LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 3.0

[LA/OCman]

Not all doom and gloom..While new building construction has dwindled, there are a lot of businesses starting to fill formerly empty spaces. I just received notification of a public hearing on the Blackstone building at 9th and Broadway. Lofts will open upstairs but downstairs next to Tacos Mexico...they are requesting permits for 3 bars/restaurants totaling 262 seats. There is a January public hearing for this request. The Lazy Ox just opened at 2nd and San Pedro and received a great first impression from the LA Times and they are planning another restaurant next door. Cedd Moses will open La Perla across from Cole's. The Ritz and JW Marriott open in February. The Emil Brown Lofts are opening on 9th. Alternative Apparel is opening offices on Spring near 9th.

http://blog.alternativeapparel.com/4ftp/2009/09/got-some-new-digs-in-la.html

There is a lot of activity in the works Downtown, especially in the Historic Core.

[pesto]

I love to see these rentals, because it effectively means old buildings getting refurbished and surviving, and presumably more to follow.

Getting action in the south Bway area is a nice extension of DT and South Park.

[colemonkee]

LA/OCman, you hit the nail on the head. A lot of what has been happening in downtown recently is quality of life development. Retail spots being filled, restaurants and bars opening up, rental units being filled to some degree, and people settling in to the neighborhood. It really feels different even from a year ago, and the change is definitely positive, despite the broader economic downturn. Personally, I can't wait for La Perla to open.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Does anyone have any suggestions on where a wine bar could go? I know that BottleRock and Cork already have part of South Park covered. And the Must part of the Historic Core. Where else do you think a wine bar would work?

[LAofAnaheim]

City West can be connected to downtown core without a 'lid' on the 110 freeway. Just like how easy it is to reach Union Station with the metro rail stations....the same NEEDS to be done for City West. We need to start advocating for a new Purple/Red Line station at the corner of Wilshire and Witmer. The distance between 7th street/Metro and Westlake stations is 1.4 miles. A reasonable person (outside of transit enthusiasts ) usually doesn't do the walk to 7th street station. I know people who will still drive to Historic Core/Union Station from City West due to lack of reasonable distance. Instead of this "pie in the sky" dream of capping the freeways (is this really gonna happen..honestly?), we should start pressuring our local pol's for an infill station at Wilshire/Witmer. Imagine the easy access for residents at Vero, Glo, 1100, 1010, Bixel at 5th, Medici, etc.. to destinations in the Historic Core and Hollywood. The residential mass is there; and on the flip side, I would like convenient access to La Parilla, the Medical Center on Wilshire/Bixel, etc...

This WILL connect City West to downtown LA. A freeway cap is a nice idea........but the realistic chance of that being built is second to none. Wait until cost estimates come for the freeway cap. Whereas, a station could be built for $20 - $50 million I believe. Anybody have a better estimated price of an underground station?

[pesto]

I agree that the combination of new Witmer station and some improvement of the walkability of the bridges is as far as we are likely to get on 110.

But the cap on the 101 is still a good idea; I think there will be much more pedestrian potential there, assuming rail, the Dodgers and Chinatown flourish.

Wine bars mean a bit older and more up-scale than much of DT. Within a few blocks of the financial district might be good. Near the library or Biltmore?

[colemonkee]

I'd bet a station on an existing line would run upwards of $100 million, but that would still be less than a cap over the 110. I like your line of thinking, LAofAnaheim. A freeway cap wouldn't connect something like City West and the Historic Core anyway due to the distance. So a subway stop would be the best way to connect those two ends of downtown.

[colemonkee]

And slowly but surely, things downtown continue to progress. Adding 77 residents to that area over the next couple of months will have a noticeable impact in and around 9th and Flower. The tower will have an even larger impact over the next 6-12 months.

From the Downtown News today:


Concerto Welcomes Residents
Buyers Began Moving Into Bankrupt Project In November
by Anna Scott, Staff Writer

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES – Residents have begun moving into the first phase of the Concerto project, developer Sonny Astani said yesterday.

All 77 units in the seven-story building at Figueroa and Ninth streets in South Park sold during an August auction, but escrows were delayed after Concerto’s lender, Corus Bank, was taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Astani filed for bankruptcy protection for the project, partly in an attempt to close the sales, in September. A bankruptcy court judge the next month ruled to allow Astani to complete the sales, and residents began moving into the project in November, Astani said.

The second phase of Concerto, a 30-story tower with 281 residences, will resume construction next year, the developer said.

Contact Anna Scott at [email protected].

[Kingofthehill]

The second phase of Concerto, a 30-story tower with 281 residences, will resume construction next year, the developer said.

Wait. Are they referring to it's postponed twin, or are they talking about the tower there now?

[Kingofthehill]

Some photos from the past week or so:

[tommaso]

I love the photos! Please keep them coming

[Easy]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

...the same NEEDS to be done for City West. We need to start advocating for a new Purple/Red Line station at the corner of Wilshire and Witmer. The distance between 7th street/Metro and Westlake stations is 1.4 miles. A reasonable person (outside of transit enthusiasts ) usually doesn't do the walk to 7th street station. I know people who will still drive to Historic Core/Union Station from City West due to lack of reasonable distance. Instead of this "pie in the sky" dream of capping the freeways (is this really gonna happen..honestly?), we should start pressuring our local pol's for an infill station at Wilshire/Witmer. Imagine the easy access for residents at Vero, Glo, 1100, 1010, Bixel at 5th, Medici, etc.. to destinations in the Historic Core and Hollywood. The residential mass is there; and on the flip side, I would like convenient access to La Parilla, the Medical Center on Wilshire/Bixel, etc...

This WILL connect City West to downtown LA. A freeway cap is a nice idea........but the realistic chance of that being built is second to none. Wait until cost estimates come for the freeway cap. Whereas, a station could be built for $20 - $50 million I believe. Anybody have a better estimated price of an underground station?

That's just not going to happen. The red/purple lines were built using tunnel boring machines. They are contained within two separate tunnels between those two stations. I doubt that it's possible to tap into them without destroying them and shutting down service for however many years it would take to build a station around them.

I'm not sure what the cost is, but stations are the most expensive part of construction and more than the tunneling. This would involve engineering design, utility relocation accessing the deep bore tunnels, acquiring property, repairing the existing tunnels, and station construction. My WAG would be that it's at least $350 million*. It's not $25-50 million and I'm very certain of that.

Have you thought about using the DASH buses? If you're really set on rail maybe the Broadway Streetcar could be lengthened to City West from LA Live (assuming that ever happens).

* The first minimum operating segment (MOS-1) for the purple line extension is estimated to cost $2 billion for 3 stations including tunneling so $0.7 billion per station. Take out tunneling, some engineering, utility relocation and my guess is that you are at least at $350 million. Probably more because you would also have to repair the damaged tunnels.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Cap the 101 before even thinking about 110. The 101 cap is way more important to Downtown LA linking Union Station, El Pueblo, Chinatown than City West.

[colemonkee]

Originally Posted by Kingofthehill

Wait. Are they referring to it's postponed twin, or are they talking about the tower there now?

They're referring to finishing the tower that's there now. The proposed twin would require additional financing, but is still entitled, and from everything I've read, still proposed if financial and real estate markets improve.

[pesto]

Easy: so I guess my idea of adding a station on Hollywood between Vine and Western is equally screwed. This would imply putting in the Purple Crenshaw station if there is any belief it will ever be needed.

I would stick to DASH buses. Cheap and flexible.

[Easy]

I don't think that adding infill stations to the red or purple lines will be feasible. And yes I think that a station should be built at Crenshaw/Wilshire. Even though it's not especially dense and even though if the Crenshaw line is ever extended to the purple line if will more than likely meet at La Brea. The distance between Western and La Brea is just too far and a station at Crenshaw will allow the area to be developed to a greater density. The residential Hancock Park neighborhood could and should remain low density but the areas right on Wilshire and to the South will get more dense over time.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Looks like this is the main reason/impetus why Holiday Inn in Downtown LA decided to switch to the Luxe brand. Since the owners/franchisee would have to upgrade extensively anyway to fit the new Holiday Inn revamping, it was a no brainer decision to just redo the hotel as a Luxe chain for probably around the same cost for a more attractive brand.

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Some hotels check out of Holiday Inn chain

[JDRCRASH]

Guess I wasn't specific enough. I was referring to Chinatown and El Pueblo being connected to Downtown, which is what LAB mentioned in his post, not concerning city west.

[ladowntowner]

I see the Famima!! on Fig closed up shop. Looks like the other locations are still open for business. I think there were too many in too close proximity to one another and that one was in the least favorable location.

Also, they're (whoever they are) are tearing down an old one story brick building just south of Adams and north of the Taco Bell on Fig. Anyone have word of what's going on there?

Walked past the theater at LA Live tonight around 7PM and there was actually a pretty healthy crowd lined up to buy tickets and another crowd exiting after their show let out. Trader Vic's looked quite subdued but the other restaurants were jumping.

[colemonkee]

I met some friends at LA Live for a show a few weeks ago and Trader Vic's looked dead on the outside, but inside it was a 25 minute wait for a table and standing room only at the bar - which is pretty big. It was a colder day, so they had the patio closed down, which made it look dead from outside. I think with the way they designed it - solid wood doors deep inside a vestibule, and the thick wood beams blocking a clear view into the restaurant - it can look dead outside be be pretty jumping inside. Poor street facing design, for sure.