LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[colemonkee]

That location where The Well is going isn't very high traffic at all - and won't be for some time to come - so they'll have to rely solely on word of mouth and advertising for business. I hope they do well, but at the same time, I have always wanted those single story buildings to be raised eventually for something more dense. However, with the two major surface lots across the street, and the Hanover project starting up hopefully next year on the next block, this area has a lot of potential moving forward.

[Gram3000]

^^ Hey if the space doesnt work out for them then maybe someone will just come and slap an Apple logo on the exterior and convert it into a long awaited Apple store, right?

also Im suprised no one has caught this tidbit from LADTN:

The trend does not appear to be letting up. Plans are in the works to open the 250-seat Le Petit Paris in the lobby of the Historic Core condo building the El Dorado. Also planned is a 6,000-square-foot Italian restaurant called Terroni at the National City Bank Building at Eighth and Spring streets. Meanwhile, bar proprietor Cedd Moses has filed plans with the city for a 300-seat brewery in the Arts District, and Moore said he is in the advanced stage of a deal to bring a restaurant back to an 11,000-square-foot space at Union Station.

looks like its all coming together for DTLA!!

[ConstructDTLA]

What I find intriguing is nobody, seemingly anywhere, ever talks about the restaurant across from Bottega Louie.

Seems to be a huge deal. Yet it's never mentioned anywhere (besides a tiny tidbit by Brigham about it not being a Guess), and surely to open soon.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

ive been anxiously waiting for it for a while as i live near by and walk by it daily. i peeked in the other day and the interior is basically complete and the patios are almost set. It looks very nice inside, with wood accents and a very airy and bright feel. i would guess that the wood wall will come down this week and it opens by early novemeber. Hopefully the city will fix that damn street light that has been out for 3 years(yes ive complained to the city multiple times) and the DOT will replace the yellow tagged up sign on the corner.

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by 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 =]

It's a nineteen story no-architect all-glass tower with an asshat. Nice filler, it may be, but iconic, it is not.

[tujunga]

Sorry for the Small interruption.

Check out the photo I took of the space shuttle flyover and rollover under City Photos titled "Los Angeles Space Shuttle Flyover 2012"

Resume

[pwright1]

Originally Posted by HunterK

What I find intriguing is nobody, seemingly anywhere, ever talks about the restaurant across from Bottega Louie.

Seems to be a huge deal. Yet it's never mentioned anywhere (besides a tiny tidbit by Brigham about it not being a Guess), and surely to open soon.

I thought the same thing. Does anyone even know the name and what kind of food? The other day I saw what looked like the restaurant staff having a meeting. This corner is really going to make a huge impact in the neighborhood.

[ConstructDTLA]

Originally Posted by pwright1

I thought the same thing. Does anyone even know the name and what kind of food? The other day I saw what looked like the restaurant staff having a meeting. This corner is really going to make a huge impact in the neighborhood.

It'll have a massive impact to the most popular intersection on 7th.

I believe its supposed to be French?... Like every new restaurant coming to DTLA? The interior looks nearly complete.

[Mojeda101]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

It's a nineteen story no-architect all-glass tower with an asshat. Nice filler, it may be, but iconic, it is not.

twenty-two story*

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

twenty-two story*

Either way, an icon it is not.

[SoCalKid]

empire/"]http://www.forbes.com/sites/briansolomon/2012/10/12/report-larry-ellison-enters-billionaire-auction-for-sports-entertainment-empire/[/URL]

Larry Ellison is bidding for AEG... this could be very good for the Farmers Field project.

[blackcat23]

Walking by Figa7th today at lunch time, I've noticed that the Target has improved the pedestrian activity quite a bit. That part of Figueroa is already one of the more lively parts of dotnwon, but I feel like I'm seeing a lot more people now compared to just a couple weeks ago.

Demolition on the Wilshire Grand is gradually moving onto the exterior, starting with the entrances on Wilshire and 7th.

845 Figueroa renovation is chugging along. They've now punched out holes for the windows on the eastern side of the building.



Double Marriott has made decent progress in the three days since Mojeda's last photo update. I'd say 2/3 of the site is now up to the 2nd floor now.



Workers at 8th and Hope were busy lowering i-beams into the ground along the perimeter.

[colemonkee]

^ Those are shoring beams so that they can dig out the basement levels. Should get very interesting from there on out.

[BrandonJXN]

From Curbed:

The developer formerly known as Meruelo Maddux Properties has lots of big plans, but strictly for Downtown--they're reigning it in, selling off properties in Vernon, Sylmar, and Covina, and focusing on just the area "within the freeways that wrap around Downtown and, on the east side, the Los Angeles River," reports the Downtown News. Meruelo Maddux developed the Union Lofts and started work on what's now known as the Watermarke tower, but before they could finish, they filed for bankruptcy (in March 2009). Eventually partners Richard Meruelo and John Maddux were both ousted as part of the reorganization. New management came in and the firm was rebranded Evoq Properties (pronounced "evoke," is our understanding). They're currently busy selling off "non-core assets," as well as some "portfolio gems" like Union Lofts and the Desmond Building in South Park, which is on the market along with its neighboring lot at Eleventh and Grand, where MM had planned to build a 19-story tower. So once it's done selling, what will it do?

-- Its biggest plans are for the four-building Alameda Square complex at Seventh and Alameda, better known as the home of American Apparel (otherwise it's mostly vacant). Evoq plans to do a major renovation that'll put in groundfloor restaurants and retail for "an active mixed-use hub." The project is "a five-year vision."

-- Heading to the Arts District, Evoq wants to turn "a patchwork of cold storage, parking and light industrial parcels at Center and Jackson streets" into an 88-unit residential complex with some bonus creative office space. They're working with developer Jeff Lee and could start work by the end of next year.

-- At the northern end of Downtown, Evoq wants to build a 614-unit residential project at Spring and College, "near the southern entrance to the Los Angeles State Historic Park."

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2012/10/de...lans_spread_all_across_downtown.php#more

[Mojeda101]

Originally Posted by blackcat23

I'm loving this shot. A lot of those buildings in the background are relatively new and this is around to go along with the pack. Hope the gap inbetween is filled. The car wash site could potentially be another 20+ tower, and maybe another in between at Cottage Place and Olympic to finish the urban canyon. Could become a popular advertisement street. Hanover tower and LA Live are already following the example, and by the look of the render, the Courtyard Marriott will also have a sign on the outside. LA is changing. My father told me he remembers back in the 80's when South Park was all parking lots, look at it now!

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

Grand Park

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

I enjoyed your pics! Always a welcome part of this thread.

9th & Olive

Sadly no progress

when the devlpr said a few months ago that they'd break ground around this time, if not a bit earlier, I knew it was too good to be true.

Wilshire Grand

I originally thought it was a waste, or unnecessary expense, to tear down that bldg. But when I saw some pics of a few of that hotel's guest rooms, I was quite shocked at how outdated they looked. there was one rm that looked like it even had some of the original furnishings from the 1950s. iow, if remnants of that bldg's origins as the statler hilton still were floating around as of 2012, then a total teardown ends up being the only way to really clean up that bldg. only bad thing is a major part of the hood will be in limbo for the next 3 yrs.

It got dark before I could reach Avant or Broadway, sorry guys.

I hope you eventually do get around to showing such projs & parts of dt. Although your pics of the broad museum & the marriott showed new angles that otherwise can't be seen to non visitors, those two locations do have their own webcams, so it's easier to always keep up with the latest on how they're progressing, even when miles away from dt.

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).

I wish you had taken pics of your visit to the store, so that we could see for ourselves how Target is doing, how many customers they're attracting, & the type of customers you say you're unhappy about. I'd think your first concern would be if Target, after pouring millions of $$ into their dt store, attracted sparse numbers of shoppers. If that does occur, other retailers will continue to be hesitant about setting up shop in dtla.

I recall before the ralphs opened at 9th & hope, I assumed that for them to be successful....& to prevent perishable items from going to waste....they'd need shoppers with large families to be major customers of theirs. Or ppl from the hoods all around dtla. so when that store ended up doing not just well, but very well, with the mainstay population of the immediate hood itself, that did surprise me.

[JDRCRASH]

EDIT: Nice photos Mojedo!

-- Its biggest plans are for the four-building Alameda Square complex at Seventh and Alameda, better known as the home of American Apparel (otherwise it's mostly vacant). Evoq plans to do a major renovation that'll put in groundfloor restaurants and retail for "an active mixed-use hub." The project is "a five-year vision."

WOAH. This is huge guys. Thanx for the article Brandon!

I really hope they include a park here as part of the project, though.

[JDRCRASH]

Which rendering of La Kretz looks more recent guys?

Originally Posted by Westsidelife

http://archpaper.com/news/articles.asp?id=5595

This is one i found at the LACleanTechIncubater website:


http://laincubator.org/about/la-kretz-innovation-campus/

[Mojeda101]

Video showing the inside of Target

[LosAngelesBeauty]

Originally Posted by HunterK

What I find intriguing is nobody, seemingly anywhere, ever talks about the restaurant across from Bottega Louie.

Seems to be a huge deal. Yet it's never mentioned anywhere (besides a tiny tidbit by Brigham about it not being a Guess), and surely to open soon.

Yes I talk to the owner of the restaurant semi-regularly. It'll be open hopefully by mid-Nov. And it'll have a name with initials "C.L."