LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[BrandonJXN]

Aaaand cue colemonkee.

[alki]

Originally Posted by LA/OCman

This Slate.com article really put things in perspective regarding Downtown being the transportation hub of the future. This is one of the main reasons I am so bullish on future Downtown development.

http://www.slate.com/articles/business/t...ica_s_next_great_mass_transit_city_.html

Good article. Thanks for posting.

[alki]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Wow. Icon turned out a hell of a lot better then I thought it would. I know, it isn't great, but from the rendering, I expected the worst. Where I thought there would be red spray on stucco, there is brick. From where I thought there would be beige ghetto McMansion stucco there is smooth, white stucco. Sure, it isn't perfect, or even good, but sometimes, adequate is all you need. Is there ground floor retail?

I tend to agree with you assessment but where do you see red brick?

[alki]

Originally Posted by Easy

Agreed. I just checked and the LA area has 23 Fortune 500 companies and I don't think that any of them are headquartered in downtown LA. Given the decades long exodus, it's almost major news when jobs start to trickle in back to downtown. That being said, the jobs tend to follow the people to some extent. When LA residents started leaving for the suburbs, the jobs eventually followed. As that trend reverses, I would expect that the jobs will return. But there's some lag. We probably won't see major announcements of jobs returning downtown (>1,000 at a time) for a few years, but I do expect that we will hear of them.

With more people moving DT, the companies DTLA are most likely to attract at least initially are artistic/design types like architects or tech......companies where lots of millennials work. For bigger users, I'd like to see one of the studios needing more space locate one of their divisions DT. Only as DT gets more respectable down the road will 'straight' corp offices consider it a possible location IMO.

Nonetheless, jobs are key to future development.

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by alki

I tend to agree with you assessment but where do you see red brick?

Everything red on that building is brick.

[alki]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesDreamin

ohhhhhh ok i think i get it now -__-'' haha.. makes sense..well this is awkward now i feel like an idiot lol

LOL. You're not an idiot. You're a dreamer..........I like dreamers.

Dreamin' is good so long as facts get to make a guest appearance from time to time.

[alki]

Originally Posted by pwright1

I took a stroll down Broadway and checked out the new Figaro Bistro u/c next to the Palace Theater. Looks quite nice. Can't wait.

Frigging unbelievable........all my favorite bldgs are getting redone. I left too soon.

[alki]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Everything red on that building is brick.

I'll take your word for it. I can't tell from the photo.

[pesto]

Originally Posted by alki

With more people moving DT, the companies DTLA are most likely to attract at least initially are artistic/design types like architects or tech......companies where lots of millennials work. For bigger users, I'd like to see one of the studios needing more space locate one of their divisions DT. Only as DT gets more respectable down the road will 'straight' corp offices consider it a possible location IMO.

Nonetheless, jobs are key to future development.

This sounds about right. But I doubt that large employers will move to DT in the foreseeable future. The appeal of flexible campuses with appropriate amenities is too strong when needing that amount of space and workers. You go to the suburbs for professionals and India for low-skilled workers.

[colemonkee]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

Aaaand cue colemonkee.

Good call. Many posts deleted and two forumers suspended. Whomever would like to be next, by all means, post something here that is off topic.

[LA/OCman]

OK, last night I attended the Autumn Lights program at Pershing Square. It was really an interesting mix of artistic lighting, music, eclectic crowd (thousands) and a magical juxtapostion of modern art meets historic architecture (surrounding the park). Although I am no fan of Pershing Square, at night it is really beautiful because of its location. I kept thinking about Citywatch and others who get frustrated at the pace of development. We ate at Soletto on Fig and 8th (fantastic place) and walked down 7th to peer in the windows of Dublin's, Sugarfish, Soi 7, Bottega Louie, the Counter, Mas Malo and Mo Chica (all very lively)...and watch tourists, USC fans and hipsters walking around on a warm evening. Urbano on 6th was packed as was the Library Bar next door.

If you drive through Downtown on a weekday, you will not see much. The lobby of the AON building looks very modern and colorful at night. You don't appreciate it until the lights go on. Last weekend I was in NY and to see Downtown from a different perspective is eye-opening....and I have to say that palm trees, done right at some developments, make LA very unique from most other US and European cites.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by LA/OCman

and others who get frustrated at the pace of development.

It's a combination of factors that can make me feel that way....visiting the hood with out of towners who have a "show me" tude about LA or any city & not being too thrilled with what I'm showing them....my expecting to see some proj long talked about finally underway or nearing completion (i'm looking at you, clark hotel!!!) & being when nothing has changed for the better since I was last there.

I think the most important thing for anyone....or at least for me....to keep in mind is that LA really shouldn't have gotten so to begin with. when I forget that, I end up expecting things to be better than they actually are. I get thrown off cuz at that moment....when I'm actually in dt....I'm forced to admit the hood has to be judged from a lower starting point than where I like to think it is when viewing things from a distance.

I remember visiting dt many, many yrs ago....when my kids were still quite young, & trying to envision what my impressions of it would be like in the future. I was trying to imagine what it would be like at a time after many improvements had been completed.....which have since occurred & then some, even beyond the fondest expectations I had in the past. And yet, even today, I still can be there & feel letdown. That keeps happening to me cuz I keep forgetting that things shouldn't have gotten so in the first place. iow, I sometimes feel & about myself cuz right at such moments I feel that we treat dtla as thought it's an adult who's finally learning how to tie shoe laces, drive a car, ride a bicycle, boil an egg, & balance a checkbook.

But this thread is about improvements & new devlpt to the hood....and so here's a preview of another coming attraction & another great addition to dt (& I consider the area around USC to be sort of the southern edge of dt)....filmed from the top of the Perch restaurant near pershing sq.....

ppl throughout dt....& LA overall....were out & about looking up at the sky on friday....


• Video Link

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

just wanted to point out that even a little change like the new bike lanes on grand and olive really make a big difference. The streets no longer feel like a freeway and it helps to make the area more intimate. Once we get development on these empty lots around 7 - 9th streets(very soon hopefully), it will be that much more noticeable.

[SoCalKid]

This opinion piece in downtown news gives a sunny picture of downtown's future. The cover photo gives a nice angle on the construction on the Marriott tower as well. It also shows how many empty parking lots are in the area. I'm optimistic that these lots will all be developed soon, hopefully starting with the proposed Metropolis site in the background (whether it be IDS or another firm)

http://www.ladowntownnews.com/opinion/do...cd9985a-0431-11e2-9e63-0019bb2963f4.html

[SoCalKid]

This seems to be good news for Farmers Field. Soon-Shiong and Guggenheim (the firm that bought the Dodgers) are making a joint bid for AEG. Soon-Shiong appears to be very motivating to bringing the NFL back to LA. This would be great if it sped up the NFL's return. I'm sure a lot of those parking lots I mentioned in my last post would be developed very quickly if the stadium were built.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/49150166

[Mojeda101]

Originally Posted by SoCalKid

This opinion piece in downtown news gives a sunny picture of downtown's future. The cover photo gives a nice angle on the construction on the Marriott tower as well. It also shows how many empty parking lots are in the area. I'm optimistic that these lots will all be developed soon, hopefully starting with the proposed Metropolis site in the background (whether it be IDS or another firm)

http://www.ladowntownnews.com/opinion/do...cd9985a-0431-11e2-9e63-0019bb2963f4.html

Assuming the stadium begins construction, Ave of Angels will fill those lots up and alter the skyline drastically with all the new development.

I was talking with a friend living in Broadway and he is getting all his neighbors to help vote for the streetcar. I was surprised that he knew so much about development within the city and even made me a little doodle of what the skyline would be like with 9th & Olive, Wilshire Grand, and 8th & Hope. Had no idea they'd make such an impact on the overall skyline, but he told me they were personal estimates from the pictures and floors, so they are by no means accurate.

[colemonkee]

Those height estimates seem relatively accurate, though the massing will be thinner for Onni Tower and 8th and Hope. Onni Tower will actually have a decent skyline impact when viewed from the east or southeast, primarily because it will tower over it's neighbors. Being 32 stories, it should be north of 350 ft., which will be quite tall from that area.

[JDRCRASH]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

Assuming the stadium begins construction, Ave of Angels will fill those lots up and alter the skyline drastically with all the new development.

I was talking with a friend living in Broadway and he is getting all his neighbors to help vote for the streetcar. I was surprised that he knew so much about development within the city and even made me a little doodle of what the skyline would be like with 9th & Olive, Wilshire Grand, and 8th & Hope. Had no idea they'd make such an impact on the overall skyline, but he told me they were personal estimates from the pictures and floors, so they are by no means accurate.

Thanx for this! Wilshire Grand seems a little short, tho.

[Mojeda101]

Originally Posted by JDRCRASH

Wilshire Grand seems a little short.

Yeah, I said the exact same thing. Like I said they were rough estimates he did on Paint. We are nearing the end of September, haven't we passed the start dates for both the Onni Tower, and 8th & Hope? I hope we see them rise and the delays were for the better of the buildings.

[blackcat23]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

Yeah, I said the exact same thing. Like I said they were rough estimates he did on Paint. We are nearing the end of September, haven't we passed the start dates for both the Onni Tower, and 8th & Hope? I hope we see them rise and the delays were for the better of the buildings.

8th and Hope is scheduled to start in October.