LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 3.0

[Kingofthehill]

For all of its benefits and practicality, most applications of stucco look downright awful. Such stuccoization has severely compromised our housing stuck in places like Highland Park, Lincoln Heights, Mid-City and, especially, Boyle Heights (of which had many cute Victorian bungalows prior to wide-scale stuccoizing). If I were a councilman, I would propose an ordinance that gives families a financial incentive to remove stucco facades from their homes.

This example always sticks out in my head: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s...cak0hOZGGxxNQRu2g&cbp=12,162.13,,0,-1.28 . Without stucco, it would otherwise be a handsome building, and worthwhile addition to LA's collection of 1920's architecture.

[BrandonJXN]

Originally Posted by RuFFy

There's actually a reason for this. In Chicago you see a lot of brick buildings similar to New York City and many Eastern Seaboard Cities where it's cold. Using brick increases thermal mass making summers cooler and winters warmer indoors. Aside from this, the natural disasters threatening the east coast are hurricanes, and brick/block buildings increase the likely-hood of the structure surviving a catastrophic event. The need in Los Angeles, however, isn't so much to survive drastic weather changes. What the West Coast builds in advance of are earthquakes. Building brick/block buildings on the West Coast in general can prove catastrophic in an even moderate seismic event, as brick and block are likely to shatter and collapse. While stucco itself isn't flexible, the wood stucco is usually over is. Stucco also helps to protect wood from the elements.

There is a lot of brick buildings in Tucson. I lived in a brick building when I was there. It felt like a kiln in the summer.

[JDRCRASH]

Originally Posted by DistrictDirt

Its about time. That guy was singlehandedly detering me from visiting one of my favorite sites.

How did you find out he was banned? Did Dakota say something or is he just not posting anymore?

Well, I sure can be an idiot that doesn't wait before posting.....

All of his posts in that particular article on HSR (or the bus only lanes) WERE deleted. Unfortunately it appears he's account is still active, and he's been posting in that USC land purchase article. He hasn't made any personal attacks, but somehow I doubt that'll last...

[Just-In-Cali]

Latest from Downtown News OL,

All about the 7th=Fig Mall and the New Target...
Here's a snippit!

ANd a link for the renders

http://www.ladowntownnews.com/articles/2010/12/07/news/doc4cf98319693c7759365610.txt

Thoughts?

by Richard Guzmán
Published: Friday, December 3, 2010 5:00 PM PST
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - About a month after officially announcing that Target is coming to Downtown Los Angeles, the owner of the 7+Fig mall last week detailed other elements of a $40 million renovation for the outdoor shopping center.

Bert Dezzutti, senior vice president of mall owner Brookfield Office Properties’ Southern California region, said the renovation of the 330,000-square-foot attraction is set to start in the first quarter of 2011. He said it will be completed by fall 2012, when Target is scheduled to open.

Although plans for a renovation were long in the works, the specifics of the upgrade were tied to the anchor tenant. Now that the deal has been signed by the Minneapolis-based retailer, Dezzutti said the renovation will transform the mall into a clean, modern and open space.

The dated look of mall will be upgraded by replacing the current circular layout of stairways, zigzagging escalators and side elevators with a grand stairway that leads shoppers directly into the center from Figueroa Street. The stairway will descend to the middle floor of the three-level complex, where the entrance to Target will be located.

A large metal frame that currently hovers above the center will be replaced by a glass canopy, while the twin columns in front of the mall will be increased in height and sheathed in glass. The columns and the canopy will be enhanced with lighting, Dezzutti said.
“It’s a much more modern looking and inviting retail center,” Dezzuti said.

The project is being designed by Gensler Los Angeles, the architecture firm behind the Convention Center hotel, Club Nokia at L.A. Live and numerous other projects. James Kelly, the project architect, said the goal is to give the mall a contemporary look.

Kelly said the grand stairway will be the most significant architectural feature of the project and will improve pedestrian circulation throughout the shopping center.

“You won’t have to circle into the center anymore and move all around to find your way down,” he said. “It’ll take you down to the middle level where Target is located and from there you’ll have a very clear route to continue into the lower level.”

The canopy will be the visual signature of the renovated mall, he said. He added that designs call for Target to be the prominent center of the space.

“It’s going to have really great visibility from Figueroa. So as you come down that grand stair you’ll look across and the Target entrance will be right there,” he said.

Kelly said a lot of pedestrian traffic is expected from the Downtown population, so major changes are not planned for the 7+Fig parking structure, which also serves two adjoining office towers. Dezzutti, however, added that some parking spaces will be added for shoppers.

New Mix


The mall is currently 70% vacant. In preparation for the renovation, most of the remaining tenants have received notice to vacate by Jan. 2. The only tenants that will remain at the mall will be California Pizza Kitchen, Starbucks, Morton’s The Steakhouse, Adoro Mexican Grille, Gold’s Gym and Yolanda Aguilar Spa, a sub-tenant of the gym.

They will stay open during construction and join a number of new retail outlets and restaurants that will occupy the up-to 175,000 square feet of space that will be available after the renovation, although Dezzutti would not confirm which businesses are coming.

“Our vision is to transform the current retail mix at 7+Fig into a much more contemporary mix of stores and visionary iconic restaurants that are more designed for the urban need Downtown,” he said.

Project renderings hint at possible dream tenants for a redefined space. Designs show an “Up-N-Down Burger” storefront, a “Meimen Marcus” and “Northstem.”

Dezzutti maintains that those are just an artist’s depiction of what it might look like, and he would not say if there are plans to bring in an In-N-Out burger, Neiman Marcus or Nordstrom.

Yolanda Aguilar, who has run her spa at the mall for seven years and has been in Downtown for 45 years, said she is happy with the renovation plans.

“It’s going to open this place up to new people. It’ll be more accessible,” she said. Aguilar admits that staying open during construction may be a challenge, but it will be worth the struggle.

“I feel very confident about this place,” she said. “We may go through a bit of tough times, but this is progress and it’s a good change.”

[SD_Phil]

Fall of 2012 is so far from now relatively speaking. Still, a target is so sorely needed that I can patient and hope for the best. It's been a while since I've been there though. Anyway use it frequently?

[JDRCRASH]

I'm still hoping they build a multi-story mall (like that cancelled one for Wilshire-or hollywood, can't remember) on one of the parking lot across from LA Live.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

As for updating the first page, I haven't had the time, and probably won't for a few weeks.

Not sure if this thread's cover pg includes only large bldgs, or bigger projs, but the way things are right now, the only new devlpt in dt, big or small, that may break ground not too long from now is this one, from an article running in tomorrow's paper....

Broad's museum at 2nd Street and Grand Avenue is their first project in Los Angeles.

"L.A. is a whole new continent for us," said Diller.

The Broad museum design, which has been closely guarded since the firm won the commission this summer, is expected to be made public early next month.

Diller was cagey about specifics except to describe how the project came with a list of demands: It had to have galleries but also room to store all of Broad's 2,000-plus pieces of art; it had to have parking but also generate downtown foot traffic; it had to make a statement but not overwhelm its grand neighbor, Disney Hall. "This was a challenge," said Diller, "but it had in common our interests in visuality, spectatorship, urbanism, structure."

Jeffrey Deitch, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, whom Broad also recruited from New York, was part of an informal committee that previewed six design proposals from different firms. He said the committee found DSR's "by far the most exciting because they clearly put a tremendous effort into thinking, analyzing and making sure the building wasn't isolated but functioned within the urban fabric."

It also did not go unnoticed that "all the principals of the firm showed up and were obviously completely engaged," Deitch said — and that Diller, in particular, connected with Broad, a famously prickly client. No one was concerned that DSR had completed only a few buildings, said Deitch, adding: "I think they're going to be able to deliver."

On a recent Monday over breakfast in Chelsea, Diller made it obvious she was a canny judge of clients. "I'm used to working with complicated personalities," she said. "With Lincoln Center, the personalities were all complicated, but I think everyone in the cultural world, including Eli and all those people, when you make everyone pull back and look at the picture, what's at stake, people, in the end, they figure it out. … I'm able to do that with Eli."

[JDRCRASH]

^ Until we see actual pictures, I think it probably won't happen until summer.

[Just-In-Cali]

Found it kinda morbid, but the Local news was reporting on the collapse of the Minnesota Vikings Stadium, and were actually touting the fact that the powers that be feel it bodes well for the purposes of the Vikings leaving Minnesota and coming here to Los Angeles. Since their contract is up next year, and this is the 5th time the inflatable roof of that stadium has collapsed due to snow. I dont like partaking in excitement at another's misfortune, but thats another feather in the hat of South Park and the Stadium Project downtown.

[pesto]

Since the football stadium has lots of sites, I'll talk about shopping.

7/Fig needs to overcome the idea that you are going down into a hole. The new design partly does that but they better do more or the Target will survive and everything else will struggle. I notice that every holdover business is either food or fitness, which tells you about how retail is doing these days (and about LA's habits).

Target and Neiman in the same center? Are there any other such juxtapositions in the world? I have to assume this is more joke than reality.

[colemonkee]

Some interesting - and potentially good - news from the Los Angeles Business Journal.

Koreatown Property Fuels Downtown Ambitions
Sonny Astani to use $11.5 million to pay for new high-rise project.

By Max Zimbert
Monday, December 13, 2010

Developer Sonny Astani has sold a Koreatown apartment building for $11.5 million to billionaire real estate investor Donald Sterling – with plans to use the proceeds for a new downtown L.A. project.

The 66-unit building at 457 S. Manhattan Place fielded 17 bids, but Sterling was able to close the deal quickest. Astani said he met with Sterling, who bought the building in cash after a 90-minute meeting.

The sale comes as Astani readies to sell his Concerto condo project in downtown after a lengthy battle with Starwood Capital Group. The investment firm owns the construction loan on Concerto after purchasing part of the portfolio of Corus Bank, which was seized by regulators and was Astani’s original lender.

The $11.5 million in proceeds are only a fraction of what Astani would need for his latest plan: a two-building, high-rise condo complex at Eighth Street and Grand Avenue. The property, now a parking lot, is already entitled for 900 units. Astani said the project would be further funded by proceeds from the stalled Concerto project, which he would like to sell for $200 million (netting less once various encumbrances are paid).

A combination of factors, including available construction financing and a pickup in downtown condo unit sales, means it’s time to build again, he said.
“You have all these elements happening at the same time; on top of it, it’s an L.A. market that’s healthy with rentals,” he said. “I don’t see things going though the roof in several years, but there’s enough for professionals who are their own builders.”

Neither Sterling nor a representative of the Sterling Family Trust returned calls seeking comment. Ron Harris of Marcus & Millichap represented the buyer and seller.

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

Some interesting - and potentially good - news from the Los Angeles Business Journal.

Koreatown Property Fuels Downtown Ambitions
Sonny Astani to use $11.5 million to pay for new high-rise project.

By Max Zimbert
Monday, December 13, 2010

Developer Sonny Astani has sold a Koreatown apartment building for $11.5 million to billionaire real estate investor Donald Sterling – with plans to use the proceeds for a new downtown L.A. project.

The 66-unit building at 457 S. Manhattan Place fielded 17 bids, but Sterling was able to close the deal quickest. Astani said he met with Sterling, who bought the building in cash after a 90-minute meeting.

The sale comes as Astani readies to sell his Concerto condo project in downtown after a lengthy battle with Starwood Capital Group. The investment firm owns the construction loan on Concerto after purchasing part of the portfolio of Corus Bank, which was seized by regulators and was Astani’s original lender.

The $11.5 million in proceeds are only a fraction of what Astani would need for his latest plan: a two-building, high-rise condo complex at Eighth Street and Grand Avenue. The property, now a parking lot, is already entitled for 900 units. Astani said the project would be further funded by proceeds from the stalled Concerto project, which he would like to sell for $200 million (netting less once various encumbrances are paid).

A combination of factors, including available construction financing and a pickup in downtown condo unit sales, means it’s time to build again, he said.
“You have all these elements happening at the same time; on top of it, it’s an L.A. market that’s healthy with rentals,” he said. “I don’t see things going though the roof in several years, but there’s enough for professionals who are their own builders.”

Neither Sterling nor a representative of the Sterling Family Trust returned calls seeking comment. Ron Harris of Marcus & Millichap represented the buyer and seller.

OHMYGOD, HE IS GOING TO BUILD OPUS. OMAGOD OMAGOD OMAGOD. This is really exciting. I give, for this, one singular dancing banana, what I, for so long, have hated.



There. I did it. And Now I feel dirty.

[BrandonJXN]

Opus is coming back?

DAS WOOT?!

[DJM19]

Is this the project?



If so, that would amazing. I would hope it doesn't change much since this conception.

A bit sad that the second concerto tower is now pretty much dead it seems...I hope something good gets built there.

[JDRCRASH]

^ Yeah that's it.

Originally Posted by DJM19

A bit sad that the second concerto tower is now pretty much dead it seems...I hope something good gets built there.

If nothing happens there, hopefully it can become a park.

[Quixote]

Opus/8th and Grand was always my favorite project. Sadly, though, I think the original proposal has been scaled down. It wouldn't surprise if the architectural scheme has changed as well.

Other images from Astani's website:

[Illithid Dude]

Two things:

One- I don't think Opus has been scaled down. With the sale of Concerto, Astani will have $200 million to go forward with Opus. That seems like enough money to keep it how it was before.

Two- On the second tower of Concerto, the next developer has the permits to do what he wants with the second tower, and the LED display on it, and I think that it will be built. I do really want to know what is happening to the FIDM building, because that would really compete the block.

[pesto]

Big news! One of the biggest parking lots in South Park. And a nice urban design; motion, rhythm and texture added to the metal and glass.

Based on pure guess, I would put this with the Grand project as being something with real potential since funding apparently isn't an issue and Astani's commitment seems strong.

Will we be able to see into that blonde's apartment?

[colemonkee]

Some clarifications:

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

One- I don't think Opus has been scaled down. With the sale of Concerto, Astani will have $200 million to go forward with Opus. That seems like enough money to keep it how it was before.

Astani will not get $200 million from the sale of Concerto. That is his desired gross selling price. If he gets that, he still has some debt to pay off. Even if he were to net the entire amount - which he won't - $200 million likely won't be enough to build out OPUS. That's a much bigger project. The money he's likely to get out of the sale of the Koreatown and Concerto properties is down payment required to secure construction financing. Also, there have been many conflicting reports on the program for OPUS, so I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the project has changed from the renders posted, which are at least two years old.

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

On the second tower of Concerto, the next developer has the permits to do what he wants with the second tower, and the LED display on it, and I think that it will be built.

The new developer will not be able to do whatever they want with the 2nd tower of Concerto. That plot of land is entitled for a certain number of units - most of which are already built - and that developer will not be able to change that number without going through the entitlement process again. The LED super graphics were proposed, but never approved, and I would wager would not be approved. If they were approved, it would not make sense to put them on the 2nd tower, as that tower faces 9th and Flower streets, respectively, which have far less exposure to motorists than Figueroa and the 110 (which is what Astani was really gunning for with that proposal in terms of generating ad revenue).

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Originally Posted by pesto

Target and Neiman in the same center? Are there any other such juxtapositions in the world? I have to assume this is more joke than reality.

Dude! Where have YOU been? Target now attracts the same demographics as upscale chains like Neimans and Barneys.

No joke: