LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[StethJeff]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

I'd say keep the Neutra building, and restore it. Fantastic example of mid-century modernism. Instead of closing down the streets, underground them, so that the park runs above the streets. And connect the park to the planned freeway cap!

Obviously I'm a non-architect since I'm one of the heartless individuals who would have no problem tearing down the Hall of Records. I don't care for it nor do I appreciate it's historical importance. Preserve the mural, but that's it.

A park that size, that caps the freeway, and links such vital landmarks in Los Angeles would be huge for further development of DTLA - tourists, residents, and business. I could care less if the Hall of Records were torn down to accomplish a park like that.

[Mojeda101]

Grand Park

Supposedly the field is open but it's still fenced off for 3/4's of the way.




Can't see them here, but there were cats everywhere in that site.



Broad





8th & Grand





9th & Olive

Sadly no progress




Courtyard Marriott



Roof shots



Figat7th



Wilshire Grand



It got dark before I could reach Avant or Broadway, sorry guys. Enjoy what you have =]

[blackcat23]

Thanks, Mojeda!

[Valyrian Steel]

The Marriott

[blackcat23]

Originally Posted by HunterK

Just got back from my 2nd trip to Target (1st since the 'Grand Opening' today).

I must say I was deeply disturbed (and angered) over the type of customers inside.. They were not the kind that New Downtown needs to attract (the kind that can spend real money here). From what I saw today, this Target might as well be in Westlake.


I hope thats just because it was opening day.. I hope so badly that it changes.

I'm confused as to why you you are disturbed (and angered) over working class people choosing to shop at the downtown Target, as they do at every other Target location in the country. I'm assuming you've been to a Target before; what exactly were you expecting?

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by HunterK

Just got back from my 2nd trip to Target (1st since the 'Grand Opening' today).

I must say I was deeply disturbed (and angered) over the type of customers inside.. They were not the kind that New Downtown needs to attract (the kind that can spend real money here). From what I saw today, this Target might as well be in Westlake.


I hope thats just because it was opening day.. I hope so badly that it changes.

I don't know why you need to be angry that Target is attracting people that aren't of the highest socio-eceonmic class. As Billy Pilgrim says, so it goes. One of the unique things about Target is that it attracts all sorts of people, from yuppies to maids. Simply due to the location of downtown, and it's surroundings, you might start to see more maids then yuppies. But I'm sure, as word starts to get around, that people from Silverlake or the Historic Core will start coming in just as much as people from Westlake or Pico Union are now.

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by Pink Floyd

Well you're definitely privileged. Maybe downtown isn't for you. May I suggest Beverly Hills?

I don't think privilege has to do anything with this. I think I can say that the majority of us want downtown to be a lively, hip, and, well, wealthier part of Los Angeles. We want downtown to escape its seedier, swap-meet past. One could certainly have a knee-jerk reaction if they thought that a new store does not cater to the Downtown Los Angeles resident of the future, but instead the Downtown Los Angeles shopper of the past. The nice thing about Target is that it caters to everybody, but if someone didn't know about Target, and went into Target and saw the same type of people they saw at Fallas Parades, they might now know that.

[bobcat]

If Westlake is shopping at the downtown Target then it means Westlake residents are being underserved by their own retailers. Go to the Target website and do a search for stores in and around Central LA. What you'll find is that before this store opened there wasn't a single Target store within a >5 mile radius of DTLA.

And being so convenient to the subway it shouldn't be a surprise. Expect lots of USC students as well as folks from South Central, too.

[ConstructDTLA]

Judging by the response here it's my mistake.

Sometimes I have this ridiculous idea that swap-meet shops and diamond peddlers are on their way out to be replaced my more legitimate establishments.

I spend so much time studying the architecture and history of the Westlake area that I seem to forget what it has actually become the last 60 years. Reading about DTLA development gets me all hyped up and thinking DTLA is improving faster than it actually is. You guys are all correct. How ridiculous of me to think there would be a difference between the $0.99 Store / Big Lots / Target shoppers.


And Pink Floyd. I am privileged because I work my ass off to be so and to live where I want to live. And DTLA is only going to become more and more of a privileged place to be, I hope everybody realizes that.

[bobbyv]

Originally Posted by HunterK

Judging by the response here it's my mistake.

Sometimes I have this ridiculous idea that swap-meet shops and diamond peddlers are on their way out to be replaced my more legitimate establishments.

I spend so much time studying the architecture and history of the Westlake area that I seem to forget what it has actually become the last 60 years. Reading about DTLA development gets me all hyped up and thinking DTLA is improving faster than it actually is. You guys are all correct. How ridiculous of me to think there would be a difference between the $0.99 Store / Big Lots / Target shoppers.


And Pink Floyd. I am privileged because I work my ass off to be so and to live where I want to live. And DTLA is only going to become more and more of a privileged place to be, I hope everybody realizes that.

I'm with you HK, like you I also want DTLA to become more gentrified and have more diversity in and around central Los Angeles including more high end shopping experiences but it was your words of "angered" and "disturbed" that made some of us give negative comments on your post.

[ConstructDTLA]

Originally Posted by bobbyv

I'm with you HK, like you I also want DTLA to become more gentrified and have more diversity in and around central Los Angeles including more high end shopping experiences but it was your words of "angered" and "disturbed" that made some of us give negative comments on your post.

Thanks. And I understand. I just feel so connected with downtown I wish so badly to clean it up and have it be a real competitor to other Downtowns of the world.

[Kingofthehill]

Let's not get carried away, guys. Target is still Target, even if it is the big box store most-palatable to limousine liberals. Targets have been, and continue to be, the domain of lower-middle/working class people and areas much, much longer than they have in trendier, higher-end areas. NYC got a Target not long ago. Want to guess where it was? East Harlem. SF got theirs basically in the Tenderloin. You won't find a Target in Calabasas, or Holmby Hills. That's for sure.

And given the areas that ring downtown (Westlake, Echo Park, Pico-Union, South Central, Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights, etc), HunterK, I find it somewhat naive to think that people from those poorer, amenity-starved areas wouldn't think of shopping there, even moreso that you express disappointment upon seeing them there.

[sings twin]

Thanks very much Mojeda. Great photos.

Looks to me like the Marriott is really moving along at a fast pace.

Do you notice a dramatic difference week over week looking at it directly?

[Mojeda101]

Originally Posted by sings twin

Do you notice a dramatic difference week over week looking at it directly?

Easily. I'm going to try to go every other week to get shots of the construction.

Concerning the target, considering the fact there isn't a target within around 5.2 miles of Downtown, it would only be logical to go the highly advertised local one if you ask me, no matter the people. I'm thankful for it, the street life grew a bit in that area, and it'll only go up once the shops are occupied.

[blackcat23]

Not exactly development, but something everyone here will appreciate.

http://www.kcet.org/socal/departures/lan...town-los-angeles-as-a-state-of-mind.html



More pictures in the article.

Definitely not to scale, and some of the landmarks are clearly out of place, but a very impressive creation nonetheless.

[SoCalKid]

The still-alive part of the Grand Avenue plan calls for an apartment tower an public plaza to be built next to the Broad... does anyone know if these will be built over that road that goes under Grand? Or will it remain a bridge with a gap between Broad and the apartment tower and plaza? It's very difficult to tell from the renderings.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Rendering courtesy of The Well

A new retail concept called THE WELL is coming to South Park.

It'll have fashion, a high-end salon including a permanent spot for Nail Swag, and an event/gallery space.

Opening Nov 2012:

http://brighamyen.com/2012/10/15/the-well-introduces-new-retail-to-downtown-los-angeles/

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by BrighamYen

Rendering courtesy of The Well

A new retail concept called THE WELL is coming to South Park.

It'll have fashion, a high-end salon including a permanent spot for Nail Swag, and an event/gallery space.

Opening Nov 2012:

http://brighamyen.com/2012/10/15/the-well-introduces-new-retail-to-downtown-los-angeles/

Nice! Though I wish that they weren't trying to establish a new retail corridor. It seems like everyone is trying to do that nowadays. I don't want retail to be spread too far between downtown for it to be effective. But still, overall, great news.

EDIT: Also, really interesting article from Downtown News about Evoq, the company that sprang from Muruelo Maddux's ashes.

http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/where...b3e692c-14cc-11e2-b18f-001a4bcf887a.html

Apparently, the Desmond building and the entitlements for a 19 story tower next door are being auctioned off. Moreover, they are saying that re-vitalizing Alameda square is their biggest priority. They imagine a huge, mixed use complex of creative office, retail, and residential. Moreover, a Fortune 500 clothing company is planning to move it's headquarters downtown (!) and take roost in Alameda Square, eating up 80,000 square feet of office space. This points to a larger picture, where downtown becomes a world-reknown fashion center. Already, American Apparel is based in DT. Nastlygal, another quickly growing and increasingly major internet retailer, is based downtown. We see tons of evidence that boutiques are choosing to move downtown due to convenient location to manufacturers. And now we have major, fashion based companies leasing actual office space downtown. I think this can be our niche.

[Mojeda101]

I'd imagine 8th & Grand will be in similar height to that of the 801 S Grand tower(seen on the right), so it could easily be an iconic tower =]

[BrandonJXN]

8th and Hope. Not 8th and Grand.