LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by Easy

NFL in downtown Los Angeles really lost momentum after the announcement of the sale of AEG. I wouldn't be surprised if the new owner has no interest in a downtown stadium if for no reason no one other than AEG has so far. I'm already prepared for the stadium not to happen and if it does that's good as well.

Somehow, I thing downtown will be fine without the NFL.

[citywatch]

the many postings above should make anyone go & even .

From an old bldg on broadway with a newly restored facade, to the 2 new projs on grand ave, to the old bldg across from colori restaurant finally...hopefully....getting some TLC in the not too distant future, to an amazing art deco bldg bringing more of a 24/7 buzz to the fashion dist, it's all good.

to understand where the hood has been & where it's going, the following images & vids provide a good, brief overview....from probably one of the best documenters the city has ever seen, now sadly passed away.

I've finally been able to watch the following vid for the 1st time since I last saw it when it originally aired back in 1994. It gives a good understanding of pershing sq, newly redone in 1994...right after the northridge EQ. the photo is from the part of the vid that showed the pk as it was back in the 1960s.

Ppl complain about Pershing as it is today, but I think it was far worse, far sadder, several decades ago. However, when the parking garage was installed under the sq back in the 1950s, that's when the best version of Pershing was destroyed.


chapman.edu/Huell Howser Archive

I've never seen this vid before, but it profiles one of the more important ppl contributing to dtla's revival....


chapman.edu/Huell Howser Archive

for the past few yrs I've seen snippets & a brief description of this vid since it first aired in 2009. I've long wanted to watch it & finally got a chance today. When a relatively new business in dt can attract as many customers as it does on a sunday morning, that's a hint that a new chapter in the hood's history is unfolding.....


chapman.edu/Huell Howser Archive

^ I don't think anyone else in the local media made as much effort to show dt on TV, or seemed as interested in its past & present, as huell howser. rest in peace, huell.

[LA/OCman]

Pershing Square was a dump before it was "remodeled". Now it needs to be updated. The trees have grown up nicely since the 80's. Programming is really very active and Pershing Square can be an amazing place during a concert or art exhibit. I have a problem with the fountain, too many homeless people using it as a toilet and the color scheme is dated. The vegetation around the exterior needs to be replaced. I love the majestic Canary Island Palms, hate the Queen Palms. Thanks Citywatch for posting this. I hope Huell Howser realizes his magnificent job is unfinished. We will need a new Huell to seek new stories to help people understand this beautiful and complicated city. Huell was an important person in the Downtown renaissance and will be sorely missed.

[Easy]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Somehow, I thing downtown will be fine without the NFL.

True. And not just somehow. There are definite plans going on right now for improving downtown regardless of a new stadium. Still there are projects that I think are waiting until the stadium situation is settled before proceeding. Like LA Central for one.

I never thought that the football stadium was a great idea because of the very limited number of games. But if it brings in additional quality development, then I'm all for it. Still baseball would be a huge upgrade over a football stadium. A baseball team would play as many games as the Lakers and Clippers combined and compared to football baseball plays mostly during the basketball off season. In (my) perfect world, the football team would relocate to Chavez Ravine and the Dodgers to downtown. Not sure if there's room for a baseball stadium though.

[brudy]

Originally Posted by Easy

True. And not just somehow. There are definite plans going on right now for improving downtown regardless of a new stadium. Still there are projects that I think are waiting until the stadium situation is settled before proceeding. Like LA Central for one.

I never thought that the football stadium was a great idea because of the very limited number of games. But if it brings in additional quality development, then I'm all for it. Still baseball would be a huge upgrade over a football stadium. A baseball team would play as many games as the Lakers and Clippers combined and compared to football baseball plays mostly during the basketball off season. In (my) perfect world, the football team would relocate to Chavez Ravine and the Dodgers to downtown. Not sure if there's room for a baseball stadium though.

While you could argue that economically a baseball team would be better and there has been a surge of inner city parks built, I'd argue that as a downtown resident we'd be better off with football (if we have to have any sports). It's a limited # of games but you still get economic benefits. I'm not exactly anti-sports, but I am anti-sports fan for sure. I spent 16 years in Philly and 4.5 in Boston. One of the reasons I moved here was to get away from that rabid sports mentality and everything that comes along with it (loud, drunk, bros, streams of suburbanites, pee and vomit - of which we have plenty of already in downtown). I'd hate to have that in downtown for however many home games a baseball team plays. I'd also not care to have the sports themed restaurants and shops that surround a stadium. I'm not against the stadium actually, I just dread the people that come with it.

[JDRCRASH]

Also remember that Farmers Field is also planned to be used as convention space. It will not be used just 8 times a year.

[RuFFy]

Personally, I think a baseball stadium would benefit downtown more than a football stadium. About 80 games with 45k people as opposed to 13 with 65k. The inadvertent effects would include increasing the public infrastructure's value, as well as the value of any business in it's vicinity because of the increased, more sustained traffic. Not to mention a more sustained exposure to downtown for people who otherwise wouldn't go there.

[colemonkee]

Spring St. Park from earlier today. Picture quality is a little meh as I took this with my phone, but they're making some good progress on this one. I'd think this could open in the next 6-8 months.


Image Source: Me and my iPhone

[Valyrian Steel]

The Wilshire Grand facebook page has begun a "progress pic of the week". This one was posted today.

[Steve2726]

Nice find there Mr Pink. They have this rendering on the page also, I wonder if it's close to the final design-

[BrandonJXN]

From Curbed:

Downtown gentrification, you've done it again! As the action moves south, hotel developers are apparently tripping over themselves to get their hands on the long-vacant Commercial Exchange building at Eighth Street and Olive. The 1924 building "has been mostly empty for at least two decades," according to the LA Times, but in the past few weeks "more than 100 potential buyers have toured the property." The broker says "We've got a lot of boutique hotels looking at this," but there's also interest in apartments, creative offices (always!), and student housing. City officials and local business people have been pushing for hotelification in this area and especially in neighboring South Park (near the Convention Center), where there's already a double Marriott and a boutique hotel on the way (and plans for even more). The CommEx is a pretty interesting building--it's 13 stories now, but in the mid-thirties, owners "were obligated to remove a nearly 10-foot slice from the middle of the building" in order to create space to widen Olive Street. It was also once home to Owl Drug Company and to Tarzan author Edgar Rice Burroughs's publishing company. Asking price now is $13.9 million and "The sellers expect to arrange a deal by next month."

Absolutely excited about this. This little corner of DTLA is really prime and it's been pretty left out in terms of building conversions (aside from maybe Union Lofts). Hopefully, this will be the start of more good things for that area.

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

Absolutely excited about this. This little corner of DTLA is really prime and it's been pretty left out in terms of building conversions (aside from maybe Union Lofts). Hopefully, this will be the start of more good things for that area.

Hopefully we get the Garfield Building next, which is probably the most beautiful unrestored building in DT right now.

[Dale]

Originally Posted by Steve2726

Nice find there Mr Pink. They have this rendering on the page also, I wonder if it's close to the final design-

Is the building left-center Aon ? If so, then the crown of Wilshire is almost certainly taller than US Bank, even excluding the spire.

[BrandonJXN]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Hopefully we get the Garfield Building next, which is probably the most beautiful unrestored building in DT right now.

Absolutely. There is a great number of gems in DTLA that really need a second life. Another building that needs to be looked at is Giannini Place


http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2080/2082842012_1755d1aefa_b.jpg

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

The owners of the Garfield building are very hard to get a hold of. believe me, ive tried.

Gianni place is owned by Cherrit group, so dont hold your breath on that one. Hopefully they will sell it to a company that actually hires more than 2 construction workers at a time.

[shakman]

Originally Posted by Dale

Is the building left-center Aon ? If so, then the crown of Wilshire is almost certainly taller than US Bank, even excluding the spire.

Yes it is. This will be an excellent addition to the LA skyline.

[brudy]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

The owners of the Garfield building are very hard to get a hold of. believe me, ive tried.

Gianni place is owned by Cherrit group, so dont hold your breath on that one. Hopefully they will sell it to a company that actually hires more than 2 construction workers at a time.

The way they sit on stuff is so irritating. I wish there were a way the city could force them to develop or sell.

[BrandonJXN]

From Curbed:

Wave goodbye to the pre-bust-era, Frank Gehry plans for the Grand Avenue megadevelopment. They are dead. Developer Related Cos. has been pushing this project back for years and years now (because it involved money from the now-dead Community Redevelopment Agency, the developer has to report to and meet deadlines from a joint powers authority)--it was originally approved in 2007 and was supposed to include a huge Gehry-designed hotel, housing, and retail complex, in addition to the Grand Park (opened last fall). Related finally broke ground on the first building, a 19-story apartment tower designed by Arquitectonica, just last week, but It's been clear for a while now that that the larger plan is dead. Now they're finally ready to move ahead with a new plan: They'll begin work on Parcel !, across from Disney Hall, reports the Downtown News, but, since they're unlikely to get financing on a huge megadevelopment, "the company will propose moving forward first with a residential tower on a portion of the site, likely near Second Street and Grand Avenue. The rest of the property would be developed in later stages, adding different uses according to evolving demand."

It's not clear what even that first tower will look like yet, although 20 percent of its units will have to be affordable. The building "could go taller than 19 stories ... and the firm is considering a hybrid building that would blend condominiums on the upper floors with apartments in the rest of the structure." Gehry's contract with Related "expired years ago," and they say they've not reentered talks with him, so we also don't have any idea who will design the tower.

The joint powers Grand Avenue Authority will likely consider the new plan at their next meeting on January 28.

[blackcat23]

Ditching the Gehry plans was pretty much a foregone conclusion, although it's nice to see there are substantive efforts going towards a different plan.

Hope they go for something 30+ floors. Very visible location that's only a block away from a future subway station.

[Quixote]

Am I the only one who thinks this is good news?