LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0 - Page 327

citywatch · #**6521** Posted **Jan 30, 2013, 5:15 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

http://theurbanobserverdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/parking-lots-south-park1.jpg

one needs almost a calculator to add up all the

parking lots that remain throughout dt. that's why when certain ppl become unhappy that some new proj doesn't fit their idea of great new devlpt, or some urban ideal...& imply that the new proj will forever hurt the hood & there's few alternative locations to make up for it...I do have to go....

speaking of parking lots, after looking at hunterk's pics of 8th & grand, I'm quite surprised by how quickly all the asphalt was scrapped away. of course, I imagine it was only a thin layer, with plenty of potholes, but I still thought larger remnants of the old lot would still be there today.

blackcat23 · #**6522** Posted **Jan 30, 2013, 4:39 PM**

Palmer is doing an EIS for his property across the street from the future Ace Hotel.

brudy · #**6523** Posted **Jan 30, 2013, 5:46 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackcat23

Palmer is doing an EIS for his property across the street from the future Ace Hotel.

Is that the huge parking lot across the street? If so, sweet!

ConstructDTLA · #**6524** Posted **Jan 30, 2013, 5:48 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by brudy

Is that the huge parking lot across the street? If so, sweet!

If he goes in a completely different direction than he has with all his previous projects then yes it would be sweet.

Palmer is the one responsible for the ugly tuscan fortresses. http://www.ghpalmer.com/projects.asp

DistrictDirt · #**6525** Posted **Jan 30, 2013, 6:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HunterK

If he goes in a completely different direction than he has with all his previous projects then yes it would be sweet.

Palmer is the one responsible for the ugly tuscan fortresses. http://www.ghpalmer.com/projects.asp

Is there any kind of design review because the project is in the heart of downtown? It would be heartbreaking to see something as awesome as the Ace Hotel marred by one of Palmer's typical tuscan fortresses right across the street. There has to be something we can do.

brudy · #**6526** Posted **Jan 30, 2013, 6:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HunterK

If he goes in a completely different direction than he has with all his previous projects then yes it would be sweet.

Palmer is the one responsible for the ugly tuscan fortresses. http://www.ghpalmer.com/projects.asp

Oh, right. I retract my former enthusiasm.

ConstructDTLA · #**6527** Posted **Jan 30, 2013, 11:57 PM**

Theyre really moving fast and digging deep at 8th & Grand right now.. May have to take new pics every few days.

Wetzels opens Friday. Fatburger will open within the next week I'm sure. Theres also a fair amount of work going on at the Variety Arts Theater between 9th & Olympic on Fig. I'm not sure whats happening there.

brudy · #**6528** Posted **Jan 31, 2013, 12:21 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HunterK

Theyre really moving fast and digging deep at 8th & Grand right now.. May have to take new pics every few days.

Wetzels opens Friday. Fatburger will open within the next week I'm sure. Theres also a fair amount of work going on at the Variety Arts Theater between 9th & Olympic on Fig. I'm not sure whats happening there.

I walked by 8th and Grand and they were seriously digging that up. I counted around 8-10 dumptrucks along with several diggers and other equipment, all working furiously.

blackcat23 · #**6529** Posted **Jan 31, 2013, 12:38 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by DistrictDirt

Is there any kind of design review because the project is in the heart of downtown? It would be heartbreaking to see something as awesome as the Ace Hotel marred by one of Palmer's typical tuscan fortresses right across the street. There has to be something we can do.

http://urbandesignla.com/downtown_guidelines.htm

One of the reasons Palmer is able to get away with his anti-pedestrian developments is that his buildings are always just outside of territory under the Downtown Design guide (i.e. the freeway ring).

I don't know if he can be prevented from using tacky fauxtalian architecture, but he won't get approval for anything that doesn't include ground floor retail.

Not sure if there is a rule against skybridges, but I'm sure he'll want to build one over Olympic.

LosAngelesSportsFan · #**6530** Posted **Jan 31, 2013, 1:00 AM**

8th and grand from earlier today...

citywatch · #**6531** Posted **Jan 31, 2013, 2:11 AM**

^ Thanks to everyone for posting pics of the Carmel and Onni projs, not to mention 8th & hope, & the new apt tower on bunker hill, much less the new park on spring! I also like seeing updates on the marriott hotel & broad museum, but since those projs have their own webcams, an outsider's curiosity can be helped in other ways.

Interesting how in spite of all the scrapped off land & heavy trucks on that property, the old parking lot's light poles still haven't been torn down. I thought those would be among the first things removed.

btw, the brockman bldg, which can be seen to the left behind the construction site in LASF's pic, has around 12 apts still available. There were about 30 apts around 2 or 3 months ago, so they've leased steadily....although it seems like there's been a slight lull in filling the last remaining ones. The website of the apex tower doesn't have a similar feature where the public can see what's still open for lease, so one needs to see the bldg at night to tell how full or empty it is.

blackcat mentioned the dreaded devlpr of the faux euro apt bldgs, which have been among the few new housing projs in dt whose websites have always shown what units were still vacant. That's the reason I've long been able to detect just how quickly or slowly his product....his apts....moved, even when still not totally finished or ready for occupancy. I'm guessing his newest tuscan delight is now actively under construction around Fig & Temple st.

Illithid Dude · #**6532** Posted **Jan 31, 2013, 2:13 AM**

I remember palmer once saying he wanted to build a 50 story glass and steel tower downtown. Hopefully, his Broadway development will be Glass and Steel Palmer, not Stucco and TMNT Palmer.

Also, I believe there is a minimal sort of design review downtown.

Chef Boyardee · #**6533** Posted **Jan 31, 2013, 3:24 AM**

Two articles from ladowntown news i thought were interesting.

Less adaptive reuse, more ground-up construction.
http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/with-...68d0cca-6748-11e2-a8b4-001a4bcf887a.html

Article on recently discussed Figaro Bistro.
http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/tryin...e2a30c4-6747-11e2-8d56-001a4bcf887a.html

colemonkee · #**6534** Posted **Jan 31, 2013, 6:56 AM**

Drove by 1340 Figueroa tonight and the first floor is nearly completely framed. That one should start to have a real effect on the Figueroa corridor in the next few months.

Quixote · #**6535** Posted **Jan 31, 2013, 7:51 AM**

The recent groundbreakings at 8th/Hope and 8th/Grand really have me optimistic about the chances of the Park Tower proposal seeing the light of day again, although it's still probably a year or two away in the best case scenario. I don't want another "what could've been" moment like I often have with 8th/Grand and the tower originally proposed for the Spring Street Park site.

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/8042/parktower1rl4.jpg

Illithid Dude · #**6536** Posted **Jan 31, 2013, 7:54 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Westsidelife

The recent groundbreakings at 8th/Hope and 8th/Grand really have me optimistic about the chances of the Park Tower proposal seeing the light of day again, although it's still probably a year or two away in the best case scenario. I don't want another "what could've been" moment like I often have with 8th/Grand and the tower originally proposed for the Spring Street Park site.

Oh, please. Please please please. Park Tower and Zen Tower are my two most wanted developments. But did CIM auction off the site like they did for iHope, or do they still control it?

Quixote · #**6537** Posted **Jan 31, 2013, 7:59 AM**

Really need to vent. A photographic series of what could've been:

9th/Flower (now the Watermarke)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/rpulido/9th%20and%20Flower/residencies3.bmp

8th/Grand

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/rpulido/8th%20and%20Grand/8grand6copy.jpg

Old Bank District proposal (now the Spring Street Park)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3128/2569348720_f192625d57_o.jpg

1111 Wilshire (reduced to a colorful stucco mid-rise)

http://theurbanobserverdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/1111-wilshrie.jpg

Ugh.

Illithid Dude · #**6538** Posted **Jan 31, 2013, 8:27 AM**

Is the OBD tower really that much of a loss, though? I mean, parks are important too!

8th and Grand though... ugh. Makes me so sad...

EDIT: Fun fact! Just found out that Kanner Architects has suddenly closed.

Chef Boyardee · #**6539** Posted **Jan 31, 2013, 10:40 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Is the OBD tower really that much of a loss, though? I mean, parks are important too!

8th and Grand though... ugh. Makes me so sad...

EDIT: Fun fact! Just found out that Kanner Architects has suddenly closed.

Stephen Kanner died of cancer a couple of years ago, and the firm hasn't really done any projects since. So it's no surprise.

Illithid Dude · #**6540** Posted **Jan 31, 2013, 10:46 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chef Boyardee

Stephen Kanner died of cancer a couple of years ago, and the firm hasn't really done any projects since. So it's no surprise.

Actually, they have done a bunch of stuff around Santa Monica, and were one of the firms working on the Sunset Junction projects. Also, they had a really interesting project in Westwood Village, that was sort of a convenience store. Maybe they weren't working at the level they once were, but they were certainly working. And they closed literally in the past two months, to clarify. Stephan Kanner died in 2010, I believe? Shame, too. L.A. needs all the quality architectural firms it can get. LOHA and Koening Eizenberg, you are our only hope!