvey

From the Daily Trojan

Construction on the University Gateway Project has broken ground on the corner of Figueroa Street and Jefferson Boulevard where the Felix Chevrolet Cadillac car dealership formerly stood and is expected to be completed before the fall of 2010.

Urban Partners LLC is managing the project, which will accommodate approximately 1,600 students in more than 400 apartment units, and is working closely with the university to ensure that students' needs will be met by the housing facility.

"I think the university's goals in working with Urban Partners on this project was to ensure that a quality student housing project evolved," said Kristina Raspe, associate senior vice president for real estate and asset management at the university. "Our involvement was to help the developer determine what the students' needs were and make sure it was a quality development and managed well."

Matt Burton, a principal at Urban Partners overseeing the Gateway Project, said the company has worked with the university since it began planning the project in 2003 to make sure it was living up to the standards and expectations of the university and the administration.

"I consider them a partner in this, though not a financial partner," he said. "They've been great to work with and they've been very helpful in giving information about what students want."

The housing complex will be built in a style that will fit with the university's predominant architectural theme and will provide amenities for students such as bike racks, according to representatives from Clark Construction Group, LLC, the construction company Urban Partners hired to build the project.

The new facility will also provide parking spots to about half of its residents as well as retail on the bottom level, which could include restaurants, a pharmacy, a grocery store, a Greek merchandise store and a gym, Raspe said.

"There will be a whole host of residential amenities that we will provide for the students to use," Burton said.

The Gateway Project, named because of its location near the north entrance of the campus along the Figueroa Corridor, has been in the works for several years and was originally expected to begin construction in 2005 and be finished in 2007, the Daily Trojan reported in 2004.

Urban Partners and USC sued Conquest in September 2007, alleging that Conquest attempted to delay the Gateway Project by filing lawsuits and had also tried to gain a monopoly on the housing market around USC.

While the lawsuit delayed construction, Urban Partners and USC eventually prevailed. The settlement, which was made in January, barred Conquest from the right to sue housing companies or impede construction on any project within a 2-mile radius of campus.

Burton declined to comment on the lawsuit.

With the lawsuit out of the way, Urban Partners is now moving forward with the Gateway Project, Raspe said.

"All the work that had been delayed was immediately started," she said. "I think the lawsuit delayed the project about two years."

The project is now on a tight schedule and will need to be completed before the fall 2010 semester to ensure that students will be able to live there during the school year.

"These projects need to open in an August time frame," said Brian League, program director of Capital Construction Development, the university development company that advised Urban Partners during its initial planning stage. "You can't open up a student housing project midyear."

Clark Construction representatives said they were confident that construction delays would not prevent the facility from opening at its scheduled time.

This project is in line with the University Park Campus Master Plan, which is the university's outline for development in the next 30 years.

Cesar Armendariz, University Park Master Plan communication director, said that while the Gateway Project is not directly a part of the plan, it still helps the university move toward its ultimate goal of providing housing for all undergraduates.

"It's 1,600 less beds the university will have to build..." Armendariz said. "It serves an immediate need. We need the beds. Our students are overcrowded in conditions out in the community and that just draws them closer to us."

Burton said he hopes that the construction of the Gateway Project will bring more foot traffic to the Figueroa Corridor and help bring further development to the area between USC and the Staples Center.

"We would hope that it would have a very positive impact in the neighborhood and the community," he said. "It's not the easiest place to develop but hopefully this will spur more development along the Figueroa area."

Source: http://media.www.dailytrojan.com/media/s....Complex.Breaks.New.Ground-3376117.shtml

[BigDan35]

^^ So did I miss it in the article, how tall is this supposed to be? Any pictures?

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

Finally! A new groundbreaking (and pretty significant as well, b/c of the density it gives near the Expo Line)..University Gateway at the corner of Figueroa and Jefferson.

Thanks for posting that article. I know colemonkee also mentioned seeing early signs of work on the proj a few wks ago.

I've been waiting for that corner to be cleaned up for yrs & yrs. That's cuz I've thought of all the ppl going to events or classes at USC or the Shrine, who've had to drive or walk by that location & how it must have made them want to write off the hood. Bad enough, too, when many of those same ppl already would be hesitant about being around there because of the hood's reputation for not being too safe. Only thing is that the timing is kind of off now that more major events----& the VIPs who attend them----will be held at the Nokia instead of the Shrine, but better late than never.

I notice fridayinla took some shots of the site of the Gateway proj not long ago, & I'm including them here. The gray warehouse bldg at the top of his photos also can be seen at the top of the aerial pic, right next to 32nd St. The Galen Arena can still be seen under construction on the bottom of that pic.

Nothing nicer than seeing a former deadzone in the process of being changed & reborn!


fridayinla at flickr.com


fridayinla at flickr.com


local.live.com

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by BigDan35

how tall is this supposed to be? Any pictures?

As things go, it's not a big, big proj, & it's certainly not a highrise. But for that location & for that hood, it's an improvement that's long been needed.


mitchglaser.com


usc.edu

[LosAngelesBeauty]

^ It looks pretty nice. If the architectural style of USC and UCLA were to be the predominant one in LA, then I think people would actually think LA was quite beautiful!

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Took these two pics tonight. Thought I'd go through downtown on my way home - smell the roses, so-to-speak. The area around LA Live, especially on Figueroa St., actually has a sense of grandeur about it. Hanover, with its bright lights, really adds a strong presence to an otherwise desolate and dark street. That's why I'm TOTALLY in favor of Concerto installing those LED panels on the side of the building. Regardless of what one may think about advertisements, the very fact that they're lit up at night gives a particular area a sense of "life" even after dark. A great example is Hollywood. Without all the neon and flashy signs, you wouldn't have the kind of nightlife that is thriving there today.

[JDRCRASH]

Good shots, LAB!

Yup, more LED signs are needed on buildings instead of along freeways, IMO.

In fact, to tell you the truth, even Hollywood for some reason doesn't seem to be all lit up with that Times Square'ish or Tokyo feel to it; which is why I support that Digital Billboard ordinance for Koreatown and Downtown, allowing stores and companies to put up nice advertisments like this:


From flickr, by Krobbie


or this: (this actually resembles the corner of Figueroa and Olympic a little)




BTW, Colemonkee, maybe i'm just not looking hard enough, but that new Building Proposal I showed a week or two ago that you said you would add isn't on the front page. And isn't Hanover considered "Completed" by now?(although, in the photo LosAngelesBeauty posted, I think I can still see a construction wire fence around the sidewalk)

[Echo Park]

let the man do his fucking job. jesus.

[JDRCRASH]

Echo Park, you really need to calm down; I did nothing to irritate him, or you for that matter. So why are you being irrational and blowing this out of proportion? I just simply wanted to remind him; and it's been over a week since I showed it, so it's not like i'm being repetitive.

BTW, aren't I on your "Ignore List"?


Anyways, here is the rendering of 426 South Spring St:



And the Chapman Lofts have been turned into rentals.

[DowntownCharlieBrown]

From: Blogdowntown

http://blogdowntown.com/2008/05/3338-hayward-facade-work-looks-to-enliven-6th

Hayward Facade Work Looks to Enliven 6th & Spring Retail
By Eric Richardson
Published: Wednesday, May 28, 2008, at 04:18PM



An early rendering of facade changes currently underway at the Hayward.

The ground floor retail space in the Hayward Hotel at 6th & Spring is getting a major rehab, part of owner Pacific Investments' efforts to upgrade the building's presence in the Historic Core.

Worn awnings are giving way to ceiling-high windows and a modern feel. The effect, even in its current, unfinished form is a more open feel to the sidewalk and the storefronts.

The Hayward Hotel is actually a series of three buildings, constructed between 1906 and 1925. The original hotel is at the corner, and opened in July of 1906. The addition on Spring street was added in 1918, while the 6th street annex was opened in 1926. The original building also received an extra floor in 1916.

According to Eric Shomof of Pacific Investments, part of the company's plans for the Hayward involve giving each of the building's a different treatment. The work is being designed to reflect the original architectural styles, while giving a cohesive feel to the retail spaces.

[LAsam]

I love that rendering of the Hayward Hotel. I think these projects which clean up and lease up our historic properties are every bit as important as our shiny new skyscrapers in the pipeline.

[Echo Park]

Newb question: Whats more profitable for developers, building resedential space or office space?

I agree with LASam, they're just as important if not more importnat. But I'd like to also see some of these renovated historic buildings be used as office space too.

[LongBeachUrbanist]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

Finally! A new groundbreaking (and pretty significant as well, b/c of the density it gives near the Expo Line)..University Gateway at the corner of Figueroa and Jefferson.

Yes, finally! This is great news for the densification of Lower Figueroa, which I think will ultimately help connect the area to Downtown L.A. Especially with the Expo Line being built.

I think the density of this project is fine. It's not tall, but it's going to put a ton of young people with cash onto Figueroa Boulevard.

Also, I'm looking forward to the USC Bookstore moving to this development. Finally, a huge bookstore within steps of a Metro Rail stop!