LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

So is the Park tower actually getting built? I like it.. even at 490 feet it will help fill in LA's skyline a bit, and the 750 foot hotel tower should start later this year too I believe.

We're just guessing on Park Tower.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

We're just guessing on Park Tower.

that right now is a case of good news, bad news....

First the good news...a permit has been filed by the devlpr of that proj.

but now the bad news. A devlpr is allowed several months before they have to begin actual construction. Much worse, they're allowed to file for an extension if they there's no real groundbreaking after 6 months.

A permit expires, a) in two years from the date of its issuance, b) if no work has been started within six months from its issuance, or c) work has started but stopped for over six months.

However, within 30 days of its expiration, an extension of time to extend a permit may be filed with the Department using either modification Form 41 or Form 42 . The request shall be filed with the inspection district supervisor if no work has been started. If the permit has expired and the work has started, the request shall be filed with any plan check office.

more good news, bad news....

first the good news.

a devlpr who was quoted repeatedly in the press several yrs ago about his bldg actually breaking ground----catercorner from the Elleven condo tower----around that time could never say he filed for permits. so that should have been an easy clue to not have high hopes about his proj from the beginning.

this is from 2008....

According to the latest Downtown News Development Report, the 25-story Glass Tower is alive! Well, sort of. The $60 million South Park residential building at Grand and 11th, across from the pretty South towers, will begin construction in 6 months, says developer/owner Amir Kalantari. That seems fast for a project which has yet to complete its designs and has not yet sought city permits.

^ I remember thinking back in 2008 that cuz the devlpr sounded so confident about his proj actually being underway around the time he was interviewed, that the glass tower proj was a certainly. I sure was WRONG about that one.


Now the bad news.

based on all the early signs----inc the devlpr actually getting permits-----it was very easy to assume this proj really was going to go forward. this is from 2007, over 4 yrs ago....

Plans for a $1-billion high-rise condominium complex overlooking Pershing Square park in downtown Los Angeles were unveiled Monday by developers who expect to build the tallest residential building west of Chicago.

"This is the first time in 30 years that all the stars have lined up" enough to start building Park Fifth, said Los Angeles developer David Houk, who began acquiring the land in the 1970s.

Houk says he now has committed financial partners and most of the required development permits and has begun work on a new environmental impact report. Construction could start as soon as early 2008, and the smaller tower including the hotel could be open by 2010, he said.

^ I remember not being 1000% sure a few yrs ago that the parkfifth proj actually would be under construction back then, but I also remember having some confidence that the devlpr had cleared enough hoops that not only wasn't he full of hot air, but that he'd be able to get work underway at 5th & Olive. I sure was WRONG about that one.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by LA/OCman

I remember endless "letters" I sent to the Mayors about the litter problems Downtown in the 80's. I never thought there would be BID's who would maintain the cleanliness of the streets. You should have seen the garbage on Broadway back then! It was disgusting.

I sometimes have wondered if ppl in charge of the city have ever traveled much or traveled at all. or if they've ever visited most of the major cities of the US, or certainly various cities across the atlantic. Or if they've visited mexico city in particular. I ask that cuz those cities in certain ways not only seem to have their act together as much as LA does, they seem to be even better at taking care of things.

I remember thinking that broadway in LA, as bad as it was, couldn't have been too much worse than many of the streets in Mexico's capital city. But that was based on some ppl's claims that broadway was somehow an authentic representation of latino culture. if it was, then it must reflect the boonies of mexico, but not a big time city like Mexico city.

I did a google street view of st louis last wk, curious about why the owner of their pro football team might be very committed to that town or the midwest overall. I expected to see lots of streets around the older dt sections of st louis. I thought it would be similar to what's all over dtla. But while it looks like St Louis has seen better days----since currently there doesn't seem to be lots of noticeable signs of activity involving stores & businesses----in some ways it wasn't as gritty as what I see all over or around dtla. So while st louis doesn't have the sunshiny palm tree look of LA, in other ways it actually looks less than LA.

I think too many ppl running things in LA----esp yrs & yrs ago----have been in full procrastination mode when it comes to cleaning & fixing up the town.

[BrandonJXN]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

So is the Park tower actually getting built? I like it.. even at 490 feet it will help fill in LA's skyline a bit, and the 750 foot hotel tower should start later this year too I believe.

But too bad about the 1250 foot tower, I don't think that one's getting built.

And you know this how?

[Lovetowers]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

And you know this how?

that and what "towers" are you talking about ?

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Originally Posted by ziggy331

"The luxury brand, created in partnership with the boutique hotelier Ian Schrager, is also in contract to manage Editions in Los Angeles and Gurgaon, India, near New Delhi."

http://intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/28/marriott-plans-more-edition-hotels/

It's been long rumored that Marriott's Edition Hotel would be coming to LA (I think most assumed that the Courtyard tower going up across LA Live would be an Edition) but after a disastrous start in launching that brand, hopes for that quickly faded. I guess the brand is now doing a pseudo-relaunch and LA is once again on their radar. This article was posted last week so hopefully it comes to fruition and downtown is the location!

I checked with them and they confirmed it is NOT coming to DTLA. It will likely be on the Westside according to another source from Marriott.

Edition apparently would compete with Ritz Carlton across the street if they built it where courtyard/residence inn is going.

[travanx]

I have worked on many projects around that time when funding just completely disappeared. Lehman Brothers going under was the start of this. So 2007-2008 I am sure everyone was confident in the building environment, until a major finance company went under, and with it many loans for a huge chunk of construction that was about to happen in Southern California.

I was working for a place that until that point was going to have projects being worked on for the next 15+ years. In fact they were the Civils for Centex. It was amazing what we would hear in meetings even as the economy started to go poof about a year before the general public saw it happen. Lines like we will continue to build out even if the economy goes into recession. Yeah right, all their projects stopped completely.

That Civil company did the condo plans for Rowan and another building across the street, I forget the name. I worked on both of those plans and after hearing about some other project about 4 years earlier, I became interested in what was going on in Downtown.

I would say until a building is finished, then the building hasn't gone up yet. As anything can stop construction very easily these days. Look at what happened in Vegas.

Originally Posted by citywatch

^ I remember not being 1000% sure a few yrs ago that the parkfifth proj actually would be under construction back then, but I also remember having some confidence that the devlpr had cleared enough hoops that not only wasn't he full of hot air, but that he'd be able to get work underway at 5th & Olive. I sure was WRONG about that one.

[JDRCRASH]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

But too bad about the 1250 foot tower, I don't think that one's getting built.

Well it might, but probably not for another 5-10 years or sometime deep into the next boom particularly since the downtown office market has a ways to go. Hopefully the completion of the Regional Connector will help.

[alki]

Originally Posted by all of the trash

yes, right before the elevated chinatown station

Oops! Thanked the wrong person for the clarification.

[alki]

Originally Posted by atlwarrior

How accurate and when was the last time the numbers were submitted. Atlanta 2 bedroom market rate downtown is 1050.00 today

Those rents ARE dated.....they were compiled in 2008. However, while the numbers may have changed during the past 3 years, I doubt the ordering of the cities has changed much.

BTW, the rents reflect at least an entire city, if not the metro area, and not just a submarket like downtown Atlanta.

[alki]

Originally Posted by DistrictDirt

According to KotH who's studying in DC now, rents there are much higher than when I left 2 years ago...so take the comparison I made with a grain of salt. Also, that ranking you linked to is from 2009, so it may not be accurate anymore.

Rankings don't change as much as we might think......at least not in 2-3 years. I always get caught off guard when comparing rents with an east coast city which tends to be denser than LA. Density frequently leads to higher rents but not always. DC is slightly more dense than LA......so I was expecting rents to be higher.

Still though, LA seems extremely expensive to me, especially for the shabby quality your money gets you in some neighborhoods. We looked around at some places in Koreatown today. They were only a few hundred dollars per month cheaper than what we're paying to live downtown, but the quality was dramatically worse. Some of these places literally feel like tenements on the inside. Downtown is expensive, but I feel like we're at least getting our money's worth (comparatively speaking) by living in a place that has big windows, high ceilings, hardwood/tile, is well maintained, etc.

I had a similar reaction when I first moved to LA. Coming from a colder climate, I was surprised at how lightweight LA construction seemed. I learned over time that certain building standards can be more relaxed because LA does not experience the temperature extremes that most US cities do.

In addition, developers really do distinguish between sub markets and interior finishes can vary greatly from one submarket to another. I would expect DT to at least approximate the quality found in Silverlake/Los Feliz if not the Westside.

[bobcat]

Originally Posted by alki

I had a similar reaction when I first moved to LA. Coming from a colder climate, I was surprised at how lightweight LA construction seemed. I learned over time that certain building standards can be more relaxed because LA does not experience the temperature extremes that most US cities do.
.

Lightweight, wood-framed structures also fare better in earthquakes than the type of construction you see in other parts of the country.

[jamesinclair]

I came to request an update on expo/figi

And I see this was posted a couple of days ago

Originally Posted by Muji

Icon Plaza at Figueroa and Exposition, seen on Monday.

...but why is it wood :/

[Lovetowers]

Originally Posted by jamesinclair

I came to request an update on expo/figi

And I see this was posted a couple of days ago




...but why is it wood :/

lol exactly, im sure well i hope that safety was included in the design but it just seems like i could just walk on up to it, huff and puff and just blow the place down lol

[citywatch]

if anyone from ssp over the next few months finds him or herself walking on broadway, a bit north of the intersection of broadway & 7th st, they might want to take a snapshot of the long overdue elimination of one of the bigger mistakes in 'renovation' from the 1960s....


thewritingnut.com


martinturnbull.files.wordpress.com

hollywoodreporter.com....Andrew Meieran returns home today from a rather unique 11-day dual research trip in Argentina. The filmmaker...was location scouting around Buenos Aires for both his next movie....as well as materials scavenging for his next hospitality project, the already-underway renovation of the iconic 81-year-old Clifton’s Cafeteria in downtown L.A.’s gentrifying Historic Core neighborhood. “Both of these projects right now are about the same thing: creating environments,” he says.

Meieran took over Clifton’s, the last surviving branch of a historic local chain, this past fall. The cafeteria opened in 1935 on Broadway — when the corridor was a fully activated commercial hub, dotted with grand movie palaces — and earned a reputation for both its fantastical woodland décor...and its humanitarian commitment to the poor....

Meieran wants to keep the cafeteria food affordable, to retain the spirit of the Clifton’s brand, as well as its longstanding community responsibility to those in the area with little money in their pockets. But there will be certain culinary modernizations, such as a salad bar concept focused on organic products and sustainable farming. “We’re going to be taking what we do multiple steps — generational steps — forward,” he says.

Other steps include an already-announced mixology-oriented tiki bar on the third floor of the building, which will be aesthetically inspired by another, long-demolished downtown Clifton’s outpost, known as the Pacific Seas. “It was over-the-top tiki, as never seen before in the history of mankind,” he says. “It was the inspiration of Disney’s stuff. So we are using that [as a guide].”

Meieran expects to complete the roughly 3,000-square-foot tiki space in about a year, if all goes as planned. “The concept is not to be kitschy,” he adds. “It’s the real Twenties and Thirties version of tiki, the beautiful golden era of travel, going back to the Cocoanut Grove. It’s taking it to the next level, where it’s this romanticized vision.”

On Wednesday, Feb. 8, the building’s long-hidden historic façade will be revealed for the first time in many years. An unsightly metal grating has obscured the fantasy-style architecture, which is concrete made to look like wood, in keeping with the forest-themed décor inside (originally, ferns and other plants were hung all around — along with multicolored neon). “The façade looks like a prizefighter that’s got the right side of his face bashed in,” says Meieran. “It needs a lot of work, and we’re about to see exactly what that is."

[Jelly Roll]

Originally Posted by alki

Those rents ARE dated.....they were compiled in 2008. However, while the numbers may have changed during the past 3 years, I doubt the ordering of the cities has changed much.

BTW, the rents reflect at least an entire city, if not the metro area, and not just a submarket like downtown Atlanta.

My rent went from 1300 a month to 1650 a month from 2008 to 2010 for a studio apartment when I lived in DC. From what I have heard the rents have gone up even more since I left. Granted those number do not reflect the market average but the rents in DC have been rising very fast over the past 5 years.

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by citywatch

if anyone from ssp over the next few months finds him or herself walking on broadway, a bit north of the intersection of broadway & 7th st, they might want to take a snapshot of the long overdue elimination of one of the bigger mistakes in 'renovation' from the 1960s....

I will be on Friday. So.... perfect! My Spanish class is taking a field trip down to Grand Central Market. We are going to go and take pictures, so that we may recreate Grand Central Market once we get back to school. So, I'll even have my camera. Perfect! Also, if you see me, feel free to say hi. I'll be the guy with the cardigan and the 5D MkII.

[DistrictDirt]

Originally Posted by citywatch

if anyone from ssp over the next few months finds him or herself walking on broadway, a bit north of the intersection of broadway & 7th st, they might want to take a snapshot of the long overdue elimination of one of the bigger mistakes in 'renovation' from the 1960s....


On Wednesday, Feb. 8, the building’s long-hidden historic façade will be revealed for the first time in many years.

That's my birthday. I couldn't ask for a better present!

[ziggy331]

PDF slides for the new convention center that offer a few more renderings:







http://downtownstadium.lacity.org/PDF/LACC%2002-02-2012%20-%20ADHOC%20PDF.pdf

[Quixote]

I don't know about you guys, but I'd love to see a park across from Staples instead of LA Central and Jardin. Anyone else agree?



http://la.curbed.com/archives/2012/02/wh..._from_staples_center.php#reader_comments