LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[pesto]

Originally Posted by JDRCRASH

Alight people, looks like were gonna have to stop voicing our opinions on whether a new building being built on parking lots and other dead zones isnt tall enough, cause apparently some here think it is so funny that they would include that in half of their posts.

And there will be no comparing a city that is over a thousand years old like london to los angeles, the majority of which was urbanized only in the last 75 years). there's a reason why the former city favors low-rises more than the latter... the old architecture in london is some of the most beautiful on the planet, putting that of 90% of los angeles' to shame.

And even then, london in fact did go through a little boom of its own in the years leading up to the olympics, even giving birth to what is now the tallest skyscraper in Europe.

Well, the top architecture in most cities will put 90 percent of any city's housing to shame. That's almost a tautology unless you're talking about 3rd world vs. 1st world.

London is NOT a beautiful city, generally speaking: the great majority of it is old, dirty and of very doubful aesthetic quality. Built in a hurry for functional purposes during its growth periods. No match for Paris and Barcelona and several others, for example. A great city, maybe the greatest, and with plenty of great monumental architecture, but not architecturally strong overall, counting the great stretches of middle and lower income areas.

Again, not city vs. city; love London and what it offers.

[pesto]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Quick correction: Angelena is not wood framed, despite being eight stories. Astani has gone out of his way to say that the building will be built, and I quote, of 'glass and steal', and be very high quality.

Sounds like he's planning a "smash and grab" job.

[Steve2726]

Astani sold this a few months back. New developer, possibly new design.
http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/san-f...e9709a0-bf0a-11e1-b97a-001a4bcf887a.html

[colemonkee]

Parking requirements have been brought up ad nauseam in this thread as an impediment to development, so this is a big step in the right direction. From Curbed LA:

LA Is Moving Beyond Its One Size Fits All Parking Requirements
Tuesday, August 14, 2012, by James Brasuell

Builders may be able to get a little more flexibility in how many parking spaces they include with their projects--the City Council today approved the long-gestating Modified Parking Requirement District ordinance, concluding a process that began last September. The ordinance allows for the creation of Modified Parking Requirement districts that allow the use of "one or more" of "seven parking requirement modification tools." As explained in September, those tools are: 1) change of use parking standards (i.e., if a building's use changes, parking requirements won't), 2) use of a new Parking Reduction Permit (individual projects could request fewer required parking spaces), 3) buildings could move parking off-site to within 1,500 feet, 4) decreased parking requirements, 5) increased parking requirements, 6) commercial parking credits, and 7) maximum parking limits (each use within a district has a set maximum number of spaces).

Read the rest of the article here:
http://la.curbed.com/archives/2012/08/la...e_size_fits_all_parking_requirements.php

[SD_Phil]

^That's a great start. How onerous is it to appeal for one of these exceptions?

[alki]

Originally Posted by LAofAnaheim

I shot this video on Friday night during the Dance Downtown, which has now moved to the Grand Park. Look at how beautiful the fountain is at night!! One of the best fountains you have seen, worldwide. Look at the energy of the crowd and the multi ages enjoying the Dancing and fountain. Now, this is what LA needs more of! Personally, I can now say, downtown has made IT as THE cultural destination of Los Angeles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5urIsCL7zg

Nice. We can talk about design all we want........I can complain about pink/purple chairs......but the ultimate test of whether a park is successful is if people take advantage of it. And if that is the test, then Grand Park gets an A........people have been flocking to it since it opened.

Thanks for the video.

[alki]

Originally Posted by citywatch

alki, I think you make the issue more complicated than it really is. it's not bad design per se.....which implies matters of refined taste & lofty architectural skill....that is the achilles heel of LA. It's more an issue of too many areas looking not much better than this.....



maps.google.com

Every city........I repeat, every city has areas that look like this. My point was that the major issue is NOT bad design. It is far more complicated than that. It has to do with a group of bldgs being the focal point......the heart.....of the city. Where the action is. When I lived in LA, DTLA was not where it was happening. There was no vitality or excitement to the central core. And where there is no excitement, all its imperfections become much more noticeable.

^ that's why I kind of when the conversation turns to our bldgs being too short, or new devlpt not being taller, or new projs having parking podiums, or their having no stores on the 1st floor, or even their walls being stucco instead of granite. or the color of the benches in the new park being pink instead of green. it's not that those issues aren't worthwhile, it's just that to the average person, all of that gets lost in the far worse mish mosh of LA.

That's the nature of this forum.....we focus on the details because we have a hyper interest in what goes on in DTLA. Its to be expected.

And you're right....I contend the average person could care less about those details esp when there is a sense of excitement. ID posted that when he took his friends to DTLA, they didn't notice the parking lots and the overhead wires because they were so turned out by the city.

That's why I think you need to get out of your car and walk DT. You don't feel the excitement or the dynamics of a city while trying to maneuver through traffic.

[alki]

Originally Posted by Steve2726

Astani sold this a few months back. New developer, possibly new design.
http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/san-f...e9709a0-bf0a-11e1-b97a-001a4bcf887a.html

Here's the portfolio of Camel Partners who bought the site from Astani:

http://www.carmelpartners.com/region/colorado/

[colemonkee]

^ They either developed or bought Dwell at Vue in San Pedro, which has a very nice, modern design, which makes me hopeful that they'll either keep the latest Astani design (which I liked) or design something similarly modern and fitting for the area.

[202_Cyclist]

The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee is holding a field hearing tomorrow on LA's courthouse and the Edward R. Roybal federal building.

LA Courthouse: GSA’s Plan to Spend $400 Million to Create Vacant Space
Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 255 East Temple Street, Los Angeles, California 90012
August 17, 2012

"This hearing of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management is scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM (Pacific Time)."

http://transportation.house.gov/hearings/hearingdetail.aspx?NewsID=1706

[pesto]

Originally Posted by alki

Nice. We can talk about design all we want........I can complain about pink/purple chairs......but the ultimate test of whether a park is successful is if people take advantage of it. And if that is the test, then Grand Park gets an A........people have been flocking to it since it opened.

Thanks for the video.

May be a bit early for a final grade on this; it isn't even really completed yet.

[pesto]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee is holding a field hearing tomorrow on LA's courthouse and the Edward R. Roybal federal building.

LA Courthouse: GSA’s Plan to Spend $400 Million to Create Vacant Space
Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 255 East Temple Street, Los Angeles, California 90012
August 17, 2012

"This hearing of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management is scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM (Pacific Time)."

http://transportation.house.gov/hearings/hearingdetail.aspx?NewsID=1706

So the thrust seems to be that the govt. is figuring out ways to share judges and that therefore there is no need for expanded premises?

[pesto]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

^ They either developed or bought Dwell at Vue in San Pedro, which has a very nice, modern design, which makes me hopeful that they'll either keep the latest Astani design (which I liked) or design something similarly modern and fitting for the area.

Their Pico Lanai property is less exciting.

I know there are some who believe that anything is better than a vacant lot, but this may strain even their standards. I hope.

[colemonkee]

Pico Lanai looks like an existing apartment building built in the 50's or 60's that they bought and remodeled, primarily on the interiors. I wouldn't take that as an example of their development aesthetic.

[ziggy331]

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES – Jade Enterprises, a major commercial property owner with significant holdings in the Fashion District, has submitted plans to build its first Downtown residential project.

The company is looking to build a 419-unit, two-building complex at Pico Boulevard and Flower Streets on two side-by-side parking lots, according to plans filed with the city.

The project would rise over a cumulative 42,000 square feet of commercial space.

“We see demand in multi-family development, so we’re looking to capitalize on that,” said a Jade Enterprises spokesman, who declined to provide a project budget.

The development site is just north of the Avant, a three-building, 440-unit complex currently under construction at 1340-1360 S. Flower St. The under-construction phase involves two buildings estimated at $95 million. The Avant is slated to include 11,000 square feet of retail space.

Jade Enterprises’ plan still requires city entitlements — getting those approvals could take a year or longer.

Jade also owns the First Republic Bank building at 888 S. Figueroa St.

Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at [email protected].

http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/devel...6941434-e7c5-11e1-8100-001a4bcf887a.html

Interesting... Here's to hoping it's a quality development!

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

According to Brady Westwaters post on curbed, the neighborhood council has seen the renderings and they are fine

[colemonkee]

^ As reported on Curbed, the contact for the architect in the submission to the City is from Thomas P. Cox Architects. So my expectations for design are low.

[Easy]

Looking on the bright side, I won't be disappointed by the design as I already am expecting the worst. I'm just hoping that it won't have an inordinate amount of parking considering that it's across the street from a blue/light rail station that will run trains every three minutes at rush hour per direction and at least every six minutes all day and night.

I like how downtown is expanding south and USC going north to fill in that gap. Speaking of which, I wonder whatever happened to the Hampton Inn right down the street that promised to move quickly a year ago?

[pesto]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

Pico Lanai looks like an existing apartment building built in the 50's or 60's that they bought and remodeled, primarily on the interiors. I wouldn't take that as an example of their development aesthetic.

It would be pretty amazing if it were contemporary; looks like every small town motel in the world painted yellow. Shows that even SaMo needs work. But seriously, their work looks pretty nice in general.

That whole area is just obvious for housing of this type; there are many blocks of mostly dead 1 story light industrial and parking lots that could become mid-rise, reasonably affordable housing. Convenient to DT and SC.

[colemonkee]

What I would really like to see downtown, and in LA in general, is less of the TCA Architects of the world (even though they are a downtown firm), and more of the Daly Genik Architects of the world (also a LA firm). Daly Genik has some really visually interesting designs - and won the AIA Award for LA last year - and just one or two commissions downtown, even with mid-rise projects, could really inject some quality design into downtown.

I'm hoping that, moving forward with the reduced parking requirements, more developers will be able to afford better architecture firms - and higher quality design materials. This will take some time for those revised parking requirements to go into effect - and even longer for the first few projects to be developed under them - but it will do wonders for the aesthetics of downtown in the long run if it materializes.