LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 3.0

[BrandonJXN]

That's another thing that I've noticed a lot lately as opposed to years past: There is a lot more tourists in downtown LA. Matter of fact, I went downtown I think it was on Tuesday. I was wandering around LA Live right before the Laker game and a very nice Australian couple asked me what was going on? I said the Lakers are about to play a game. We chatted a bit and they told me that people in Australia were let to believe that DTLA was the place to avoid. Along the same lines as Compton. I told them downtown isn't 'there' yet but it has made a quantum leap in terms of fast becoming the place to be in Los Angeles. DTLA still has a way to go but we're on the upswing. They both said that DTLA feels more organic than Hollywood and Santa Monica in the sense that it has a depth that not many other places have. Pretty cool to hear that.

[BrandonJXN]

If ever LA Live need to expand it's now. I'm at the Starbucks down here and there is an OBSCENE amount of people. Far too much stuff going on: The Trojan game down the street, the Yo Gabba Gabba concert at Nokia, the Kings game, as well as the ice skating rink in Nokia Plaza. LA Live needs to expand NORTH so all these people can actually go into downtown.

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

If ever LA Live need to expand it's now. I'm at the Starbucks down here and there is an OBSCENE amount of people. Far too much stuff going on: The Trojan game down the street, the Yo Gabba Gabba concert at Nokia, the Kings game, as well as the ice skating rink in Nokia Plaza. LA Live needs to expand NORTH so all these people can actually go into downtown.

Don't forget the car show. I think not only does L.A live need to expand, but the immediate are around it, so it can capitalize on the new crowds. L.A. Central would be sooo great for the area, if it is ever built.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by JDRCRASH

Interesting...Roberson Partners (developer of City House & The Olympic) has made some changes to their website...including new projects i've never heard before...

http://www.robertsonpartners.net/ResComMixUse.htm

Mr. Eli said he would break ground before the end of the year, but I have a feeling it won't happen for MONTHS.

JDR, I asked the questions about those projs sort of rhetorically cuz I know everything is in a long holding pattern & probably will stay there for quite awhile. but your link to a revised plan for the robertson proj is news to me. Their two tower proj appears to have been downsized to just one tower. But right now, I'd be happy if they at least took their parking lot at Grand & olympic & put a nice strip of landscaping around it. Is that asking for or expecting too much?!!

as for the museum, the last I read was that work on the parking structure would start in november. before that, groundbreaking was going to happen sometime in Sept. then sometime in October. well, it's almost the end of Nov & maybe someone here has recently walked or driven by the parking lot next to Disney & can say if it has even been closed? I'll bet that nothing has changed.



Illithid, I vaguely recall reading about the land where parkfifth was going to go up being sold by one of the investors, but that the devlpr whose controlled it for over 25 yrs----& has long promoted the idea of doing something big on it----was still staying connected to it. I don't know the details, but if the original devlpr actually is bailing out, then, yes, we can say that parkfifth is formally dead.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

That's another thing that I've noticed a lot lately as opposed to years past: There is a lot more tourists in downtown LA.

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

If ever LA Live need to expand it's now. I'm at the Starbucks down here and there is an OBSCENE amount of people.

thanks, threehundred, for those type of postings. this thread tends to die out when ppl----me included----aren't an active part of the hood. that's even truer today since this thread no longer has many, or any, proposed projs or rising new devlpmts to keep track of or talk about. So in the meantime, it's always good to get first hand reports about all the smaller changes taking place in DT & how much business, or how many ppl, are being drawn to various businesses, locations or events.

I was at the yard house restaurant at LA live several wks ago & did notice quite a few ppl in it who in past yrs would have been just about non existent throughout almost all of dt, & certainly in that part of dt.

not long ago I was looking at a copy of the magazine published by the LA times right after Staples opened in 1999, & it contained an aerial photo of the area. It's easy to forget just how empty dt was not all that many yrs ago, esp the part near the convention ctr. I'd hate to get stuck in a time warp & end up in the past. the future is where it's at!

[BrandonJXN]

Originally Posted by citywatch

JDR, I asked the questions about those projs sort of rhetorically cuz I know everything is in a long holding pattern & probably will stay there for quite awhile. but your link to a revised plan for the robertson proj is news to me. Their two tower proj appears to have been downsized to just one tower. But right now, I'd be happy if they at least took their parking lot at Grand & olympic & put a nice strip of landscaping around it. Is that asking for or expecting too much?!!

as for the museum, the last I read was that work on the parking structure would start in november. before that, groundbreaking was going to happen sometime in Sept. then sometime in October. well, it's almost the end of Nov & maybe someone here has recently walked or driven by the parking lot next to Disney & can say if it has even been closed? I'll bet that nothing has changed.



Illithid, I vaguely recall reading about the land where parkfifth was going to go up being sold by one of the investors, but that the devlpr whose controlled it for over 25 yrs----& has long promoted the idea of doing something big on it----was still staying connected to it. I don't know the details, but if the original devlpr actually is bailing out, then, yes, we can say that parkfifth is formally dead.

You of all people should know that it takes YEARS for a building to go from the proposed to approved to actually under construction. I wouldn't be surprised of Cal Plaza 3 is still in the works.

I hope that's the case. Along with Zen. I really would like to see Zen rise.

[RuFFy]

Originally Posted by citywatch

thanks, threehundred, for those type of postings. this thread tends to die out when ppl----me included----aren't an active part of the hood.

How many times can you repost this? And if you're not a part of the hood like those you claim post and cause the thread to die out, why don't you lead by example and stop posting???

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Thank you DistrictDirt for those pictures of DC.

A lot of times we need to be reminded that other cities around the world (including many in this very country) ARE doing things right and pushing ahead while LA continues to fight "5-story mixed-use projects" from Pasadena to La Cienega.

Citywatch, we "fill in" with transit talk sometimes just because transit and urban development are almost one and the same because when large amounts of middle class people start using transit to get around for not only work, but pleasure, it changes the public policy that has restricted growth in LA for so long. Without transit, developers will have that much more to overcome that limits the possibilities of projects ever breaking ground.

You want density? and those "fugly parking lots" filled in? Well, you better get behind transit.

(I know what you're going to say already that with every rail line that's already been completed, it hasn't changed LA much. However, ALL those rail lines are incomplete because they truly mostly act as feeders and without Wilshire Blvd., you cannot "jump start" the engine of "pedestrianism" because Wilshire Blvd. is the where walking is possible on a massive scale.)

[Illithid Dude]

I went Downtown yesterday and walked down 7th. I have to say, it's pretty amazing how much resurgence downtown has seen. Most of the retail spots along the street are home to nice, high quality food-places. It's really great. However downtown seems to have a phobia of retail. I know there are plans for the mall at 7th and Fig, but besides that, what else is there?

[RAlossi]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

I went Downtown yesterday and walked down 7th. I have to say, it's pretty amazing how much resurgence downtown has seen. Most of the retail spots along the street are home to nice, high quality food-places. It's really great. However downtown seems to have a phobia of retail. I know there are plans for the mall at 7th and Fig, but besides that, what else is there?

Yes, it's true. There's some clothing boutiques for men and women in the Historic Core area between 4th and 7th, Spring and Main... and Little Tokyo has lots to offer. There's very little "mainstream" retail, and 7th seems like a great place to start.

Btw, Downtown News reporting that Mo-Chica is moving into the Sandella's Flatbread space in the Mandel Building at 7th/Olive.

[Muji]

Also in DT restaurant news, Cabbage Patch will be opening soon in the former Showbiz Ribs space at 520 W. 6th. Kind of a silly name, but from what I hear, it's a pretty nice upscale casual eatery that currently has two locations in Beverly Hills and Playa Vista.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

You of all people should know that it takes YEARS for a building to go from the proposed to approved to actually under construction. I wouldn't be surprised of Cal Plaza 3 is still in the works.

if you're referring to the new museum, then, yes, it would be quite an effort for it to be under actual construction as soon as originally mentioned by eli broad. But his proj & the proposed new courthouse bldg are different from most other types of new projs in the hood cuz they're not dependent on having to make a profit. but if you're talking about new devlpt in general, then I was thinking of another part of the process. I was going...



cuz the economic conditions will have to be much stronger to allow new housing, hotels, stores, office space to move forward. So a lack of enough demand or the right kind of demand will create the biggest delay over the next several yrs.

New projs require ppl willing to spend X number of $$ for a condo or apt, or for office space. New devlpt needs enough ppl willing to spend $$ on hotel rms or at stores or restaurants. There are some $$ out there that are supporting things like new restaurants & certain stores. But who knows when ppl will want to spend alot more for housing?

The added costs of having to make bldgs strong enough to withstand earthquakes are also making it even tougher to get some of these projs underway in LA.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesBeauty

Citywatch, we "fill in" with transit talk sometimes just because transit and urban development are almost one and the same because when large amounts of middle class people start using transit to get around for not only work, but pleasure, it changes the public policy that has restricted growth in LA for so long. Without transit, developers will have that much more to overcome that limits the possibilities of projects ever breaking ground.

I don't know what will take longer to breakground: new projs like the tower that will replace the wilshire grand hotel or the dt connector system. But I agree that transit is important to the hood. But alot of the train or rail plans right now go far beyond DT. The red line, for instance, will say as much about west LA as it will about DT. Or the Expo line will mean as much to Culver city as it will to DT. So "transit" seems like more of a regional topic.

I was trying to coax ppl to write about things like what Illithid did a few posts above. IOW, I think even brief descriptions of specific things that ppl have personally seen or experienced in dt makes the subj of "Downtown" seem more current & on target. I think it's really interesting when forumers like three hundred describes comments from tourists or how many ppl were visiting LA live at the same time he was there.

however, i did overlook the one new subj on projs in DT that did come up recently. That was talk about building a new stadium or multipurpose space next to the convention ctr. So there still is some "proj rundown" topics that can be slotted into this thread.

[LAofAnaheim]

Originally Posted by citywatch

The added costs of having to make bldgs strong enough to withstand earthquakes are also making it even tougher to get some of these projs underway in LA.

And the significant parking requirements. It will cost $10.5 million for the new Broad museum structure (http://blogdowntown.com/2010/07/5495-cra-to-put-105-million-into-parking-garage). Broad really doesn't need a 300+ car park in an area close to the Civic Center station, Angels Flight, and the thousand space garages at Cal Plaza, Wells Fargo, or Disney Hall. Reduce the parking (make it only 100 spaces..that's plenty) then we can move more projects to fruitition! Convince the politicians!!

[future29]

http://www.ladowntownnews.com/articles/2010/11/29/news/doc4ceda42249cb0605918817.txt

LAPD Plans Holiday Crackdown on Jaywalking and Other Offenses

looks like a money grab to me... NYC would never implement such a thing!

[DistrictDirt]

Originally Posted by future29

http://www.ladowntownnews.com/articles/2010/11/29/news/doc4ceda42249cb0605918817.txt

LAPD Plans Holiday Crackdown on Jaywalking and Other Offenses

looks like a money grab to me... NYC would never implement such a thing!

Did you see their reasoning? That it will help cut down on purse snatching. Yup. That's the best BS they could come up with.

[pesto]

Is this really going to be enforced in the evenings when traffic is about zero in large parts of DT? In NY the police used to tell you walk down the middle of the street in deserted areas at night to avoid mugging.

Hope they don't cite the new tourists that are starting to come DT.

Glad I got the warning at least.

[RAlossi]

Write to Councilwoman Perry. She's really good about reading her e-mails and listening to the community (I'm serious!). Or friend her on Facebook and post on her wall, which is what I did, letting her know how angry people are about this issue. I don't know what she can do, if anything, but we need to let her know that we're tired of it.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Yeah it's time to send emails/facebook wall posts to Jan Perry/Jose Huizar that giving someone a ticket for jaywalking is so lame and the public sees right thru the city's need for more money that it's not even funny.

[SD_Phil]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

And the significant parking requirements. It will cost $10.5 million for the new Broad museum structure (http://blogdowntown.com/2010/07/5495-cra-to-put-105-million-into-parking-garage). Broad really doesn't need a 300+ car park in an area close to the Civic Center station, Angels Flight, and the thousand space garages at Cal Plaza, Wells Fargo, or Disney Hall. Reduce the parking (make it only 100 spaces..that's plenty) then we can move more projects to fruitition! Convince the politicians!!

100% right LAofAnaheim! But this is really a kind of Catch22 that's plagued LA for at least 30 years (if not more so). People rely, predominantly, on cars to get around in LA. People will not tend to buy/visit places where they cannot park easily. Therefore most places, to be viable, would build large parking garages anyway (even without the ordinances I think). So that slows construction because it increases cost which makes it almost impossible to have an economically viable middle income highrise just about anywhere in LA. I really don't think this situation will change for at least another 15-20 years while we improve transit availability and citizens come to see that there are safe, efficient alternatives to cars for getting around the city (and not just the touristy parts). If the 30/10 plan goes through this could happen much much faster.