LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0 - Page 227

StethJeff · #**4521** Posted **Jul 8, 2012, 2:21 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by citywatch

Baco Mercat is one of my favorite restaurants in town, not just downtown. It helps that one of my friends is a sous chef there.

Still, Josef Centano is a great chef, and I'm eager to try his new Mexican place opening up in the old Urban Noodle spot. Speaking of which, anyone heard an update on Urban Noodle? I know the owners were trying to find a new space downtown. I hope they do. I liked that place as well.

This is off-topic, but a little DTLA boosterism never hurt. Completely agree with you on Baco Mercat. I've taken plenty of people here and they've all loved it. Pesco Baco is one of my all time favorite menu items at any restaurant (right up there with Umami's Truffle Burger, Tam O'Shanter's Creamed Corn, Mastro's Filet Mignon, and Taco Bell's Beef Baja Chalupa). That restaurant alone is secretly the only reason why I hope Main Street continues to develop - anything to keep Baco alive and strong.

JDRCRASH · #**4522** Posted **Jul 8, 2012, 8:45 PM**

Ok, iHope has been moved to "Approved" (and I changed the rendering - thanx Mojeda!), and Kitchen Table and Civic Park have been moved to "Recently Completed'.

Mojeda101 · #**4523** Posted **Jul 8, 2012, 10:05 PM**

Civic Park is done already? Isn't it only being partially opened as the rest is completed by fall?

JDRCRASH · #**4524** Posted **Jul 9, 2012, 3:45 AM**

EDIT: you're right it opens on July 26th.

Hubris · #**4525** Posted **Jul 9, 2012, 6:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by alki

The approval is the next-to-last step for the district, which would regulate signage on Astani's Concerto project, Hanover's 717 Olympic and a proposed FIDM tower.

Good! Absolutely ridiculous that Hanover, located catacorner from LA Live, wasn't allowed to have signage.

Mojeda101 · #**4526** Posted **Jul 9, 2012, 7:42 PM**

Two more cranes are on sight at the Marriott & Courtyard site. Possibly the ones building the bigger crane.

Take a look.

Illithid Dude · #**4527** Posted **Jul 9, 2012, 8:46 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hubris

Good! Absolutely ridiculous that Hanover, located catacorner from LA Live, wasn't allowed to have signage.

Ummm, I believe that It does, in fact, have signage. If I remember correctly, and I could be wrong, the deal was to lessen the amount of signage that the Hanover has.

colemonkee · #**4528** Posted **Jul 9, 2012, 9:30 PM**

Yes, that looks like a mobile crane that will be used to lift the tower crane into place. That mobile crane was laying in parts earlier this morning when I checked the cam. They put that together pretty quickly.

And 717 Olympic has signage - a lot of it - it just doesn't have electronic signage. The need for which, economically speaking, must be a total fallacy, at least for 717 Olympic. Because, for the 3+ years it's been around, they haven't sold the signage to a single advertiser. They've had the same leasing signage up since day one, and they're fading from the sun.

FTP · #**4529** Posted **Jul 10, 2012, 4:05 AM**

I think the most exciting thing in this thread is the Chester Williams and United Artists building renovation. I'm so glad they're not demolishing them.

blackcat23 · #**4530** Posted **Jul 10, 2012, 5:27 AM**

Some interesting bits about the future of the NFL in LA/Farmers Field in this article

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/19545...-to-la-but-many-details-to-be-worked-out

Momentum building toward return to L.A., but many details to be worked out

by Jason La Canfora

Quote:

Conversations with various sources, including some connected to the two current proposed L.A. stadiums (real estate mogul Edward P. Roski Jr.'s location in City of Industry, and AEG's downtown spot), continually pointed to three teams as the most likely to be first to L.A.: the Rams, the Raiders and the Chargers. Several sources, if they had to handicap the field -- and it remains murky due to pending results of an arbitration issue on the Rams' lease and a possible San Diego vote on a stadium referendum in 2013 -- leaned to the Rams as being the team they would pick if they had to....

Quote:

As for the existing prospective stadiums in L.A., a source close to Roski maintains one current team would sell a minority interest to that group in time for the 2013 season, and there is a strong confidence they will ultimately prevail. They continue to doubt the downtown stadium will be built, with issues of parking and tailgating part of the concern, and believe their facility will ultimately house two teams (sources believe potential issues with the Rose Bowl's environmental study, as well as local opposition, make the L.A. Coliseum the more likely temporary home of any team there while a new facility is built).

Sources close to AEG point to their knowledge of a very tricky L.A. real estate market and success building top-notch facilities. And sources said the league greatly prefers the AEG location. However, few current majority owners would be comfortable playing in a facility they don't control and striking a deal with AEG, which would likely want a discounted price given the value of the land it's on.

Roski is seen by the league as being more ready to go -- shovels could hit the ground the moment he gets a team -- but the location is so far from, say, downtown or Orange County, and even with improved public transportation, is there enough around for, say, a Super Bowl? And there is also an abundance of land to try to develop around the stadium.

And that's the rub. A combination of the two proposals, and someone would already be headed to L.A. As it stands, we know that it's going to happen, and certainly it's getting closer. And, ultimately, it could be another proposal from another owner that carries the day.

The wait already goes back to 1994, so at this point the NFL won't rush, but football in L.A. will be a reality.

"Is there a deal out there right now? No," said Marc Ganis, president of SportsCorp, a sports consulting firm, who is very plugged into the situation. "There is no acceptable deal in the L.A. market right now. Neither of the deals proposed (Roski or AEG) is acceptable right now and there are issues with both from a league level, and with potential ownership partners.

"You can't look at this as being limited to these two groups. A third party could emerge as another option as well. Maybe someone purchases 100 percent of an existing team and has the ability to move to L.A. in an alternate location. As it stands right now, there are still too many uncertainties to say who will move there, and when, but if the right deal was out there right now, that satisfied all lease requirements, it would have happened."

Hope this somehow works out in favor of the downtown stadium. Not interested in driving all the way out to the boondocks to watch a football game. Plus, a lot of potential future development on downtown hinges on this and the convention center updates being done.

On the bright side, at least it doesn't look like it will be the Raiders coming back, which means dealing with less Raider fans.

JDRCRASH · #**4531** Posted **Jul 10, 2012, 5:47 PM**

The tower crane is going up on the Marriott! Check out Mojeda101's link.

a9l8e7n · #**4532** Posted **Jul 10, 2012, 6:30 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDRCRASH

The tower crane is going up on the Marriott! Check out Mojeda101's link.

Is it just me or does the crane look a little unusually tall.

Mojeda101 · #**4533** Posted **Jul 10, 2012, 8:00 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by a9l8e7n

Is it just me or does the crane look a little unusually tall.

A bit.

a9l8e7n · #**4534** Posted **Jul 10, 2012, 8:46 PM**

The crane seems as tall as the building will be. Which makes sense...

Hubris · #**4535** Posted **Jul 10, 2012, 8:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by colemonkee

They've had the same leasing signage up since day one, and they're fading from the sun.

I thought that was because they couldn't advertise anything that wasn't on-site.

I wasn't clear, but when I wrote "signage" I was referring to off-site advertising -- the ability to advertise stuff not specific to the site. I remember that was a big deal for the Regal Theatres -- i.e., being able to put up Coca-Cola banners and not just movie posters.

Mojeda101 · #**4536** Posted **Jul 10, 2012, 9:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by a9l8e7n

The crane seems as tall as the building will be. Which makes sense...

I hate looking at this picture and seeing all the parking lots surrounding the building. I hope they are dealt with soon enough.

Another pic!

colemonkee · #**4537** Posted **Jul 11, 2012, 2:43 AM**

Hubris, that's a good point, I'm honestly not sure if that specific limitation was put on 717 Olympic or not.

As for the height of the crane, it will have to get taller eventually. I drove by it earlier today and it's doesn't appear to be the full height of the building. And while it doesn't look very sturdy or safe, it's not uncommon to see cranes get this high from the outset. Some of the cranes that built LA Live started out very tall, presumably to create vertical clearance for the other cranes.

pesto · #**4538** Posted **Jul 11, 2012, 4:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by colemonkee

Hubris, that's a good point, I'm honestly not sure if that specific limitation was put on 717 Olympic or not.

As for the height of the crane, it will have to get taller eventually. I drove by it earlier today and it's doesn't appear to be the full height of the building. And while it doesn't look very sturdy or safe, it's not uncommon to see cranes get this high from the outset. Some of the cranes that built LA Live started out very tall, presumably to create vertical clearance for the other cranes.

Nice to be talking about cranes! Much better than plans, or demo, or fences or even digging a hole.

colemonkee · #**4539** Posted **Jul 11, 2012, 7:14 PM**

I drove by it again this morning, and after a second viewing, it looks pretty close to what the finished height of the building may end up being. It's just shy of the lower half of the Ritz tower, so it's close. I'd wager they'll have to raise it a few sections to put in the roof elements, but it appears to be roughly the height of the building.

And yes, it is nice to be talking about cranes once again.

Valyrian Steel · #**4540** Posted **Jul 11, 2012, 8:05 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

I hate looking at this picture and seeing all the parking lots surrounding the building. I hope they are dealt with soon enough.

The parking lots will be developed eventually, but what I'd most like to see right now is more of the old buildings being restored and used as condos / lofts.

Edit: There's now another big part of a crane laying on Francisco St. getting ready to be lifted.