I was mostly kidding when I said last night that I wished the bldg were taller. but after looking more closely at the design, & seeing images of the way it will look against the existing skyline when it's completed....& now realizing its total height is based on a spire at the top....I have to say it's too bad there hasn't been enough demand for new office space in the hood.
If the devlpr could see dt was attracting enough businesses to fill up all the existing bldgs, they probably would have been more ambitious & upped both the amt of space in the tower & its height.
Maybe the owner can move some of its employees from Korea, or elsewhere, to the new bldg in dt? Maybe that will justify not just the current amt of office space in the proj, but allow it to be increased?
archpaper.com, AC Martin
Quote:
The $1-billion skyscraper is to become the tallest building west of the Mississippi River — and a symbol of South Korea's status as an up-and-coming economic powerhouse.
The 73-story hotel and office building will include 900 guest rooms, double-decker elevators and an observation deck that will afford views of the Pacific Ocean. Slated to replace the old Wilshire Grand Hotel at Wilshire Boulevard at Figueroa Street, the new building will be slightly taller than the nearby U.S. Bank Tower, which has held the title of tallest building west of Chicago since 1989.
Originally planned as two smaller towers when it was announced four years ago, the Korean Air plan has morphed into a single tower that will give the Seoul company bragging rights to the highest skyscraper on the West Coast.
The sail-shaped skyscraper will light up at night and dwarf many of its neighbors. Most of the building will be devoted to a hotel, though an operator has yet to be named. Arriving guests would be whisked by high-speed elevators to the “sky lobby” on the 70th floor for check-in.
According to the plan, the 71st floor will be a restaurant. The floor above that will house window-washing gear and engineering equipment, clearing the top floor for an infinity swimming pool and observation deck.
Near street level will be about three floors of restaurants and shops, topped by 30 floors of offices for rent. Elevators will be double-decked, carrying two stacked cabs of passengers for additional capacity during peak hours.
With the spire reaching to 1,100 feet, the Wilshire Grand would become one of the tallest structures in the country, surpassing the 1,046-foot Chrysler Building in New York, which has 77 stories.
The contemporary design of the Wilshire Grand, with its floor-to-ceiling windows, is intended to set it apart from surrounding granite-clad office towers, said architect David Martin, who is Christopher Martin's cousin.
He hopes the building, which is to include 400,000 square feet of office space, will reflect the city better than the last generation of skyscrapers does. The Wilshire Grand, for instance, will have operable windows in its guest rooms and offices.
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^ I think it's almost a necessity to give a public angle to the base of the tower, which will make it more prominent. But that just about requires including retail. however, a shopping area on the 1st 3 levels of what's mainly a hotel tower does make me think of the bonaventure hotel. iow, when it comes to stores, it's always risky to believe that if you build it, they will come.
I said not too long ago that for shopping areas to be successful, it helps to have large numbers of prospective customers in a hood who are women....women with lots of free time, meaning around on the weekend, & who aren't just taking a break at lunch or before & after work. Or lots of women who are tourists, or visiting from the burbs or other parts of town, perhaps accompanied by hubby & the kids. Or younger women with lots of $ to spend.
dtla needs alot more new 24/7 housing to meet that requirement. Or also lots of new companies introducing lots of new workers to the hood, so much so that the volume alone will help make up for a lack of enough residents. But preferably both.
that's why I'm always hoping for more new apt & condo projs, asap....along with more new businesses....along with more features like a stadium....perhaps one featured on the day of the super bowl....that will help bring in more visitors, more tourists. ASAP.
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about new devlpt in dt not being taller, while I rank that rather low on the list of what's most important to me. But I have to 
right now, cuz after seeing the way the owners of grand wilshire are shooting for the moon....going for record height in LA....I find myself now asking why can't the new tower be even taller?! I wanna see something that rivals the tallest of the tall anywhere in the world. 
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