LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0 - Page 18

DominicanLou · #**341** Posted **Feb 16, 2011, 1:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by colemonkee

A larger rendering of Icon, courtesy of Curbed LA:

(Image Source: Curbed LA & Clark & Hedrick)

Wow. Didn't know about this coming. I work for a nonprofit CDFI on the corner of MLK and Fig (I guess the very, very end of the Fig Corridor) so this is right down the street. I can't wait to tell the office. We were just talking about all the ground floor retail that has suddenly appeared with the completion of the USC student housing. I've been traveling up and down the Fig Corridor for 5 years now and so much has changed - it's a lot more vertical. I wonder if that area can get more "college town" friendly.

colemonkee · #**342** Posted **Feb 16, 2011, 3:53 PM**

^ It's already getting much more pedestrian friendly, at least south of 30th Street. I visited Freebirds (food is kind of meh, music tops out at 600 billion decibels) at University Gateway this weekend, and the sidewalk was teeming with students and local families - on a Saturday, no less - walking to and from the CVS and campus. A complete and total change from a few years ago when that was a car dealership.

LosAngelesSportsFan · #**343** Posted **Feb 16, 2011, 10:45 PM**

Colemonkey i had the same exact experience last week at freebirds. food was good, music way to loud, but i was impressed with how the gateway project has activated the street and has improved the area 10 fold. i wish there were five more gateways built on figueroa.

LosAngelesBeauty · #**344** Posted **Feb 17, 2011, 12:19 AM**

We need about 100 more "Gateways" throughout West Central LA...

DominicanLou · #**345** Posted **Feb 17, 2011, 7:37 AM**

I'll have to check that Freebird, though admittedly I try and shy away from the lunchtime crowds. Same reason why I rarely make it to the Chipotle. USC is a monster albeit one with pink fur and eyes made of chocolate chip cookies. I'm happy at the transformation. Hopefully we can experience some spillover effects.

tommaso · #**346** Posted **Feb 17, 2011, 11:49 AM**

How exactly do you want me to rationalize my thoughts without the pathos? The ethos and logos are there. Perhaps you disagree with the premise that Wilshire is the Boulevard we are showcasing to the world, and therefore we should cherish this boulevard and treat it with the level of respect and care that it deserves. I can't support every development that goes up as blindly as a bat. Unfortunately, the math is just not that simple.

99.9% of all plots of land in the city would not have drawn a riot from me. Look, please understand that it is the location that demands my attention here. Why can New York showcase 5th ave, Chicago can showcase Michigan Ave, Paris can showcase Champs-Elysees and we can't showcase Wilshire? I say why not.

Of course we can showcase Wilshire and there's a way to do that. I can sit here all year and praise the densification of L.A. But, that's inevitable and way to easy. I'm looking to challenge myself and my city and challenge our minds and standards. Even if L.A. were the only city in the world in existence, and with no other standards to judge by, I would still not support such a feebly drawn up development for that particular location on Wilshire.

I have spent a considerable amount of time studying the properties lined up on Wilshire in downtown Beverly Hills and on other financially wealthy sections of Wilshire. The architecture along those stretches is usually friendly to the eye and sometimes even friendly to the pedestrian. My personal opinion without any exaggeration: this new building going up on Wilshire is neither appealing to the eye nor to any other of my rational senses.

God bless Los Angeles. And yes you are all right here. Where there is the will, there will always be a way. And most certainly, it behooves myself and my fellow comrades to pursue the goals and dreams that we aspire to achieve for our city of Angels. Wilshire shall be showcased even in the moderately wealthy sections of the city. And with time as all good things do age, I will be able to look outside and say:

"Wilshire, you are beautiful. Oh boulevard of my town. You draw me in and twirl me around. I am yours and you are mine. Oh Wilshire, I admire you through the seasons and share my fondest memories with you through this journey. I will never forget you Wilshire for you always opened my eyes to what was and what could be; a perpetual sense of amazement naturally coupled with a longing for more. And when our worlds collided, you always stood tall, strong and handsome; a product of your people and yet these people, yes us, we have now become a part of you, our fate and fortunes forever intertwined. Wilshire oh Wilshire, how I longed for you. You never failed me and never forgot me. Yes Wilshire, I remember you now as the moonlight gazes on your shoulders."

RAlossi · #**347** Posted **Feb 17, 2011, 5:59 PM**

In any event.

You guys, the rooftop pool at the Clark Hotel is done, according to a friend of mine who works at the Pershing Sq. Building. Work continues on the conversion into a boutique hotel on the other floors. This has gone under the radar for a while.

DistrictDirt · #**348** Posted **Feb 17, 2011, 7:25 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAlossi

In any event.

You guys, the rooftop pool at the Clark Hotel is done, according to a friend of mine who works at the Pershing Sq. Building. Work continues on the conversion into a boutique hotel on the other floors. This has gone under the radar for a while.

That was definitely off my radar...this is the first I've heard of it. Exciting! Nothing like a swank boutique hotel to beautify the block. It will help draw a new crowd to Downtown too...and put them right in the thick of it.

BrandonJXN · #**349** Posted **Feb 17, 2011, 7:31 PM**

There is a large building on Broadway and 7th that almost needs to be converted into lofts or even a boutique hotel. I can't remember the name but it looks too good to have nothing going on for it.

tomosso: Get a grip. City West is not Beverly Hills. It is nowhere near it. It's a grungy place that is slowly trying to turn into a neighborhood. Even with Palmer's Tuscans. 1111 Wilshire will help a bit in regards to turning City West into something. Do you even know what that location looks like?

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&sugexp...3&bav=on.1,or.&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

Nothing really amazing about that area now is there?

DJM19 · #**350** Posted **Feb 17, 2011, 11:57 PM**

You mean the State Theater building (big, old, brown building?)

It is nice. I think in time it will be cleaned up. I hope that parking structure across the street is replaced as well.

Illithid Dude · #**351** Posted **Feb 18, 2011, 12:25 AM**

I hate to tease you guys like this, but in class today I decided to look up Park Fifth, and I found a really great render of it. It looks a lot cleaner and glassier then it did in any of the other renders that had been released. Also, it really shows what would have been a renovated Pershing Square. It's really too bad that this stunner will never happen.
Oh, and Gas Company Tower= most underrated high-rise in downtown L.A., amiright?

Quixote · #**352** Posted **Feb 18, 2011, 12:38 AM**

^

• Video Link

QuarterMileSidewalk · #**353** Posted **Feb 18, 2011, 1:10 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Gas Company Tower= most underrated high-rise in downtown L.A., amiright?

Very much so. Its location relative to the complexes atop Bunker Hill diminishes it somewhat, but I think it's one of the nicest modern buildings in the city. And it's very urban! No plaza, street frontage on three sides, lobby built in conformity with the slope of Bunker Hill... It's a very good building.

Illithid Dude · #**354** Posted **Feb 18, 2011, 1:18 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by QuarterMileSidewalk

Very much so. Its location relative to the complexes atop Bunker Hill diminishes it somewhat, but I think it's one of the nicest modern buildings in the city. And it's very urban! No plaza, street frontage on three sides, lobby built in conformity with the slope of Bunker Hill... It's a very good building.

Exactly why I love it so. Also, it has held up extremely well, IMO.

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2011/02/developer_aeg_has_just_submitted.php

AEG has submitted the official proposal for the stadium. Nothing extremely new, but they did announce the amount of parking spaces for the project, which will be a whopping 5000 (!). It's a lot, but in line for what stadiums/convention centers have around the world. Also, the convention center expansion will cost about 100 million less then expected, at 220 million from 350 million. Take a look, I suppose.

Lastly, I found this on the web.

http://www.urbandesignla.com/downtown_guidelines.htm

It is the official design guide for Downtown Los Angeles. Pretty nice, actually, and extremely interesting and informative.

patriotizzy · #**355** Posted **Feb 18, 2011, 5:01 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Westsidelife

^

• Video Link

How dare you

colemonkee · #**356** Posted **Feb 18, 2011, 6:05 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by DominicanLou

USC is a monster albeit one with pink fur and eyes made of chocolate chip cookies.

This is the best line of copy written in this forum in a long, long time.

colemonkee · #**357** Posted **Feb 18, 2011, 6:09 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAlossi

You guys, the rooftop pool at the Clark Hotel is done, according to a friend of mine who works at the Pershing Sq. Building. Work continues on the conversion into a boutique hotel on the other floors. This has gone under the radar for a while.

Wow. I had no idea this was going on. That's a HUGE boost for that area, which is currently a complete dead zone, to quote citywatch. The Chetrit Group, who owns that building, is notorious for being media shy, so it's not surprising. Let's hope similar developments are ongoing at the old Embassy Hotel site, which they also own.

Kingofthehill · #**358** Posted **Feb 18, 2011, 6:36 AM**

NYT Travel piece on DTLA:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/02/20/travel/20hours-los-angeles.html?ref=travel

LosAngelesSportsFan · #**359** Posted **Feb 18, 2011, 7:39 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by colemonkee

Wow. I had no idea this was going on. That's a HUGE boost for that area, which is currently a complete dead zone, to quote citywatch. The Chetrit Group, who owns that building, is notorious for being media shy, so it's not surprising. Let's hope similar developments are ongoing at the old Embassy Hotel site, which they also own.

they have been for months. the lobby looks like its almost done and the windows have all been changed. i asked a worker how long it will take to complete and he laughed and said years. they are turning it in to a hotel and he said that they are also building a theater. lets not take all that as gospel, but at least it gives us an idea.

BrandonJXN · #**360** Posted **Feb 18, 2011, 3:49 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

I hate to tease you guys like this, but in class today I decided to look up Park Fifth, and I found a really great render of it. It looks a lot cleaner and glassier then it did in any of the other renders that had been released. Also, it really shows what would have been a renovated Pershing Square. It's really too bad that this stunner will never happen.
Oh, and Gas Company Tower= most underrated high-rise in downtown L.A., amiright?

I actually think that Cal Plaza is the most underrated high rises in DTLA. They are massive towers, but they are connected to a vast majority of Bunker Hill. If you ever find yourself there, you will see that there is A LOT of stuff at Cal Plaza aside from the towers. It's very 80's in design (lots of pink) but the good kind of 80's. Not the bad kind of 80's like Mr. Mister or something like that.