LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by NOPA

Is that all smog!?! Holy shit if it is! I'm going to hope it was just a really overcast day?

no offense, but what a remarkably stupid comment. Since when does LA have smog like that? this isnt China.


Great updates. I was just walking by 8th and hope and couldn't believe that they have started frame work already! 8th and grand has been digging out the old foundations of the previous buildings and they have been at it for 3 days now. they have hauled away tons and tons of dirt and you can barely tell since the lot is so damn huge.

I emailed Carmel partners hoping for a new rendering. ill obviously update if i get any response from them.

Regarding Taste. We have to remember that its not even close to being 50% open yet, so its just a waiting game. I was there at 7:45 and there were about 7- 8 people at Melt and 5- 6 people at Indus. Nothing else was open. The lunch crowds are ridiculous and thats great, but for now if they can pull int 15 - 20 people per hour other than lunch, they will be fine. Once everything else opens up, i suspect a real decent night time crowd

[ConstructDTLA]

And here is Hall of Justice. This is my favorite project going on downtown (besides Onni & Cliftons). Such a beautiful building its remarkable that LA didn't tear it down as LA loves to do with anything of value.

There is always a ton of work going on around the site. I overheard a construction meeting today where they were discussing how City Hall's exterior was cleaned / how they're going to clean Hall of Justice. The site for their parking structure looks to be 4 floors deep - that was a surprise!

[colemonkee]

I didn't realize that the Onni Tower project reached all the way to Hill Street. I wonder if the podium goes that far, or if that is the tower "next door".

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

I didn't realize that the Onni Tower project reached all the way to Hill Street. I wonder if the podium goes that far, or if that is the tower "next door".

Thats what ive been trying to figure out.

[BOYCOTT 90210]

The 8th and Hope crane as seen from the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

Thats what ive been trying to figure out.

that same question crossed my mind as I was looking at one of hunterk's pics tonight....



hunterk

the footprint of the onni tower seems larger than I originally assumed it would be. I thought it was going to be limited to the small corner area right there at 9th & Olive....which would have made the proj less impressive in scale. I at first felt unsure about the proj's potential impact, cuz I thought it wouldn't occupy much land & therefore might not have much streetside visibility.

but the bldg appears that it will instead wrap around the old chase bldg (I forget the original name of that bldg, or the company that used to have its sign on top). So the question is what will be on the Hill st side of the property, if anything?

of course, making things even better, is the stuff in the foreground is owned by Onni too & is penciled in to become the site of a 2nd tower.

[ConstructDTLA]

Originally Posted by citywatch

that same question crossed my mind as I was looking at one of hunterk's pics tonight....

the footprint of the onni tower seems larger than I originally assumed it would be. I thought it was going to be limited to the small corner area right there at 9th & Olive....which would have made the proj less impressive in scale. I at first felt unsure about the proj's potential impact, cuz I thought it wouldn't occupy much land & therefore might not have much streetside visibility.

but the bldg appears that it will instead wrap around the old chase bldg (I forget the original name of that bldg, or the company that used to have its sign on top). So the question is what will be on the Hill st side of the property, if anything?

of course, making things even better, is the stuff in the foreground is owned by Onni too & is penciled in to become the site of a 2nd tower.

Could it be their parking garage/situation of some sort?


That horrible building in the foreground has no value and should be demolished (maybe warn the tenants inside first if you're feeling so kind). It is the 'South Park Hotel'. Downtowns finest can always be found loitering out front of it. I hope Onni gets their 2nd tower on soon!

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

I wonder if the podium goes that far, or if that is the tower "next door".

now that you mention it, the area extending over to Hill st may actually be the land that onni owns, meaning their 2nd tower would go up there, & not farther north along Olive. if so..... ....& it would have been very presumptuous of me to think the 2nd tower would replace the rundown little SRO bldg & the adjoining parking lot. But that's due to wishful thinking, cuz if onni doesn't have anything to do with the neighbor to the north, then that won't exactly make an ideal backdrop for their tower, or towers, once everything is completed.

[ConstructDTLA]

Originally Posted by citywatch

now that you mention it, the area extending over to Hill st may actually be the land that onni owns, meaning their 2nd tower would go up there, & not farther north along Olive. if so..... ....& it would have been very presumptuous of me to think the 2nd tower would replace the rundown little SRO bldg & the adjoining parking lot. But that's due to wishful thinking, cuz if onni doesn't have anything to do with the neighbor to the north, then that won't exactly make an ideal backdrop for their tower, or towers, once everything is completed.

It would be insane to pay what they're going to ask for those apartments (a lot) and be next door to the South Park Hotel to the north, a strip club to the south, and a parking lot to the east.

..Then again, people pay top dollar to live in Arts District so logic need not apply here.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by HunterK

Could it be their parking garage/situation of some sort?

I hope so, but the more I think of it, it seems like colemonkee may have come up with the more reasonable assumption. iow, the amt of land that runs around the chase bldg....like in a "L"....takes up quite a bit of space. so if Onni wants a 2nd tower, there's plenty of land right there, & no need to stretch the site to the north. Of course, I hope my original assumption is correct. But since land in dt is so $$....or costly enough to make an owner not wanna be too carefree & luxurious.... I don't think a devlpr, esp from canada, is going to be too indulgent.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by HunterK

It would be insane to pay what they're going to ask for those apartments (a lot) and be next door to the South Park Hotel to the north, a strip club to the south, and a parking lot to the east.

keep in mind the small rundown bldg that has been...or was...sitting next to the luma tower, & near the evo tower too for the past several yrs. speaking of which, that former SRO bldg was last in the news as the site of a new boutique hotel. If anything interesting is happening around there, I hope you or some other forumer gives us the latest scoop.

btw, thanks for the pics on the renovation work on the old hall of justice bldg. I can hardly wait to see what it will look like when its completely steam cleaned!

[ConstructDTLA]

LA Times said:

"The company also plans to develop a second residential tower on Olive Street next door to 888 Olive and a third at 12th and Flower streets just west of Staples Center. Onni also bought the Union Lofts, a 10-story office tower turned apartment building at 8th and Hill streets that opened in 1928 as the headquarters of Union Bank."

I hope they aren't just mistaken. Has anyone seen the parking situation for this tower? Thats gotta be it..

[ConstructDTLA]

Originally Posted by citywatch

keep in mind the small rundown bldg that has been...or was...sitting next to the luma tower, & near the evo tower too for the past several yrs. speaking of which, that former SRO bldg was last in the news as the site of a new boutique hotel. If anything interesting is happening around there, I hope you or some other forumer gives us the latest scoop.

btw, thanks for the pics on the renovation work on the old hall of justice bldg. I can hardly wait to see what it will look like when its completely steam cleaned!

If anything happens I'd let you guys know that day. But there has been absolutely no physical action at the old FRA Apartment building (Hope St proposed boutique hotel). That building has been vacant for decades now. Where as the South Park Hotel has people walking in and out / hanging all about each day.

[citywatch]

^ haha. Yes! Maybe I wasn't just in dreamland in assuming onni owns land extending north along olive....or certainly where the rundown brick bldg & parking lot is located. So perhaps...just perhaps...their footprint in that part of dt actually will be quite large, or larger than I originally assumed.

btw, that parking lot shown in your pic is a perfect example of why even plain parking lots in dt can be so bad....so . iow, instead of decent outdoor lighting for that lot...at least which costs more than 20 bucks....it's nothing but clunker phone poles with light arms attached to them.

[Easy]

Originally Posted by HunterK

LA Times said:

"The company also plans to develop a second residential tower on Olive Street next door to 888 Olive and a third at 12th and Flower streets just west of Staples Center. Onni also bought the Union Lofts, a 10-story office tower turned apartment building at 8th and Hill streets that opened in 1928 as the headquarters of Union Bank."

I hope they aren't just mistaken. Has anyone seen the parking situation for this tower? Thats gotta be it..

I don't think that they are mistaken and Onni is in the early stages of planning a second tower. But I think that whatever might be under construction now towards Hill (if there is anything) will be parking.

[LA/OCman]

Originally Posted by Easy

I don't think that they are mistaken and Onni is in the early stages of planning a second tower. But I think that whatever might be under construction now towards Hill (if there is anything) will be parking.

I agree. I don't remember getting a notification from the city about anything big going in on the Hill St. side since I own across the street at the Eastern. Interestingly, they bought the Union Lofts which I don't believe has parking onsite. With the Commercial Exchange building at 8th and Olive being for sale, you have to feel there is a plan for the entire area. I wish Onni would buy the old May Co. building.

Also, before the recession there were plans for the "Chase" (WAMU/Coast Savings) building to be converted to lofts. It could be in the plans as well. Here is a DT News article regarding the sale of the Chase building to Onni in 2011.

http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/coast...633dadc-9b8f-11e0-b76a-001cc4c002e0.html

[BrandonJXN]

Originally Posted by HunterK

It would be insane to pay what they're going to ask for those apartments (a lot) and be next door to the South Park Hotel to the north, a strip club to the south, and a parking lot to the east.

..Then again, people pay top dollar to live in Arts District so logic need not apply here.

What's wrong with the Arts District? I have plenty of friends who live out there and aside from a dearth of housing, the Arts District is pretty jumping.

[brudy]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

What's wrong with the Arts District? I have plenty of friends who live out there and aside from a dearth of housing, the Arts District is pretty jumping.

I'm considering moving over that way once my lease runs out. I will say that I've known a few people who moved back towards the historic core after few years. They said it just felt too creepy and silent at night outside of two sections that have businesses (3rd and Traction and then down by C&S).

RE: The South Park Hotel - are we sure Onni owns that? Isn't there a law about tearing down SRO's? Or is that just you can't convert them while getting a tax break? While I'd like to see the building redeveloped, the result of tearing that down will be more people living on the street, which sucks for everybody.

[Crackertastik]

Originally Posted by blackcat23

Where'd you hear this?

Hopefully they extended the deadline because there are bidders who need more time and not because they're still waiting for someone to take the bait.

Thats definitely the reason. Also, because the # of interested parties has been very limited. VERY. So, to give time, the deadline was moved to Feb 15.

And, it shall be tall, iconic.

[ConstructDTLA]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

What's wrong with the Arts District? I have plenty of friends who live out there and aside from a dearth of housing, the Arts District is pretty jumping.

It's odd to me because its a bunch of upscale buildings, with nothing in sight as far as shopping or eating. (Minus a FEW businesses, yes I've been to Wurstkuche). I feel if one is going to put up with the crime & smog of living in downtown why not be in a walkable area?