LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 4.0

[blackcat23]

Grand Avenue Rental Tower



The corner of Ava Little Tokyo at 2nd and Los Angeles looks to be finished digging, and they've actually started building. Concrete and rebar in the ground now. The adjacent lot isn't as far along, however.



One Santa Fe

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by JDRCRASH

In all seriousness, at this point, having a building be 2nd tallest in the world matters more than the 1st, because the building that currently holds the latter, quite frankly, has simply bastardized that title and has turned it into a p***s measuring contest.

I find it rather surprising that I'm truly somewhat by this....

At 1,100 feet, the new Wilshire Grand will technically become the tallest building west of the Mississippi River, trumping the reigning champion that is also located in Downtown, the U.S. Bank building.

But, Martin clarifies, "To the level of occupied floors, the other building is taller."

When certain forumers & others who through the months & yrs have been going on & on about the height of the new tower...& wanting it to be as tall as possible....I waved them off as just going through a silly game of 'who's on first'. But now that the final details have come out on grand wilshire, I realize that, when all is said & done, I really am a secret admirer of the idea of a new bldg in dtla being super tall.

All the delays in getting new devlpt started in the hood, & filling new space with shops, residents, guests &....definitely new companies.....made me so cautious that I forget that, yes, it really is more exciting when a new proj is a skyscraper....a true skyscraper.....or something that I imagine attracts many visitors to a website called....skyscraperpage.com.

btw, one reason why I haven't fussed over whether a new tower in dtla is super tall or not is cuz I notice things like, on this very website, an ad for condos in the evo tower....which was completed how many yrs ago? And I don't think that ad is for resell units, but for condos that never sold in the first place.

as for apts in the brockman bldg, for some reason the pace of leasing seems to have slowed down over the past few wks. About 2 or 3 months ago, a good portion of 25 to 30 of the brockman's apts were leased. But over the past few wks, the remaining 12 or 13 seem to be hanging on, still not spoken for by any new tenant. Hope that isn't a sign that demand can peak in unexpected or unpredictable ways.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by HunterK

I hate Starbucks and would never be a customer of theirs...... Always full. Activates the corner that before it really had nothing going on.

Syrup, Tierra Mia, and LA Cafe are my personal favorites on Spring, and theyre doing just fine despite the insanely popular corporate store on the same block.

always good to hear when any business that enhances the hood is doing well. It would make sense to complain about starbucks....& faceless big companies squeezing out the little guy....if the other shops on Spring st that it was competing against weren't doing well. but if they're all doing well....& any city worth its weight has plenty of shops, both big & small, surviving & thriving....that is what ultimately counts.

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

ive heard the rumors about the broadway trade center and in fact, one of Huizars aides and an important person involved with bringing back broadway told me about something happening with that building months ago, about the same time as the urban outfitters rumor first surfaced, so i think there are legs behind this.

I really really hope the GH Palmer development will be quality as that intersection is so very important, but im not holding my breath.

shining up the old may co bldg is very important to cleaning up the southern portion of broadway. that is a huge bldg, so I wonder how they'll fit various types of things into it. for instance, apts can't be stuck in the middle of a vast floor once used for a dept store, but have to be near the windows....same thing applies to hotel rms. the ceiling heights in the old may co bldg also are very tall. I recall being in there & noticing how the height of the upper levels were as high as the main level.....in other traditional dept stores that I've been in, it was the main floor that had the tallest ceiling.

The new palmer apt bldg near USC....the lorenzo....can be seen in one of the recent pics of what the grand wilshire tower will look like when completed. It's bizarre the way the devlpr keeps cloning every one of his apt projs. I wonder if that's to save money, or if his architect does that cuz it saves him time....& he's lazy? Even he must be tired of doing the same ol, same ol, so I can't believe he'll want his most urbanized location....in the middle of lower broadway....to be exactly like his other projs.

Originally Posted by blackcat23

The corner of Ava Little Tokyo at 2nd and Los Angeles looks to be finished digging, and they've actually started building. Concrete and rebar in the ground now. The adjacent lot isn't as far along, however.

thanks for the pics. such a relief to see that big gap across from the former new otani...then kyoto....& now doubletree hotel finally being filled in. I can hardly wait til that entire block has new housing on it....& just a skip & a hop away from LA city hall. if I'm not mistaken, that means for the FIRST time in the city's history, there will be nice housing....& not SRO apts or places for ppl on a low budget....in the shadow of city hall.

[StethJeff]

Originally Posted by HunterK

I hate Starbucks and would never be a customer of theirs. That said, this is absolutely one of the top few businesses on Spring. Best hours. Always full. Activates the corner that before it really had nothing going on.

Syrup, Tierra Mia, and LA Cafe are my personal favorites on Spring, and theyre doing just fine despite the insanely popular corporate store on the same block. Why? Because they offer great product.

CoffeeBar has been hit by the new Starbucks. The two girls working there recently told me that they've seen less activity since Starbucks took over the opposite block. I'd hate to see CoffeBar or any of the others go.

I think we can all agree that having major businesses move into a previously dying DTLA is a good thing. With that said, I hate the fact that they moved next door to several other coffee shops. If Cheesecake Factory comes to DTLA, I'll celebrate it. If Cheesecake Factory sets up shop across from Bäco Mercat, I'll smear dog shit on theirs doors nightly.

[Muji]

Well that's a bummer that Coffeebar's taking a hit from Starbucks. Hopefully, the opening of WineBar will improve things a bit. I was at Spring Street Bar last night and that whole block was simply packed, which was great to see. The parklets look wonderful and they also seem to be getting very good use. The surrounding blocks still have a very long way to go, but the momentum is definitely there.

Also, I was on the Gold Line today and Chinatown's Jia project simply dwarfs all of its surroundings. The conversion of the office tower next to the Chinatown Gold Line station into senior apartments also looks like it's about done, and it's a pretty big improvement.

[NYC2ATX]

Originally Posted by StethJeff

Out of curiosity, since I have no idea, are there old school New Yorkers who call the MetLife Building "the Pan Am?"

At this point, probably very, very few, if any. If there are they'd be of my parents generation (I'm 23, my parents in their 50s). It may not have stuck as much since Pan Am and MetLife have both had a roughly equal amount of airtime at the top of the building at this point, and both had signs proclaiming their presence in an extremely prominent and highly photographed location. I love seeing old pictures of the Pan Am signage, truly from another era.

[Illithid Dude]

Originally Posted by HunterK

I was at Figaro Bistro last night and saw one of these 'Downtown Examiner' papers laying around. Picked it up and went through it. It's very poorly written & they have no website. Has anyone heard of these guys before? Pretty much every article in this paper is news that hasn't been reported by the mainstream downtown news guys before.

Interesting news, but my god is that writing atrocious. Like a class project for a second grade.

[ConstructDTLA]

Originally Posted by StethJeff

CoffeeBar has been hit by the new Starbucks. The two girls working there recently told me that they've seen less activity since Starbucks took over the opposite block. I'd hate to see CoffeBar or any of the others go.

I think we can all agree that having major businesses move into a previously dying DTLA is a good thing. With that said, I hate the fact that they moved next door to several other coffee shops. If Cheesecake Factory comes to DTLA, I'll celebrate it. If Cheesecake Factory sets up shop across from Bäco Mercat, I'll smear dog shit on theirs doors nightly.

The awesome/funny thing about Cheesecake Factory (which wont be in Downtown for a long, long time) is that it'd blow Bottega Louie (and every other DTLA restaurant) away in terms of customers per day. Lunch & dinner, every day of the week. Lol

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Interesting news, but my god is that writing atrocious. Like a class project for a second grade.

Isn't it!? There are other articles in the paper more poorly written. I was having quite a laugh. All their articles seem to be based on absolute rumors too.. Odd.

[citywatch]

nothing better than seeing oldtime parts of dt being cleaned up. I look forward to work on the HOJ bldg being completed & restoration work finished in other parts of the hood....including cliftons on broadway & the ace hotel in the old UA bldg. however, I won't say anything about the clark hotel or embassy bldg right now.

A dirty job at L.A. County's Hall of Justice

Eighty-eight years of grime will soon be blasted away from the downtown beaux-arts building, reviving the beauty of its once-gleaming Sierra white granite facade.


Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times

By Bob Pool, Los Angeles Times
February 9, 2013

Cops and prosecutors are returning to the scene of the grime.But things will be brighter when the former occupants of the Hall of Justice move their offices back into the downtown Los Angeles landmark. Work crews making seismic repairs to the building next month will begin blasting away 88 years' worth of soot, dirt and smog that have turned its exterior a dull, dirty gray color.

When they finish this fall, project managers say the 14-story beaux-arts building will glisten as brightly as the slightly newer Los Angeles City Hall, which is diagonally across the street. And why shouldn't it? City Hall was built in 1928 from the same Sierra white granite from a quarry north of Fresno that was used in 1925 for construction of the Hall of Justice.

"The courtrooms in that building looked like old-time courtrooms," recalls Encino criminal defense lawyer Donald Calabria, who worked in the hall as a public defender starting in 1969. "They had real substantial wood walls, not the cheap-looking ones" found across the street in the newer Criminal Courts building.


Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times

Most of the jail cells were ripped out and sold to a recycler for $450,000, according to James Kearns, assistant deputy director of the county's Department of Public Works, which is overseeing the repair project. But Manson's old cellblock was preserved and will be part of an interpretive display that will tell the history of the hall and the project to save it, said Kearns...

Kearns said one of the hall's courtrooms has been preserved as a Sheriff's Department conference room, and a wood-paneled law library will also be turned into a meeting room. The sheriff will share the hall's 400,000 square feet of space with the district attorney when the two departments move back inside after repairs are completed Dec. 31, 2014, Kearns said.

The building's makeover — about 30% completed — includes construction of a parking structure next to the 101 Freeway that will have five levels underground and four above.

The refurbished building will be air conditioned for the first time. As originally designed by Allied Architects, the hall featured twin 14-story light wells that allowed every office to have an operable window for fresh air. In its new configuration, the bottom of one of the wells will be landscaped and will serve as an eating area for a new cafeteria being built on the ground floor, Kearns said. But it will be the strikingly bright new granite facade that will be most visible for those working in the downtown area or passing by on the freeway. Diesel soot, dust and automobile exhaust have contributed to the darkening of the Sierra white granite over the decades.

Workers experimented on sections of the hall's Broadway side with chemical dirt removers, high-pressure water cleaning and several micro-abrasive systems before settling on a bead-blasting technique, which relies on a combination of crushed recycled glass and tiny stones and is more gentle to granite, said Jeff Caldwell, an exterior forensics expert with the consulting firm of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates.

Greg Zinberg, project executive for Clark Construction, the main contractor for the county, said the Hall of Justice will shine bright — but it better last a while.

"This one might not be cleaned for another 50 years," he said.


Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times

[ConstructDTLA]

Just walked by Figaro. It's no surprise that tonight, the night when The Los Angeles is showing that horrible Romeo & Juliet, Figaro was completely packed.

They would've been so well off waiting a couple years until at least 1 theater on Broadway was open / showing regular shows. Argh.

Lots of people in downtown today, specifically Historic Core. I have a feeling all the DTLA buzz on the mainstream news sources played a big factor in that.

[DtlaCuriousity]

Oh wow, I always assumed the Hall of Justice building was naturally more or less that grey color. Will be pretty neat to see it all cleaned up. That granite is really pretty.

[LA/OCman]

Originally Posted by HunterK

Just walked by Figaro. It's no surprise that tonight, the night when The Los Angeles is showing that horrible Romeo & Juliet, Figaro was completely packed.

They would've been so well off waiting a couple years until at least 1 theater on Broadway was open / showing regular shows. Argh.

Lots of people in downtown today, specifically Historic Core. I have a feeling all the DTLA buzz on the mainstream news sources played a big factor in that.

Just back from having a beer at Angel City Brewery and dinner at The Spice Table. Angel City Brewery is in the soft opening mode. Lots of younger people there. The beer was great and those working there couldn't have been nicer. This place will open full time in March or April and will be a hit.

The Spice Table was overflowing as well. They tell me they are looking for a new location since the building will be torn down for the new Regional Connector. Sad to see since it is so popular and the food incredible.

BTW, I saw the crowds lined up for Romeo and Juliet at the Los Angeles Theatre. The line stretched for blocks. I wish they would show movies every weekend there. The movie was a fundraiser for an LA Historic Theater Group and was sold out....which was great for Figaro.

Re: Starbucks. The bartender at Spring St. Bar told me a while back that Starbucks killed their business at the Coffee Bar. Not surprising as it happens all over. The good news is that they are not closing down and are adding wine and beer and hopefully will be open later hours. The other coffee houses seem to have found their customer base.

[ConstructDTLA]

Originally Posted by LA/OCman

Just back from having a beer at Angel City Brewery and dinner at The Spice Table. Angel City Brewery is in the soft opening mode. Lots of younger people there. The beer was great and those working there couldn't have been nicer. This place will open full time in March or April and will be a hit.

The Spice Table was overflowing as well. They tell me they are looking for a new location since the building will be torn down for the new Regional Connector. Sad to see since it is so popular and the food incredible.

BTW, I saw the crowds lined up for Romeo and Juliet at the Los Angeles Theatre. The line stretched for blocks. I wish they would show movies every weekend there. The movie was a fundraiser for an LA Historic Theater Group and was sold out....which was great for Figaro.

Re: Starbucks. The bartender at Spring St. Bar told me a while back that Starbucks killed their business at the Coffee Bar. Not surprising as it happens all over. The good news is that they are not closing down and are adding wine and beer and hopefully will be open later hours. The other coffee houses seem to have found their customer base.

Thats great news!

I hope that Spice Table moves to core downtown. Theres certainly an abundance of empty space they could snatch up if they've got the $$$.

It's insane to me that Figaro doesn't have a sign. If they'd restore the marquee to the building (like they said they would) and put a sign on it I think it'd help immensely.

Regarding Starbucks putting Coffee Bar & Spring For Coffee in a hard place (both of which I dislike), I think it's great. They just need to step it up!!

[Chef Boyardee]

So i see this forum has turned into one of those "everything sucks, everything is horrible" kind of forums. Too bad. Used to be a pretty good place to read/discuss things.
As a moderator in my previous life you realize pretty quickly that a cancer has to be removed early or it will spread and will ultimately cause a death of a forum. That is it appears what has happen here. Oh well, another one bites the dust.

[BrandonJXN]

Originally Posted by DtlaCuriousity

Oh wow, I always assumed the Hall of Justice building was naturally more or less that grey color. Will be pretty neat to see it all cleaned up. That granite is really pretty.

This is what the Hall of Justice looks like when it's not covered in nearly a century's worth of grime and shit.


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8456/8062679799_87edf1dd95_o.jpg

[gurbie]

Originally Posted by Chef Boyardee

So i see this forum has turned into one of those "everything sucks, everything is horrible" kind of forums. Too bad. Used to be a pretty good place to read/discuss things.
As a moderator in my previous life you realize pretty quickly that a cancer has to be removed early or it will spread and will ultimately cause a death of a forum. That is it appears what has happen here. Oh well, another one bites the dust.

Wow... You think THIS forum is bad? Have you had a look around?

I actually think this board is full of intelligent, informed and informing, opinionated, but civil, regular posters.

On a happy note, the LA city diagram has been updated, with the Wilshire Grand tower in its rightful position as the city's new height champ. Looks great!

[Easy]

Originally Posted by Chef Boyardee

So i see this forum has turned into one of those "everything sucks, everything is horrible" kind of forums. Too bad. Used to be a pretty good place to read/discuss things.
As a moderator in my previous life you realize pretty quickly that a cancer has to be removed early or it will spread and will ultimately cause a death of a forum. That is it appears what has happen here. Oh well, another one bites the dust.

We can all help our moderator by staying on topic. Before clicking "Submit Reply" I try to ask myself "Is my post about downtown Los Angeles?"

In that vein, I find myself checking sources almost daily to see if there's any news on LA Central possibly breaking ground. Many may disagree, but to me this is the most important project aside from perhaps Wilshire Grand because of the type of project it is. Where downtown is lagging is in tourism and retail and this project addresses both of those. Downtown needs to become more of a tourist destination because while residents will eat out a few times a week, tourists will eat out a few times a day. Plus it's both massive and tall!

[DistrictDirt]

Originally Posted by StethJeff

CoffeeBar has been hit by the new Starbucks. The two girls working there recently told me that they've seen less activity since Starbucks took over the opposite block. I'd hate to see CoffeBar or any of the others go.

I think we can all agree that having major businesses move into a previously dying DTLA is a good thing. With that said, I hate the fact that they moved next door to several other coffee shops. If Cheesecake Factory comes to DTLA, I'll celebrate it. If Cheesecake Factory sets up shop across from Bäco Mercat, I'll smear dog shit on theirs doors nightly.

I've definitely been guilty of choosing Starbucks over CoffeeBar several times lately. Its not like their coffee is terrible, and I really need is a place to get caffeinated and do some work on the free WiFi. So the fact that Starbucks is a buck less per cup and has more seating means they'll get my business at least some of the time.

[colemonkee]

Drove by 888 Olive today and they're not wasting a lot of time. The hole is already deep enough in part of the property to put the backhoe almost entirely below ground level.

[Easy]

Originally Posted by colemonkee

Drove by 888 Olive today and they're not wasting a lot of time. The hole is already deep enough in part of the property to put the backhoe almost entirely below ground level.

Both 888 Olive and 8th/Grand seem to really be moving. It almost looks like a race! I went by there just after dawn yesterday and there were already 10 or 15 trucks lined up on Olive waiting to haul soil away from 888 Olive. For both sites "soil" is a bit of a misnomer as both have lots of concrete mixed in with the soil. Especially 888 Olive (or whichever hole was deeper, I forget). They must not have fully excavated what was there previously before turning them into parking lots.